7 Crucial Elements of a Strategic Brand Refresh

Originally published on June 9th, 2022. Last updated on June 12th, 2025.

At its core, branding is the process of defining, maintaining, and consistently conveying your firm’s unique value and competitive differentiation. It’s about clarifying who you are, what you stand for, and why your clients should care—then expressing those messages in a meaningful and consistent way.

Great brands aren’t built without effort and intentionality. So, if your firm has decided that the time has come to update your brand, it needs to be guided by a well-defined rebranding strategy.

In this article we break down the seven crucial elements that should be part of any successful brand refresh checklist so you can be better informed throughout the process.

1

Discovery and Research

Discovery and research form the foundation of a strategic brand refresh yet they’re often the most overlooked steps in this process. Ask your firm’s senior leadership what your company stands for and what makes it different from your competitors and they’ll surely have an answer. However, their answer might differ from what clients, prospects, or even employees would say.

That’s why in-depth discovery and research, ideally conducted by a neutral third party and that includes qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, should always be the starting point for any brand refresh.

Two essentials of a powerful brand are credibility and authenticity, meaning what you say about your brand is consistent with what your clients and employees experience firsthand. Use research to uncover how the market views your firm, identify true differentiators, and find alignment between internal perceptions and external realities. These insights will lay the groundwork for intentional, impactful brand positioning.

2

Competitive Analysis

Before you update your brand platform, it’s important to understand the broader competitive landscape. If you want to truly stand out, you need to know what your competitors are doing as well as how they are positioning themselves by looking, sounding, and feeling different.

Performing a comprehensive competitive analysis helps you assess how firms are presenting themselves across key brand elements, including (but not limited to):

• Taglines and key messages
• Logos, colors, fonts, and visual styles
• Value proposition and positioning statements
• Thought leadership and content marketing efforts
• Website and digital/social presence

This type of market analysis gives your team the insight needed to create a brand identity that is both relevant and distinct, and that supports your long-term strategic marketing goals.

3

Brand Positioning and Key Messages

Once you’ve conducted research and found what uniquely sets you apart, the next step is to define your brand positioning and craft compelling key messages.

Your brand positioning should express your firm’s unique value in the marketplace while reaching your target audience at both a rational and emotional level.

Yes, your messaging does need to address the basics of who you are and what you do, but it’s just as important to talk about why you do what you do, how your approach is different, and how this ultimately benefits your clients.

Effective brand messaging will go beyond the tangible attributes of your company, like features and services, to tap into the intangible attributes such as mission, vision, values, and culture. In other words, that “why factor” that isn’t easily imitated by the competition.

4

Logo and Visual Identity System Update

The need for a distinctive visual identity can’t be overstated as it’s one of the most immediate and recognizable expressions of your brand. Sounding different from others through compelling brand positioning and key messages is step one. Step two, looking different (and better) than everyone else is equally important. Your visual identity—logo, color palette, styles, photography, fonts, textures and other brand elements—is therefore foundational to conveying the essence of your brand.

Now, the extent to which a firm updates their logo will depend on their need and/or desire, meaning not every brand update will require a complete logo redesign. In many cases, a refresh is more like a visual facelift that retains existing brand equity while evolving the design to reflect your firm’s growth, culture, and strategic direction. This might include refining type treatments, expanding your color palette, or updating photography styles and graphic elements.

Because it’s often the most visible part of the rebranding process, your visual identity update should be grounded in insights from your brand audit and aligned with your broader goals. The goal isn’t just to look “new,” it’s to be strategic, intentional, and authentic to your audience.

5

Brand Standards Guide

A great visual identity means little without brand consistency, and that’s where a well-developed brand standards guide (also known as a brand style guide) comes into play. Brand standards are guidelines that outline how individuals should use your visual and written brand elements across channels to ensure your firm shows up clearly and cohesively.

Your brand guidelines development process should cover specifics like:

• Logo usage, including instructions for size, positioning, margins and colors, as well as various “lockups” for all acceptable variations (color, black and white, horizontal, vertical, etc.) depending on placement and usage
• Color palette and typography
• Photography and style elements
• Graphic elements
• Tone of voice and brand messaging
• Any other components that comprise your brand

Having a strictly enforced brand style guide helps reinforce your identity both internally and externally, building strong brand recognition in the marketplace. The most powerful brands not only have a great visual identity, but one that is reinforced across every touchpoint.

6

Communications and Brand Audit

After establishing a new and distinctive brand identity system and developing brand standards to reinforce it, conduct a communications audit to ensure your refreshed brand is applied consistently across every internal and external touchpoint.

Take an inventory of everything that uses your logo or incorporates design elements, as well as how your company communicates with internal and external audiences. When creating a punch list of items to update, make sure to include:

• Emails, email signatures, and templates
• Proposals and slide decks
• Website pages, blogs, and other content pieces
• Social media profiles and graphics
• Office signage, stationery, and promotional materials

Effective brand audits are not one-and-done. They should be part of an ongoing monitoring checklist to ensure that your brand identity is consistently reinforced.

7

Brand Rollout Strategy

The final stage of any brand refresh, which is critical to the success of the process, is a thoughtful rollout plan for sharing your updated brand to internal and external stakeholders. You’ve invested significant time and resources into your refreshed identity, so you’ll want to make sure you introduce it in a way that generates excitement and builds momentum around the change.

Your rebranding strategy should include a structured plan to rollout the new brand to your stakeholders but the approach and scale will depend on how extensive the changes.

In your brand rollout plan, communicate the ‘why’ behind the refresh to your employees, existing clients and prospects and share the inspiration for the change, some details around the process and how the brand reflects your firm’s future direction.

Ideally, everything identified during the communications audit will be updated before launch. However, a phased rollout may be more practical, especially if major visual or messaging elements have been revamped.

For a successful brand rollout, consider including the following elements:

• Internal brand training sessions and employee toolkits
• Announcement campaigns to clients and stakeholders
• Timelines for rolling out updates across all channels
• Phased or full-scope launch depending on rebranding scale

Achieving Your End Goal—A Powerful Brand

At the heart of every successful brand refresh is one clear objective: building a brand that’s visually compelling and strategically positioned to connect with your audience and stand out in your market. A well-executed rebranding process will lead to more than just a polished look. It creates cohesion across channels and reinforces your firm’s value in a credible and memorable way.

By including these seven essential elements on your brand refresh checklist, you’re creating a foundation for greater consistency and stronger consumer engagement, not just updating your brand but elevating it.

FAQ About the Strategic Brand Refresh Process

Why might your firm need a brand refresh?

Your brand consists of all the elements that make up your business. This ranges from the visual components such as your logo and colors, to the written language used in your brand assets and on your website, to the experiences you deliver. When you feel your brand no longer reflects who you are today or how your audience sees you, it’s time for a change.

What’s the difference between a rebrand and a brand refresh?

A rebrand is a complete revamp which could include new messaging, a new name, or new logo and iconography. During a rebrand, everything is open to change. A brand refresh keeps the existing brand elements but expands the look and feel of your brand with fresh treatments and adjustments to your messaging. It’s more of an evolution from what already exists.

What are common pitfalls to be aware of during brand updates?

The major pitfalls to be aware of include:

• Starting without a clear rebranding strategy or having members of the leadership team who aren’t fully onboard with the change.
• Skipping the discovery process and brand audit to understand what to change.
• Inconsistently applying your new brand elements across various materials.
• Underestimating the time and resources needed for a brand refresh and the subsequent rollout.

What is considered a successful brand refresh launch?

Ways to measure the success of a brand refresh may include increased engagement across your website and social media platforms, stronger internal adoption of brand standards, and improved brand recall among your audience.