Branding and packaging don’t work in a vacuum—there are many other factors at work that can affect the success of a rebranding effort, such as marketing and sales and broader industry trends. And while this is a book about the importance of branding, let’s not forget about the quality of the beer you’re brewing either.
The Value of Rebranding
03
The Value of Rebranding
Rebranding is a lengthy and expensive process. And like any business decision, you have to make sure you’re getting a return on your investment (ROI). But the truth is, this stuff isn’t easy to measure.
Nielson’s Craft Beer Category Design Audit (April 2016) reported that:
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Branding is valuable because it directly influences customer behavior
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These numbers aren’t surprising. Visual design and color theory inform a vast number of purchasing behaviors across all consumer goods, particularly in a non-commodity category like craft beer, and can often be the biggest difference between making a sale or not.
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Branding creates an emotional connection with customers.
What does buying a specific product (a beer, a watch, a motorcycle) say about me? What story does that let me tell the world about myself? People don’t just get a Harley Davidson tattoo because they like the bike. They tattoo what the brand stands for. The Harley Davidson shield on someone’s arm (or, neck?) lets everyone else know they’re rugged and individualistic. They’re not to be doubted or messed with (especially if they have a neck tattoo).
While these reasons are qualitative in nature and provide a strong rationale for rebranding, it’s also important to establish some quantitative goals as you begin the rebranding process to help you determine your Return on Investment (ROI) down the road. We will examine how to do this in Section 2.
Atlanta Brewing's Rebrand ROI
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Beer sales are up 26.6% Year-over-Year
(YOY, 2018-2019) -
Merchandise Sales are up 113.9%
(YOY, 2018-2019) -
One new major market launched
Workbook Introduction
Our aim with this book is to give you insight into the rebranding process as well as an idea of what your team can do ahead of, and while working with, an external design firm.
This book and the work you’ll be doing throughout is not a replacement for working with a design firm because everything we cover here is strategic. Your design partner still has to do the magic of transforming these ideas into visuals (brand identity, package design, website, tap handles, merch and beyond) so that your customers can pick up what you’re putting down (i.e., buy your beer).
To help your team gather, prepare and share ideas with your design partner, we’re including a companion workbook that you can complete and then hand over during
your project kickoff.
At the end of each section in this book, we’ll touch on some of the things you’re going to frame, work through and accomplish in the workbook. These will range from questions, checklists, prompts and various activities aimed at helping you suss out the vital information you need for your rebrand.
You can do this section by section as you make your way through the book or all at once when you’ve finished the entire read. Either way, this is a tremendous resource for you and your design firm as you begin your rebranding process.
Section 1
Workbook
The exercises in Section 1 of the workbook will help you identify why you’re rebranding. What are your pain points, and how can we determine what issues need to be resolved through this process?
You will:
- Identify pain points
- Determine whether you’re rebranding or refreshing
- Make your project wish list