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Think of it as that real 'Stars In Their Eyes' moment: someone goes behind a thick velvet curtain only to remerge as someone altogether different seconds later, perhaps donning a sequinned jumpsuit, outrageous wig or full face of makeup. It's all about grabbing attention in that particular moment - cue those 'oohs' and 'aahs' and give them a round of applause, if you will.
The same goes for an established brand when it decides to shake things up - albeit minus the rift on the 90s game show and sequinned jumpsuit, you'd hope - in order to respond to customer needs and stay relevant, reflect a renewed offering and retain a competitive edge, and address reputation issues and achieve business growth (or, indeed, all of the above).
With so many brands within the same or similar categories vying for the attention of customers - both well-established and long-standing businesses as well as hot new start-ups - brand transformation can be key to cutting through the noise and, let's be honest, keeping the damn lights on.
Look beyond logos
But before you get carried away by adding logo ideas to your 2025 vision board, remember: it goes way beyond a simple refresh of a brand's logo and extends to strategy, identity, messaging, values and experience to communicate the business in a whole new way that better connects with customers, reflects changing market conditions and aligns with your ambitions.
In it to win it
So, what brands have undergone brand transformations of late and how successful have they been in hitting all the high notes? Animal charity the RSPCA celebrated its 200th anniversary with a fresh new visual identity that carefully balanced tradition with evolution; sports retailer Decathlon updated its look and feel with such subtly that it demonstrated how change doesn't need to be drastic to be meaningful; and train company Eurostar marked its merger with fellow high-speed train business Thalys with a single logo that captured the heritage and essence of both while evolving them into the future.
Making waves
Closer to home, Bray St. worked with Shipnet, our long-standing maritime SaaS client, to evolve its branding to incorporate an innovative new product: an AI-powered digital twin that uses all the historical touchpoints of a fleet to supercharge processes. We were enlisted to create the name and brand for the product, now called Helix, as well as the value proposition and visual identity - plus, rather crucially, how the brand would sit with the existing brand.
John Wills, Director of Customer Experience at Shipnet, says: "The brand and positioning of Helix is spot-on. Bray St. took an abstract concept, pulled together the messaging and meaning behind it, and crafted the perfect solution. This feels like the brand that will genuinely revolutionise shipping."
Crash and burn
Other brand transformations have been received with much less success, such as last year's 'woke' attempt by luxury car manufacturer Jaguar, which introduced a new logo, colour palette and creative philosophy to make it more relevant and desirable for younger and wealthier customers as it develops an entirely new range of all-electric vehicles.
Billed by Californian designer Joseph Alessio as "one of the most destructive marketing moves ever attempted," the move did away the iconic big-cat logo, features no cars and includes seemingly 'random' slogans, all of which means there's a massive disconnect from the much-loved heritage of the brand.
Naturally, Jaguar have leapt to its own defence. "It's a bold and imaginative reinvention and, as expected, has attracted attention and debate," the company says. As brand experts, we're all for making a splash to drive distinction - pun entirely intended - but we can't help but wonder how not speaking to those who've been loyal to your brand in past will play out.
Work with what you have
So, what is a surefire strategy for success? There's no one-size-fits-all-formula, as every brand is different with a zillion different factors to feed into a refresh, but certain principles should always apply, from defining a clear purpose by identifying the actual problem to demonstrating a deep understanding of your customers and aligning your transformation with those values and needs. The golden rule? You don't always need to start from scratch, but build on the brand equity you already have by simply refreshing and evolving in the right direction.
That's how to create that mic-drop moment.
Considering a change? Drop us a line to discuss how we can help your brand evolve for long-term success.