What's on a rebrand checklist?
Four groups of work: the decisions, the brand itself, the places it appears and the launch. Most rebrands go wrong in the third group, because nobody listed every place the old logo lived.
Use the method below as your master list, then work through the detail in each section. Tick things off as you go, and give every item an owner.
What's the step-by-step rebrand method?
This is the order we'd run a rebrand in. Each step depends on the one before.
- Write down why you're rebranding and what has to be different afterwards.
- Agree the positioning: who you're for and why people should choose you.
- If the name is changing, check the domain, Companies House and the UK trade mark register.
- Design the identity: logo, colours, type, tone of voice and guidelines.
- Audit every place the old brand appears, and give each item an owner and a date.
- Build the new website and set up redirects from any old addresses.
- Prepare print, signage and vehicle changes so they land close to launch day.
- Brief your team, then launch everywhere in as short a window as possible.
- Tell customers, suppliers and partners, and check search and enquiries in the weeks after.
What should you decide before you rebrand?
Why you're doing it, and whether it's a refresh or a full rebrand. A refresh tidies the logo, colours and messaging. A full rebrand can change the name, the positioning and everything else.
- The reason: a new market, a merger, outgrowing the old brand, or confusion about what you do.
- What stays: colours, a name or a symbol customers already know you by.
- Who signs off, and when.
- The launch date, and anything it has to avoid, such as your busiest season.
Which legal and naming checks do you need?
Do these before any design is final. Finding a problem after launch is expensive.
- Search the UK trade mark register for the name and anything similar in your sector.
- Check the domain and the social media handles you need are available.
- If you're a limited company changing its name, file the change with Companies House.
- Update the name on contracts, terms, privacy notices and your website's legal pages.
- Tell your bank, insurer, accountant and HMRC where your trading name changes.
What do you need to change online?
This is where most of the work is, and where rankings can be lost if it's rushed.
- Website: new design, logo, favicon, copy and images.
- Redirects: if any web address changes, add a permanent 301 redirect from every old page to its new one.
- Google Search Console: if the domain changes, use the Change of Address tool.
- Google Business Profile: name, logo, photos and description.
- Directories and listings: keep your business name, address and phone number identical everywhere.
- Social media: profile images, banners, bios and handles.
- Email: signatures, templates, and the address if the domain changes.
- Ads: new creative, and check ad accounts and landing pages use the new brand.
What do you need to change offline?
List these early. Some take weeks to produce.
- Signage, inside and out.
- Vehicles and uniforms.
- Business cards, letterheads, leaflets and brochures.
- Packaging and product labels.
- Invoices, quotes and proposal templates.
- Presentations, sales decks and onboarding packs.
How do you launch a rebrand?
Switch everything over in as short a window as you can, so customers don't see two brands at once. Brief your team first, so they can answer questions.
Then tell people. A short email to customers, a post on social media and a note on your website explaining what's changed and what hasn't, such as your team, your service and how to reach you. In the weeks after, check your search traffic and enquiries, and fix any old links or listings that still point to the old brand.