In order to become a visible sign of the internal transformation process - and that is the point - the optimization of the B2B brand should be seen as an integral part of this change. The revision of the brand should therefore not be tackled in the course of or even at the end of a company update, but should be considered from the outset and set in motion.
For the latter, the counter-current method (top-down/bottom-up planning) is recommended.
I would implement it in five steps:
- Top-down: the business leadership initiative
- The transformationalAgenda for the brand
- Moderate or disruptive?
- Developing the change architecture
- Bottom-up: The concept for brand optimization
1. Top-down: the management initiative
The first step is for the management to put together an interdisciplinary team:
- employees from the departments responsible for the transformation in particular (marketing), who can also act internally as confidants and opinion leaders, as well as
- an external consultancy that takes on various roles and acts as coordinator, keyword provider, mediator and corrective in equal measure and, last but not least, contributes brand expertise.
In a change kick-off, the designated contact person from the upper management level then formulates the purpose and goal of the brand optimization and hands over the task to the team. It is best to have a manageable, efficient and effective team that not only manages and drives the process forward, but also acts as an interface to the workforce and external service providers (advertising agency, web and graphic design, moving images, etc.).
It is advisable to communicate the plan, including the strategy and reasons for the brand overhaul, internally right from the start. A letter of intent may suffice at first - with the promise to keep employees up to date. This not only prevents possible rumors, fears and suspicion, which people tend to quickly develop in the face of innovations, it also promotes a positive mood in the workforce that is curious about the new and looking for a challenge.
And the essence of what the brand team will evaluate and develop over the next few weeks should be poured into a coherent, substantial briefing for external creative collaborators in the brand transformation at the end of the day.
2. The transformation agenda for the brand: questions and answers
What follows is an open, agile process. The team first develops the transformation agenda for the brand. The cardinal questions to be asked here are:
- Which processes are changing with which goals in the company?
- Which touchpoints with customers are affected and how do you ensure that the user experience benefits from this?
- With what kind of new self-image and self-awareness will the company operate on the market in future?
- How should the changes be experienced, both internally and externally?
- Who, how and what is the new "we"?
- What should the brand embody in the future?
- How must it be designed so that it develops an identity that is consistent with the transformed company and its business model externally and offers corresponding identification potential internally?
It should be noted that the answers to these questions must offer far more substance than a "classic" brand core definition. The task cannot be accomplished by reducing the character of the company to more or less a handful of characteristics. Rather, it is about recharging the brand. What can or should be expressed in colors, shapes, characters and typography must ultimately be able to be lived: Attitude, tonality, behavior, presence, attentiveness, agility, promise of quality and so on by definition.
3. Moderate or disruptive?
To what extent those answers
- represent a moderate change, i.e. one that is in line with the transformation goals: suggest a flowing optimization corresponding to the transformation goals,
or better
- a new appearance, i.e. a radical one, disruptive change,
can reveal an actual/target comparison of the brand physiognomy, including an analysis of brand communication. This requires distance from the object, it requires the neutral, independent view of the external marketing expert on the brand image and its communication. Because viewers see more than players.
The larger the delta, the more advisable a disruptive approach to the upcoming brand work.
4. The change architecture
The foundations of the change architecture can then be laid:
Formulating requirements for the new brand image
A B2B brand image that can remain in motion should be created, taking into account the increasingly dynamic changes in markets and companies. So you also need a style guide that allows for movement, that leaves room for maneuver when it comes to design specifications. I would like to call it the "Sundance" style guide - in reference to the legendary Sundance Kid (played by Robert Redford in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), who could only shoot if he could move while shooting.
Draw up the roadmap
Draw up the roadmap: Establish responsibilities or accountabilities. What is to be done, when, how, by whom.
Have the brand image revised by an agency
Develop and elaborate the brand image, if necessary the brand presence. Important: The revision or new development of the brand image should definitely be left to an agency. Calling in a professional service provider is essential, as this should not be a matter of searching on the prairie of taste, but rather the strategic, goal-oriented design of the future brand image based on profound, experience-saturated knowledge of visual and verbal communication.
If an agency screening is necessary - external consulting can help to set it up.
Starting the internal rollout
Like all design work, optimizing a B2B brand is not a democratic process. Nevertheless, or even more so, the workforce should be informed at an early stage and personally attuned to the new brand image and everything that goes with it in small groups.
The new should spread throughout the company in waves. This is the time for the team's trusted individuals and opinion leaders mentioned at the beginning. If the workforce recognizes itself in the change, it can live it. And only then will it succeed.
Developing the change story
Finally, the change story that communicates the transformation of the B2B brand must be developed. For reasons of credibility and meaningfulness, a uniform narrative for all target groups (employees, partners, customers, etc.) is recommended. As much as the content and form of the B2B brand story must be developed with care, it must be told and illustrated quickly, briefly and entertainingly on social media (with the help of an external consultant if necessary). This will then be the crowning glory of the internal brand team.
5. Bottom-up: The concept for brand optimization
Now the team returns the change architecture for brand optimization it has developed to the management as part of a transformation process within the company. For review and discussion, for approval.
The brand team or the marketing department can then be entrusted with the implementation.
In any case, the brand is always a matter for the boss. At least that's how it should be.
