“In this digital age with its speed of change, any brand that refuses to ‎innovate will die” ~Bernard Kelvin Clive

Imagine this. A company spending $1 million on the logo redesign & company’s director of communications describe it as “a real waste of time & money”.

No kidding. When Pepsi spent $1 million just to add a white stripe on the new logo, the design team themselves confessed that the stripe was actually supposed to be a ‘smile’ and in each campaign, the stripe varies which never gives an impression of a smile.

The brand redesign is necessary. But when you go for rebranding, or even redesigning your logo you need to put the thinking cap on.

While everyone is busy celebrating France’s FIFA 2018 World Cup final, Dunkin Donuts did some thinking and came up with a terrific brand redesign without dismissing their old logo.

What is not changing in the new Brand Redesign?

According to Officer Tony Weisman – the Chief Marketing Officer, “The brand just needs a little more love.”

Firstly, the Pink & Orange logo will remain as it is. Second, the prominent Frankfurter font will retain its position on all the cups, bags, and boxes.

It’s beginning to look a lot like S☀U☀M☀M☀E☀R pic.twitter.com/FwVje9vJ3g

— Dunkin’ Donuts (@dunkindonuts) June 27, 2018

When you do the brand redesign it is wise not to play with the brand identifiers. The logotype, the logo, and the colors on the logo are brand identifiers and something that stimulates an emotional response in the target audience whenever and wherever they engage with the brand.

The best approach is to keep these elements unchanged.

On the morning of July 2^nd, 2018, Donut Fries were added to the menu. These are cousins of our beloved spherical pastries made in the form sweet-sugar sticks tossed in cinnamon sugar. They were served nationwide with a little more playful and brighter colors, says Sara Hyman, CEO at Jones Knowles Ritchie.

YOU’RE WELCOME, AMERICA. #DonutFries 🍩🍟 pic.twitter.com/qvSuOy4ID2

— Dunkin’ Donuts (@dunkindonuts) July 2, 2018

The raving fans shared their summer cups in social media which included phrases “beat the heat” and “iced” in bright colors.

“It’s a brand where you really want to use the pack as a canvas,” says Hyman.

Dunkin Donuts has pretty amazing typography. An incredibly distinctive color palette, and a memorable theme. This gives the brand a solid foundation for its brand identity. And despite all the good that the brand is doing, there is always room for more innovation.

Dunkin Donuts already simplified its menu for customers in the US and provided them a more convenient digital ordering experience in their newly introduced stores.

Furthermore, the idea of rebranding is to freshen up the look without radically changing the core visual elements that the fans hold close to their hearts.

How to do a successful transition without hurting Brand reputation?

Your branding basically communicates the voice of your brand to its customers.

It is a tool that holds your reputation & differentiates you from the crowd.

Here are some insights which you need to know for a smooth brand transition:

Use Humor: Before the year 2010, Old Spice was targeted at older people. But in the year 2010, Old Spice came up with a brilliant new ad featuring athlete Isaiah Mustafa in a comical way implying that the Old Spice is something fun and youthful. And the brand rebranding was an instant success.

We take complex ideas and turn them into beautiful logos. 

Celebrity Endorsement & New Products: When Burberry faced a controversy and a bad reputation, the new creative director Christopher Bailey introduced new products like trench coats and swimwear which were unrelated to all the previous products and created a brand new image. Furthermore, Kate Moss & Emma Watson were used to reshape the brand image. The new image of Burberry is a high-end luxury brand for high-class consumers.

Rename your product: Sometimes the answer lies in renaming a certain product or a service. Back in the early days when the term ‘High Fructose Corn Syrup’ came out as a key ingredient in some of the products. In general, the product gave an impression of a sweetener or a preservative. Due to this, the sales went down. Eventually, the ingredient was renamed as just “fructose” or “corn sugar”. This might seem a bit shady but if done in the right way it can help a brand repair the maimed reputation.

Rebranding is not that simple, and it cannot be done in a night. The aim of rebranding is to attract new customers without losing the old customers. If you’re renaming a product, make sure that you don’t lose the core identity of your brand. The values which helped you to get at the top in the first place are the ones which will help you sustain your brand position in the eyes of the customers.

There is no one right answer to these questions. But there are possible ways for a brand redesign. Dunkin Donuts did an excellent job. They did it in a subtle manner. You can do the same. The only thing that you need to ensure is that your overall brand reputation is not hurt.