You’re finally done! You have your final branding deliverables from the agency you hired in your hands. Now what? Although you just spent a lot of time and effort getting every detail of your new brand system just right, you’ve realized that the hard work may have just begun. At HatchMark Studio, we’ve worked with many clients to both develop and launch a brand from scratch. And while every brand rollout is different, there are some key steps you can take to make it a success. In this article, we will discuss steps you can take to launch your new brand so that it makes an impression on your clients, customers, and community.
First, Get Full Brand Buy In
You need to get your internal team excited about telling the new story of your brand. Start by ensuring they have all been fully briefed on the brand so that they are living and breathing it. (You don’t want to ambush anyone with all of this new information or make people feel as if they are out of the loop.) Can the key members of your team confidently speak to the details of the brand from the value propositions to the new messaging? Furthermore, do they have access to the new visual assets and know how to use them properly? This is an important first step to make sure you have 100% buy in from your team before going live. Failure to do so can lead to a disorganized and confusing debut for the brand you worked so hard to complete.
Make & Execute A Brand Launch Plan
A new brand is a treasure trove of potential content waiting to happen. You need to come up with a launch plan to get the most mileage and excitement out of your brand as possible. The worst thing you could do is have a new brand and totally fumble the announcement. Below are a couple of ideas to consider!
- Tease your launch. You don’t want to push it all out at once. Make a vague announcement on social media and send a special newsletter that something big is coming soon. Trickle this out over several weeks to create excitement around the launch. Make sure you are scheduling this content out in advance so that you don’t lose track of your time.
- Chop up your new video into shorts. A lot of brand launches can include the debut of a new brand video. Make several short clips of the video and turn them into reels. This also dovetails into the suspense created from your other teasers. Don’t post your full brand video right out of the gate. Leave your followers and clients wanting more!
- Make a full video announcement on social media. This should be a full 90 second reel that gives your followers and potential leads the entire update. Tell them everything that’s going on with the rebrand, what they can expect, and if there are any exciting events planned in the future. We did this when we launched our agency’s brand refresh and announced an open house event at our new office space. You can check out the Instagram reel here!
- Send out an email drip campaign. Most businesses have an email list of current clients on hand. Email is a great way to engage directly with people who you know will be excited about this news. But don’t give it away all at once. Stretch it out over a series of emails to help build the excitement and give yourself enough room to share all of the details. Start by teasing the brand launch and include a launch event if you have one planned. Follow up post launch with more detail about how this is going to positively impact clients. This is an opportunity to ease any fears of change and reassure your customers that you’ve anticipated their concerns and that they have every reason to be excited about what’s new.
- Start directing new traffic to your website. Launching a new brand means a new look on your website. You probably have new features and bells and whistles you want to showcase. Create a post on social media that runs through the new website and encourage clients to go check it out. You should also be linking this in the email blast that we talked about earlier. Let people get familiar with your new brand as they navigate through your website. You can even put a new landing page together that discusses more details about the brand.
- Put together a paid strategy. A new brand launch is the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to new clients who aren’t already following you. Use the excitement from the launch to put together a set of paid ads to drive more traffic to your accounts. You should also put together a small budget to boost your Facebook events from the brand launch event.
Plan an Epic Brand Launch Event
There’s no better time than a brand launch to reintroduce yourself to your clients and community. Pick a date on the calendar and get your invites sent out. Make a Facebook event. Post about it on Instagram and TikTok. Don’t stop talking about it until the event happens. It’s also a great opportunity to collaborate with local vendors and artists to help you spread the word more easily. This is a perfect time to explain to your clients the vision behind the rebrand, answer any questions, or talk about new service lines. It doesn’t need to be a sales-focused party, but don’t be surprised when you see new business pouring in after a successful launch party.
Organize Media Coverage for Your New Brand Launch
This might not apply to everyone. For instance, if you’re in a small town with a very targeted customer base, you might not want to invest too much time into local media coverage. However, if you’re on a regional or national level, media coverage will be paramount. Get your press release written and sent out. It’s important to give reporters and editors enough lead time to schedule interviews and coverage. Don’t wait until the last minute!
Be Prepared to Answer Questions From the Masses About Your New Brand
The good news is that you won’t have to ask people for feedback. Trust us. Good or bad, your customers will let you know exactly how they feel about the new brand. Understand that some people might have concerns about a new face on a business. Is there new ownership? Can they still expect the same products and services they know and love? Take the time to answer their questions and hear their concerns. Although feedback can be overwhelming, it’s important to listen to your customers during a rebrand process.
Track and Measure Goals from Your Brand Launch
In the months and years that come after your new brand launch, be sure to track your goals. A new brand is a big investment of both time and money. It’s also a great time to create new good habits and hit reset on your own processes and goals. Start a podcast. Get your social media calendar back on track. Release a new white paper. Whatever it is, use this momentum to reinvigorate your marketing strategy. We know from experience that a brand-first approach to your marketing strategy can lead to real profits. This allows you to quantify your return on investment so you know you made the right choice. If you want to learn more about how you can lead your growth strategy through your brand, listen to this Practical Rebels podcast episode. Jerold Hall, the Vice President of Sales and Dealer Development at AmCoat Industries, talked to us about how his rebrand project with HatchMark Studio laid the foundation to a 40% revenue increase.
Final Thoughts About Launching a New Brand
Rebranding can be an exciting time for any business. When you launch your new brand, make sure you use all of that momentum and buzz to parlay it into something more. Get your community involved. Create an entire social campaign around it. Most of all, make it fun. If you want to learn more about how to launch a successful brand, our podcast episode goes even deeper on the brand rollout process and how to squeeze the most juice out of a launch.
Need Help With Your Upcoming Branding Project? We Got You!
Whether you’re putting a new look on a 100-year-old company and starting from scratch on a startup, we’ve done that and everything in between. Our team of branding experts work directly with your team to create an entire brand system, including both messaging and visuals. If you’re still searching for the perfect fit, we’d love to hear more about your project. Get in touch with us today to set up a free discovery session with our team.
