If It Ain't Broke, Don't Rebrand It (Part 2)
Why?
Posted by Charlie Recksieck
on 2026-11-19
Let’s try to figure out or at least guess why these bad decisions happen.
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Why Do Companies Do This to Themselves?
I'm not sure why most of these questionable decisions above were made; I'm just speculating. Or giving those corporations and their marketing staffs the benefit of the doubt. Here are the typical reasons.
A. Hubris: We Know Better Than Our Customers
Management assumes that its own thoughts about their the brand are more valuable than customers’ regular experience with it.
B. The New CEO Needs to Make a Mark
A new executive wants a quick win. A new logo, name, or identity provides an immediate symbol of change, even when the business itself hasn’t improved. Executives have a harder time than anyone justifying their salaries. Lots of them feel like the pre-existing brand belongs to the past, and changing it becomes a way to claim ownership.
C. Marketing Needs Something to Do
A rebrand generates projects, presentations, research, agency contracts, and opportunities to demonstrate strategic vision. Or to put it more simply: Marketing execs and management can justify their salaries with a flashy rebrand.
D. Confusing Novelty with Improvement
Familiarity is mistaken for stagnation. Management assumes that because the brand looks old, it needs to be updated. If your detergent is old-fashioned, who cares? It's just detergent.
E. Consultant-Driven Groupthink
A corollary to item C above. Consultants aren't brought in to recommend zero changes. And then the people approving it are reluctant to challenge the recommendation, particularly when a large budget has already been spent on the consultants.
F. Ignoring the Customer
The people making the decision are not necessarily representative of the people buying the product. They underestimate the emotional and practical value of familiarity. I hate to say it but the Teri Garr throughline in the movie Mr. Mom
G. Chasing Younger Customers
Management decides its established audience is too old or uncool. It redesigns the brand for a hypothetical younger customer while risking the loyalty of the people who already buy the product.
H. Misdiagnosing a Business Problem
Sales are declining because of product quality, competition, pricing, distribution, or customer service. Instead of fixing those problems, management changes the logo or packaging. Also known as "changing the deck chairs on the Titanic."
I. Corporate Groupthink and Fear of Being ’That Guy’
People inside the organization recognize the risks but don’t challenge the decision. Once the project has momentum, questioning it becomes politically difficult.
J. Global Consistency at the Expense of Local Recognition
A company wants one worldwide name and identity. That can simplify operations and marketing, but it may sacrifice recognition built up in individual markets. Exactly what the Datsun-to-Nissan issue was in America.
K. Following Design Trends
Minimalism, flat logos, muted palettes, and generic typography can make a brand look contemporary. Award-winning design does not always equal effective design.
Conclusion: Brand Equity Is an Asset
A recognizable brand can take decades to build. Customers learn a name, remember a package, recognize a color, and associate the company with a particular product or experience.
That familiarity has economic value. It helps customers find the product, distinguish it from competitors, and make purchasing decisions quickly.
Changing an identity can be worthwhile, but it creates risks:
* Customers may not recognize the product.
* The company may have to spend heavily to rebuild awareness.
* The change may solve no meaningful business problem.
* The company may confuse a visual makeover with actual progress.
* The company may have to spend heavily to rebuild awareness.
* The change may solve no meaningful business problem.
* The company may confuse a visual makeover with actual progress.
Long story short: You better have a damn good reason for a rebrand. Like Enron getting busted for felonious business practices and becoming a news story.
This isn’t just a problem for global corporations spending millions on advertising agencies. Small businesses make the same mistake when they abandon a familiar name, change their signage, redesign their websites, or replace an established visual identity because somebody thinks the old one looks dated.
A great brand accumulates recognition through repeated exposure and consistent experience. It becomes familiar enough that customers recognize it almost without thinking.
That recognition can take years or decades to establish. And an ill-advised change can destroy a reputation in a couple of weeks.
On Any Level: Before you throw away a brand you’ve spent decades building, make sure you’re fixing an actual problem rather than falling in love with your own cleverness.
