With our new, stronger focus on brand strategy we’re combing the Internet for brand resources and have found some great sites, like ReBrand.com.  It’s a forum for rebranding case studies and programs, and they have “the first and only global awards program to recognize the world’s most effective brand transformations.”  If you’re at all interested in rebranding you should check it out.

Among the many useful tidbits on their website is the article “The Top 20 Mistakes Marketers Make When Rebranding – And How to Avoid Them.”  It’s available at www.rebrand.com/page315.html. 

The most relevant take-away from this article for us is how much the potential mistakes you can make in a rebranding project are applicable to all creative services work.  Here are a few.

Don’t work via strategy by committee.  In our experience this always slows things to a snail’s pace and often causes the project to never end.  To address this we include a Project Team section in our Creative Brief, which gives clients a chance to decide at the beginning who will work on the project.

Navigating without a plan.  This ties in directly with the Creative Brief, which they say is essential to keep everyone focused as the project progresses.

Clinging to history.  ReBrand says don’t hold on to assumptions made when the original brand was established, as they may no longer be relevant in today’s marketplace.  This is true not just for rebranding, but any business actions you take.  And in truth, to all of life – assumptions are killers!

For us, the benefit of this piece was how it reminded us that best practices are just that – the best way to approach for many of the services we offer.  It’s good to know we’re on track with many things, remember which areas we need to work on, and be reminded to adhere to smart practices at all times.