There's a lot to fear in rebranding.
Is this the right answer? Will it resonate with our audience? Will it help our business? Will the rest of the team agree?
When Matchstic first started, courage was how we learned. It was a reaction to the work. Craig joked back then, “We didn’t do things because they were easy, we did them because we thought they would be easy.”
Today, we know the right path for our clients is never easy.
In fact, after 20 years, I can confidently say it’s the opposite. The right path for our clients is unfamiliar. And unfamiliar is unknown, scary, and difficult.
Embrace the unfamiliar.
If a brand wants to stay distinct and relevant for the long haul, it needs to press the edges of what feels comfortable, today. Otherwise, if it plays it safe, the brand will feel dated in years and forgettable in months.
That’s where courage comes in.
It’s scary to make a decision for your brand’s future that—in your gut—feels unfamiliar. That unknown territory is yelling for you to choose the well-worn path.
But that’s exactly what makes brands irrelevant, and why decision-by-committee dilutes the potential of the creative process.
Standing out in the market means facing conflict and embracing the internal debates and litigations. It means inviting critique from other angles, perspectives, and backgrounds. And it means pushing to get better by trusting the process and being patient for the outcome.
Courage, therefore, isn’t just a trait but an approach. It’s having a process, relying on research, using objective methodologies, and workshopping design–type, color, layout, imagery, and language—that is true and distinct for your organization.
When we sit down with clients, the discomfort is how we know we’re headed in the right direction. We draw on our courage to arrive at answers.
So, yes, there’s a lot to fear in brand identity, that’s how we know it’s something to be proud of.
