How much does it cost to rebrand a company?

Branding is an umbrella term covering a wide range of services so it’s not surprising that costs vary widely. Why do some agencies offer branding for a few hundred pounds while others cost millions? This article looks at how much does it cost to rebrand a company

What we will cover

A branding process is a strange thing to buy, it is a process of creating something that doesn’t exist yet, it can have huge value for defining a startups vision and credibility or help established businesses step into new marketplaces.

When it comes to rebranding or keeping at the top of the marketplace it requires years of skill and dedication to the design trade as well as understanding of the marketplace – look for experience and examples of both when looking to buy.

The key thing to consider here is perhaps a rephase on what you understand branding to be – just a logo right? Well, consider it to be the clarity on the values that you hold, consider it as the definition every touchpoint from staff to customer, the reason people come to work, the reason customers buy.

Now, how much value does that consistency hold? Okay, Im in danger of heading off track already, let’s get back to “how much does it cost to rebrand a company?”…

Okay, we have an analogy involving a cake

If you imagine your business as a cake, then branding is everything that is done to that cake to make it yours.

The easiest way to make that cake look unique is to focus on the icing. You can spend time choosing the colours you want to use and perhaps applying some decorative touches.

This is what companies do when they have someone design them a logo, choose a colour palette, select a typeface, etc.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - iced branding approach
Getting the visuals right is important, but beauty is only skin deep

Since this is purely a design exercise, costs are often affordable and you may even get change from a grand for a reasonably decent job.

But what happens if people aren’t buying your cake or don’t enjoy the experience of eating it? No matter how much you play with the icing, you are not going to enjoy repeat custom or long-term success.

From presentation to process

A more comprehensive branding service will look at your cake-selling process as a whole.

Agencies offering this level of service will of course be interested in how your cakes look, but as part of a larger whole. They will ask many more questions about your cakes.

Who are you making them for? Do you create formal, multi-tiered wedding cakes; indulgent chocolate gateaux for your family restaurant or maybe simple sponges designed to fly off the supermarket shelves?

The answers to these questions will determine which ingredients you should use and the recipes you should follow. They will determine how and where you market your cakes, the words you use to describe them and the thoughts and feelings you want your cakes to stimulate in your buyer.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - tiered thinking
Layer your brand with meaning and depth for a fuller flavour

With this scale of work, we are moving from visuals to brand identity and you can expect to pay an agency anywhere from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands of pounds for this level of company rebranding.

When branding meets strategy

Now you could have a cake that tastes as good as it looks and is popular with its intended buyer but is still failing to generate a profit.

This calls for some serious data-driven work in order to assess the marketplace and find a way to differentiate your product from the dozens or even hundreds of other cakes out there.

This focus on brand positioning will usually overlap with business strategy as you will need to combine the cake’s quality and appearance with efficient business processes.

So how much does it cost to rebrand a company at this level? An agency capable of working with your business at all three of these levels will likely charge tens of thousands of pounds and upwards (market research alone can cost many thousands of pounds).

These branding agencies will tend to work in industry niches, using their in-depth expertise to add value.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - timeless classic
Get the branding right and you will have something that looks timeless to it’s intended audience

Branding first, marketing materials after

Whatever you do, our advice is to put the branding first. Budget for the most you can afford to at the time, as this stamp stays with you forever.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - mono mocks
Mono logo mockups help separate visual design from colour choices

All other marketing materials like brochures, product design and websites will all have a considerable expense associated with them and will all lean heavily on your brand style.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - brochure materials
Beautiful marketing materials like brochures & websites require clear brand guidance

If you haven’t defined this well (or at all) you will end up with inconsistent marketing materials and a weak, unidentifiable brand. If you get it right then these projects will be quicker and easier for you (as well as the companies involved) to manage and the outcome will be of higher quality.

how much does it cost to rebrand a company - brand guidelines
Have a physical brand guidelines document to communicate your values to internal and external stakeholders

Worst case scenario, you invest heavily on marketing materials after scrimping on the brand and have to start all over again when you get a tepid response taking your products to market – we have had clients come to come us in exactly this situation.

In short, quality look and feel will enable you to charge more for your products and services. If you think good branding is expensive, imagine the cost of bad branding…

Breaking it down: How much does it cost to rebrand a company?

So far, we have looked at overall costs for a branding project but how might these numbers break down into specific services?

Here we are straying into ‘ballpark’ territory as there is a lot of variation in these costs. Some branding services (e.g. social media branding) are incorporated into more comprehensive digital marketing services so getting precise figures is never easy.

However, some of the typical branding services you might come across including prices for a small business:

  • Creating a logo – £500 – £3,000
  • Editorial style guide – £1,000 – £3,500
  • Visual style guide – £1,500 – £4,000
  • Brand guidelines (or combined style guides) – £1,000 – £5,000
  • Market research – £500 – £6,000

So where do we sit in terms of pricing and offering? Well, we are flexible to your needs within the above pricing structure. We would like to do some workshops with you to help you understand your audience and value, then create knockout visuals and brand guidance on how to implement your brand, or any marketing materials like brochures to go with it.

But for clarity, how much does it cost to rebrand a company? Depends on your needs, your marketplace and your vision but ensure that if you are paying thousands for your brand it will represent your business for many years to come, so focus on your audience and your values.

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