5 Signs your Brand identity is Out of Date

Posted by: John Watkinson. 14.03.2017
Branding Insights- 2019 Branding and Design Trends
At Joie Brands, one of the best branding agencies in Dubai, we believe in making brands more approachable and human.

Is your brand making you money? It’s a tough question.We’re not talking about your logo, or mission statement, or slogan, or latest ad campaign. We’re talking about your brand - the idea that your company embodies a complex set of human values - which makes your customers create an emotional opinion of you. If the answer is no, or ‘I don’t know’ then it might be out of date.

How do you know if your brand identity needs updating? Ask yourself these questions. If you answer 'yes' to any of them, it might just be time to call.

Have you stopped innovating?

What’s your next innovation? It’s easy for customers to slip you into the “what have you done for me lately” box. You might be the best at what you do, but if you don’t continue to innovate, you are allowing your existing customers to forget about you, and new customers to not even bother looking at you. This doesn’t mean stop doing what has made you successful. Just keep striving for the new. Never settle.

Have you become reactive rather than proactive?

If you’re changing your business based on the demands of the market, then you may have lost what made you successful in the first place. It’s important to react to changing market conditions, but it’s critical to drive the market by being one step ahead. Be proactive. Anticipate.

Are you talking without listening?

One of the biggest problems brands have is arrogance. After years in business, your brand identity's communication and advertising is what you think you’re doing better than anyone else, and you tell your customers the same. But customers are fickle, and today’s consumer is more willing to share their opinions. So, listen to them. Don’t just just yell from the rooftops. Remind your customers that you are human. Have a conversation. Engage, and see if what you’re doing is still relevant to them.

Have you stopped speaking the right language?

This goes to what you do, what you say, and how you say it. People change. Styles change. Communication tools change. If you’re using out of date terminology and technology, communicating using out of date channels, and appealing to people out of the market, your brand is simply out of date. Stop living in the past. That doesn’t mean simply to design a new logo. Make sure you’re targeting the right audience, speaking to them in the language they use and with the tools they use.

Have you been saying ‘No’ more often than ‘Yes’?

If you didn’t say ‘Yes’ when you started your business, you wouldn’t be in business. But, as your brand identity gets older, it becomes easier to say ‘No’ when people ask you to do different things. If you’re saying ‘No’ a lot, then you’ve either missed the market or you haven’t kept up with the demands of your customers. Listen to them. They might be telling you something, asking you to adapt to a changing market. Go back to saying ‘Yes’ and see how your brand identity develops.

As a leading branding agency in Dubai, we believe in going BIG on brand, and adding high-quality design and communications to support that brand. We pride ourselves on doing the necessary research to make sure you are speaking to the right people, in the right language, allowing your customers to build a relationship with your brand.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above and you want to change, why don’t you get started with a free brand design consultation, simply reach out to us by clicking here.