On re-branding

When a restaurant recently re-branded, the market quickly responded with resounding rejection ... the re-branding happened too radically, with the logo changing drastically!

To avoid such backlash with renewing a corporate identity, perhaps consider the following, before making it official:

• make the changes incremental and gradual over time
  • don't change a bright coat-of-arms into a monochromatic minimalist blob overnight
  • roll out several phases of re-branding if necessary
• use the re-branding as a "secondary" or "alternate" brand
• consult with the public
  • make use of focus groups and/or social media
    • post the prospective re-branding (perhaps as a casual joke or innocent question) to gauge the reaction
• don't rebrand because people tend to hate re-invention

Before renting out huge cranes to install new signage, only to have loyal customers hate the re-branding, we could all use some "room reading" before hastily spending money on a disaster!