If you haven’t checked the headlines today, don’t bother. They’re probably outdated already.
Like it or not, tectonic change is the order of the day—and you’ve no doubt been feeling it from the C-suite. You’re likely rethinking your supply chain, disrupting your pricing, grappling with how AI might help. Then doing it all over again the next day when the next thing shifts.
To some in your role, conventional wisdom might suggest that now is not the moment to consider a brand evolution. But we believe that’s another stale assumption that our current era is about to overturn.
So if you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to rebrand, stop. This is it.
Easy for you to say, you might say. You’re a brand consultancy! Guilty as charged. But it’s not just us—recent efforts with leaders like you have revealed some compelling reasons to avoid the waiting game.
These intrepid brands—most recently, Lofted Custom Spirits, Pelco and EdgeCore—have chosen instead to seize the moment and fight change with change.
Observant leaders are reaching an important conclusion. In times of greater uncertainty, companies often adjust how they do business—but not what they stand for.
The best brands are built upon long-term principles that not only transcend economic and social trends, they outlast them. Certainly, the daily whack-a-mole of shifting tariffs, norms and markets may require a flurry of operational changes, perhaps even cultural adjustments. But a brand’s core beliefs persist.
Periods of turbulence can be an ideal chance to demonstrate this as your stakeholders navigate their own tumult. Whether it’s customers, partners or employees, everyone’s stress is high—and so is their appetite for stability. They’re hungrier than ever for a show of resilience.
Just as savvy investors buy low during economic recession, opportunistic leaders recognize moments when demand for positive reinforcement is at a premium. When your brand tells the world that you’re sticking to your core beliefs, even among uncertain times, that carries more weight. Evolve your brand so it amplifies those unique strengths even further.
Yes, communicate clearly about how your strategies are adapting to the times. Be transparent about how prices and timelines may be less predictable than they’ve been. But above all, cite operational moves as proof that you follow your brand’s core values, no matter how circumstances might change.
Particularly in the eyes of investors, resilience is the ultimate muscle for a company. If you’ve got it, this is the time to flex it.
On the flip side, if your business does need to update its fundamental beliefs in order to keep up with macro changes, that’s also a compelling reason for your brand to evolve. Every week you procrastinate, you continue sending the world an outdated signal of who you are.
In the event you’re concerned about your team’s bandwidth during times like this—or if, say, you still carry a touch of PTSD after managing a big agency years ago—never fear. With a focused and seasoned partner, the brand evolution process can be a lighter internal lift than you might expect. (We’re the ones doing 98% of the work, after all.)
Sure, change always involves a degree of risk. But if you wait until the storms have cleared—as many of your less ambitious peers certainly will—on the other side, you’ll have exponentially more competition for the world’s attention. The window of opportunity is now.
All that said, in candor, we do see one advantage to delaying a brand evolution. In our experience, the best brand consultants continue to get better every year. Yet that’s all the more reason to secure them today, while you still can!
Now’s the time, boss. Let’s fight change with change.
