The matrix
DRIVERS
TOOLS
Strategic drivers
To effect strategic repositioning
Strategic drivers are leadership choices to change institutional direction, scope, visibility, cultural and behavioral norms, expressed personality or perceived composition.
| Driving purposes | Communication goals |
When companies say "The problem is that everyone knows who we are, and they are wrong," or when a leader says "In order to succeed in [Y] we've got to stop thinking like an [X]," rebranding is the only solution.
Change direction |
No definition yet |
Companies often outgrow their identities, which then can become a hindrance to growth.
Broaden scope/scale/visibility |
No definition yet A company name which incorporates the name of a city, a region, or a nation can obviously handicap its credibility as a citizen of broader territorial affiliations and commitments. No definition yet No definition yet |
While expansion and diversification are more common, sometimes it's overdone and contraction is required, to refocus perhaps on a core business.
Narrow the scope |
Expansion is more common, but occasionally companies seek to narrow their scope, perhaps reversing diversification to return to historic core strengths. |
Employees are the priority audience for the sometimes hidden purpose of many rebrandings, perhaps to "shake up the troops" and renew competitive energy, restore confidence, or refocus loyalty and "get everyone on the same page."
Change internal culture |
Stimulate a possibly tired, complacent or tradition-bound employee culture with a more challenging, forward-looking vision. In some situations the need to revive and redirect brand energy is almost entirely internal, for example to help employees believe in and commit to a change of direction. Corporate coherence, versus unit autonomy, is a branding balance challenge. The need to rebalance usually favors more cross-unit collaboration and greater leverage in the master brand. |
Rebranding simply to change a company's expressed style, or personality, is not unusual... to look friendlier and more approachable, for example, or more authoritative.
Change expressed personality |
Help outside audiences, as well as employees, form a new, fresher and perhaps different impression of the institution. |
The purpose here is to redefine a corporate brand by changing its list of defining components or Principal Business Units (PBUs). The two tactics:
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Reconfigure and/or rename the principle operating units, to better convey the nature and scope of the institution. Change the balance of visibility of parent versus unit, in unit signatures. Most often the goal is to assert a stronger, or even exclusive, corporate brand presence. The opposite can also happen, perhaps to prepare the unit for independence. |
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