#5 Rebranding Tips From A 105-year-old Company Engage as many people as you can because every individual has a different perspective

There is a popular notion that companies rebrand and revamp their operations when matters go down south. But this is not always the case. Dale Carnegie, a 105 –year-old talent-management company, still sees itself as a relevant player in the market as a host of things are in place.

Although the company did a thorough research before setting up the company due to which the brand keeps a close grasp on market trends, most people still knew Dale Carnegie, the Founder for the book he has written.

Until a few years back, the brand was mostly popular among middle-aged people however the millenials were hardly aware about it. That's when the traditional company realized that it was time to change and be more relevant to the youth.

Entrepreneur India spoke to Michelle Bonterre, Chief Brand Strategy Officer of Dale Carnegie Training, and formulated a to-do list for those are considering rebranding of their companies.

#What is the Story?

Before rebranding understand what the organization stands for, and understand the difference you can make in the life of individuals or organizations the company engages with.

"If you are planning to rebrand, don't just get a new logo or add a colour. Instead, understand your company's story and what it's idealogy it supports. When you have all your answers, translate that to a visual form," she said.

#Perspectives

Engage as many people as you can because individuals have a different perspectives and every body's perspective is valid. Bonterre gives example of her own company which invited all their business leaders from all over the world including countries like India, Brazil, Mexico, China, Canada and UK and talked about what is it that makes them different.

Though this may take a while, she stressed "it is important to do that because the more people you have on board, the more success you will have."

#Marketplace

Take perspectives not just from your employees, but also from the marketplace. Know how your competitors are positioning themselves.

"Ultimately, it is the marketplace which you are catering and even they have perspectives and needs. So understand what they are for successful rebranding," she insisted.

#Legal

Make sure you have involved your legal team. When you start to make changes to your logos, you want to ensure that there has been a thorough research done. Giving an example, she says, in China, the company doesn't use the Dale Carnegie monogram on its own as it too similar to something else.

"The reason we could do that is because we had background checks done before hand and we had done the legal work required in order to make that change," she added.

#Enjoy

The last tip is simple – have fun with the process. It shouldn't overly academic exercise because people engage with a brand on an emotional level. She said "If you are too analytical or prescriptive, you will miss the point. It has to be something that is accessible to people and in order to that, you have to enjoy what you are doing."

Building offices in more than 90 countries and maintaining a century-old legacy wasn't a cake walk for the company. But it has managed all this while to sail through successfully.