Brand Rollout: What You’re Forgetting

Now you have to introduce this new branding to the world, but there’s quite a few assets that need to be updated, partners that need to be notified, and team members that are anxious to hear if the rumors are true. And you’re not sure where to begin.

Each of these actions will help greatly as you undergo this next stage in the process and help your team in making the countdown to launch as smooth as possible.

We know there was an enormous amount of preparation required in selecting an agency to assist you in refreshing or creating your brand, and similar prep is needed for launch day. Within any company there are numerous templates and messaging to update, presentations to create, and onboarding materials to gather. Keeping track of all of those assets is a huge task. A large killer of new or refreshed brands is a lack of consistency, and that Google template from 2018 that is still floating around isn’t great for your external audience. So, make a list of every asset that the new brand needs to be applied to. This is also a great time to look at vendors for swag or signage and their turnaround time. Now you can prioritize.

When prioritizing your task list, we keep one thing in mind: audience. Meaning, while the fun, exploratory work is, well, fun, the everyday materials that get used daily should take precedence. Be prepared to identify what is more important to you and your team and keep in mind lead times. The company t-shirts and billboards may have to come first if your vendors need a month to produce them. And the “coming soon” social posts can be made a week or two before launch since they are less important. All of this depends on your team's needs and your overall participation in the process of preparing to launch your brand. You may consider assigning a project manager to the role of managing all those assets, deadlines, and updates. You don’t want your exciting launch day to be filled with a panic to update that 404 page you forgot about.

The last “P” is really simple, but can be rather challenging when you are working behind the scenes to get a new brand out the door: Participation. This means being an active member of your rollout process. Get your internal team on board so they can be your biggest advocates: hook them with the story and strategy. Focus Lab’s CEO Bill Kenney shares his high-level suggestions in “Revealing Your New Brand.” When you have participation across your organization, that prioritized task list can better be delegated and spread excitement throughout your organization.

As part of our dedication to a process with our clients in mind, Focus Lab introduced Brand Support to assist with all those brand rollout assets (and much more). This service allows our clients to move into the next stage of branding, which is implementing their newly-created assets with the team that knows your new brand best. We get it and we’re here to support you. We want your rollout to be just as successful as you do.

Okay, it’s time. The social campaign is scheduled, the press release is copyedited, and everyone’s email signatures are updated. You’ve set your team up for success: contributing and participating every step of the way, ensuring that the look and feel of the new brand is received well by your internal and external audience. You’ve even cracked a few jokes through all of the stress. Now all that’s left is to let the world see what you’ve been working on for the last six months.