Rebranding can be a challenge. Brands neither want to lose valuable brand equity and awareness built over the years, nor want to become irrelevant by not evolving or innovating.
With focus on data, one of the bigger players to rebrand itself in 2017 was Hitachi when it rebranded its company Hitachi Next to Hitachi Vantara. The company combined the properties of Hitachi Data Systems, Pentaho and Hitachi Insight Group into a single integrated business. The main objective behind this was to solve the world’s toughest business and societal challenges.
Leading the rebrand, Mary Ann Gallo, the Chief Communications Officer for Hitachi Vantara formed a team across all functions in the three companies and the parent company Hitachi for the integration process.
Speaking to Arabian Marketer on the sidelines of the Marketing Society ‘Leadership Breakfast’, where Ms Gallo detailed the company’s journey in building a purposeful brand, she details some do’s and do-not’s for facing today’s fast-paced technology industry.
Commenting on Ms Gallo’s address, Marketing Society Middle East Chairman, Asad Rehman, the director of media at Unilever MENA reiterated that Ms Gallo’s advice about building the culture at the heart of the company to be able to bring out the brand is important but mostly overlooked. “It’s almost like preparing an internal army troop to go out and fight the battle, and if they are not converted, who else can you convert outside,” he said.
In an exclusive conversation with AM, Ms Gallo spoke about the biggest challenges in the rebranding, the kind of agencies the brands should work with and some future looking rebranding trends. Edited Excerpts:
What are some of the factors to consider while rebranding?
The first is asking the right questions — why are we doing this; what’s the business reason; what are you trying to get out of it? Answering these is crucial because it’s quite an investment both in time and resources. The second important part is who is this brand for? This goes back to building who the target audience is, whether its customer based or certain kind of business partners that you are going after, and why should they care. Brands are not about what they say they are but what the customer’s experience is. The customer hence should be the starting point.
What are the biggest challenges marketers can face in rebranding?
One of the challenges is getting the company internally engaged in the rebranding process. The ability to take quick decisions and then act on them is another. Many branding elements depend on these.
Another challenge is identifying the right customer and the reasons on why should they care about the brand. Differentiation, because it is a crowded market, and really identifying why the brand stands apart and identifies itself, is a big area to focus on.
How do you convert employees into brand advocates?
That is a 100 percent necessary. If someone in the company, and by that I mean every employee, is not excited about the brand, how do you expect the customer or the target audience to be excited? Employees should be the first target because they all, irrespective of whether customer facing or not, represent the brand. Employees are the best brand ambassadors a company has got.
What is your advice on the kind of agency one would work with for rebranding?
Cultural fit is important because it’s such an intensive process. Getting a team that understands your business strategies, what you are trying to go after and works with your working style, will be imperative. The right team becomes an extension of your team.
What is your advice for companies looking to rebrand in the year ahead, especially given how tough the market is expected to be?
More than ever before, experience is key. This is why a company must always begin with the consumer in every way possible. In the age of social media, where everyone would notice a happy or angry customer within seconds, there is great risk in not defining the customer experience.
