There is much that goes on behind the scenes to ensure a brand is smart, strategic, and thoughtful. There are decisions about how the values of the organization are reflected in how the brand is manifested. That includes everything from color choices to the voice to symbols, styles, and more.

This work helps create a system for the brand designed to build brand equity with every execution and communication. That is no small point. A well-designed brand is one that is well-planned so the brand can grow stronger and richer. This is important because as it grows stronger and richer it increases in value.

Nurturing this brand value requires having respect for the work put into the brand. Consistency is huge in this effort.

Let’s freshen up the brand

I can’t tell you how much a comment like this irks me. I’ve seen it happen too many times over my years. Not that doing a brand refresh isn’t a valid decision under certain circumstances. But that’s not what this is. This is the reckless decision to make changes to a brand without first understanding everything that has been built. At peril here is the hard-earned brand equity that has been created over the years. That equity often isn’t measured. Which is sad, because it impacts the financials of the organization.

Here’s an example of how it happens. You decide to make changes to the logo. Your new execution causes customers to hesitate because there is something different now about you. You don’t think it's a big deal. Afterall, you were just “livening up” the brand. But you’ve created dissonance for your customers. And unfortunately, you just unwittingly eroded the trust your customers have in your brand. This opens the door for competitors. And diminishes the loyalty of your customers.

Experienced branding people know what’s at stake when a change is proposed. They also know where to begin. That’s with the foundational element – the strategy. Everything must support and bolster the strategy. If this is ignored, your “freshening up” of the brand is nothing more than window dressing that can do the opposite of your intended efforts to boost the brand.

Your whim sucks

We love familiarity. And we love meaning. Two things that a great brand imparts. When you start to screw with the things we love, we get grumpy. Just look at what happened to Elon Musk and Twitter.

We want to believe in your brand. Because it has come to represent certain things to us. It has been built to help us feel a certain way. Why would you want to jeopardize that? Why would you want to throw away what has taken so long to build?

You can refresh your brand. As long as it makes sense to all of us and actually strengthens all of the things we already feel. But if you’re changing things just because you would like to freshen up the brand, I’ll ask you this: Do you really understand what your brand does? Do you understand the value it has built? Do you understand the meaning it imparts? You need to deeply understand these things before you get some brilliant idea to change the brand. There is just too much at stake.