Rebranding – As Simple As Changing a Letter?

The latest public rebranding is the much debated IHOP logo switch to IHOb (note: the lowercase ‘b’ is an upside-down ‘P’). “But why?”, IHOP lovers cried out in unison. Rebranding is a chance at a new beginning without entirely scrapping the old image. This refers to companies for the most part, but you can also ‘rebrand’ a person. It takes more than buying a new hat to rebrand yourself – but combine that with changing the spelling of your name from Chloe to Khloé while adopting a rare talking parrot and that may constitute a personal branding adjustment. People can be moved to do this because their old image was outdated or it wasn’t working, which are similar reasons to why a business might want to rebrand as well. Making small adjustments to keep up with current marketing trends is business as usual, but doing a full overhaul on logo, messaging, and image is considered rebranding.

The public was stunned when IHOP announced they were changing their name to…IHOb…? It just doesn’t look right, but if shock factor was the goal “IHOb” definitely nailed it. People debated the name change for a week until it was revealed that the upside down ‘P’ stands for ‘burgers’, which IHOP is promoting as a temporary marketing campaign to stress that their new burgers are just as important as their pancakes. I think I speak for all of us when I say that burgers will never even come close to pancakes at IHOP, but they successfully created a lot of buzz about the new menu items. IHOP is even going so far as to swap some of their IHOP signs for the new IHOb logo at certain locations in the U.S.

How to Rebrand

Brands don’t usually jumble around the letters of their name during a rebranding, and I wouldn’t recommend that tactic for the majority of businesses looking to seriously rebrand instead of doing a marketing stunt. The heart of your rebrand should focus on what image you are trying to communicate to your target market. For example, if you own a real estate business you might want to relay trust, knowledge, and good taste to your customers/potential customers. Those core values have to come across in a tasteful logo, a well-designed website with resources for clients, and a similarly aligned social media strategy. Kickback Cold Brew is an example of a beverage company that recently underwent a rebranding with the help of Mad Mind Studios. Their old image didn’t convey the upbeat vibe and healthy ingredients that their product stood for, but the new logo, branding, and social media accurately embody the Kickback essence.

If business is stagnant and you are not connecting with consumers, it might be time to revamp and rebrand your company. Contact Mad Mind Studios for help with branding strategy, logo and web design, and marketing.