Buckle up, Buttercup. Your rebrand sucks.
Because changing your logo doesn’t change who you are.
You bought the Balenciaga hoodie.
But you still swear by your Mervyn’s khakis.
Your new logo is beaming “fresh.”
But your marketing screams Fry’s Electronics.
The sickest designs don’t cover up your split personality.
You’re a new brand wearing an old belt.
Because a rebrand is not a logo.
Not a fresh tagline.
Not a slicker website.
Those are outfits.
Window dressing. Accessories.
Makeup before therapy.
You’re not just putting on a new look.
You’re asking people to believe in a new personality.
A new identity you have to earn.
And here’s the hard part:
You can’t become a new personality
If it’s rooted in an old reality.
You can’t earn that overnight. Or in a week.
You earn it through repetition.
And there’s going to be friction.
That’s the awkward middle.
Where the new you hasn’t fully arrived,
And the old you is holding on like the cat on the wire.
Remember Gap’s 2010 rebrand?
They dropped a new logo.
New font. Tried to feel “modern.”
Lasted 6 days. Why?
Because it looked different but didn’t feel different.
The narrative was neglected.
People rejected it because nothing else had changed.
Meanwhile… Old Spice didn’t change its logo.
They rewired the culture around it.
They changed their tone.
Their platform.
Their vibe.
It wasn’t just deodorant anymore.
They dove into a new way of living.
Swagger. Absurdity. Consistently.
They stayed in character and became someone new.
That’s what a rebrand is.
Not a reveal.
Not some fancy-ass keynote.
But a becoming.
it starts from the inside out.
Your internal team has to learn a new way of being.
That’s the roots.
If you say you’re disruptive but kill every bold idea in review,
You’re lying through your teeth.
If you claim to be the “Apple of healthcare”
But your service moves like the DMV,
You didn’t change a damn thing.
Then your customers come next.
That’s the fruit.
They need help understanding the change.
Why now? What should they expect?
Some might leave.
Others will finally see you.
And new people will show up in your circle.
Aligned with where you’re going,
Not where you’ve been.
But don’t expect followers just because you rebranded.
They’ll come in numbers when your actions and story align.
Because if you’re a dog, you can’t just wake up a tiger.
That kind of transformation takes time.
You have to study how one moves.
Adopt its instincts.
Sharpen your focus.
Embody its discipline.
And one day, without forcing it
You’ll roar instead of bark.
You’ll hunt instead of beg.
That’s identity earned.
That’s methodical.
That’s when people start believing.
Not because you told them.
But because you showed them,
Over and over again.
Here’s the not-so-talked-about way To know the rebrand is working:
➕ Your team speaks the new language, unprompted.
➕ Clients describe you before your pitch deck does.
➕ Haters say you’ve changed out loud, then celebrate your wins when the weather changes.
➕ You’re attracting better problems.
➕ The right people are finally paying attention.
I’ll say it again.
You don’t need a new look.
You need a new reality.
Because the brand isn’t the shoes.
Or the right bowtie. It’s all of you in its entirety.
You wanna be a tiger? You gotta live like one.
Sahil Bloom says it best:
You get a brand by providing an enormous amount of value for people. Which engenders trust with those people, which creates a brand around who you are.
The brand [can] never be the goal. The goal was to create value for people.
The brand is the by-product or the results.
Do all that,
And one day you’ll realize
Your outer living legend. ⚑
