6 B2B Rebranding Examples That Illustrate Its Potential
Are you looking to give your B2B business a much-needed facelift? Rebranding is one of the best ways to do just that. It can help you attract new customers, increase brand visibility, and build customer loyalty.
But how exactly do you go about rebranding a B2B company? Where have B2B brands done it right (and wrong!) before?
That’s what we’re here to discuss in this expert guide.
We’ll be taking an in-depth look at some of the most successful B2B rebranding stories out there, so you can get inspired and learn from their successes (and their mistakes). So if you want to take your business to the next level with a fresh new look, read on!
The potential of a B2B rebrand...
The potential of a B2B rebrand is truly immense, both in terms of what it can do for a business, and the new opportunities it can open up.
As more than just a new logo, by taking the time to think carefully about the potential of your brand experience, your brand positioning, and your wider visual identity, companies have the opportunity to truly create something special.
In fact, 77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical to growth, and, even back in 2020, 84% of marketers attested to brand awareness becoming their top business objective.
For B2B companies, fresh new branding has the potential to open up new customer segments, innovate products and services to provide better customer value, and ultimately drive brand equity. Clearly, branding is one crucial area where B2B companies can no longer afford to stay in their comfort zone.
How do I rebrand a B2B business?
If you're wondering exactly how to get B2B rebranding right, you're not alone. But we can help!
First things first, a strong new visual identity is an important part of any B2B rebranding effort. It encompasses all of the visual elements that represent your brand, from logos and fonts to colours and imagery. It’s essential to ensure consistency, so that customers and prospects maintain brand familiarity across all platforms, whether in print or on digital media.
However, a new brand identity is not the only aspect of a true rebranding strategy.
A great rebranding process will hit all touch points across your brand, ensuring that your brand promise, core values, and brand messaging are all well-defined and reflected in everything - from your website and digital content to your brand voice and visual/language guidance for customer interactions and employee communications.
Ultimately, a successful rebrand should be focused on delivering value to businesses through an improved brand experience. Keep this in mind when rebranding a B2B business, and you’re sure to be successful.
The best way to get rebranding right? Grab a free brand health check and get some input from the experts.
6 B2B rebranding examples that illustrate its potential
Slack
In Slack's 2019 rebrand, the B2B communication software company released their new logos, before releasing this statement on their website:
"Over the next few months, you’ll see all the other visuals around Slack aligning around this new direction: on the website, in advertising, and in some places in the product (though not in a way that will keep you from the important business of getting things done, of course). It’s still us. We’re still Slack. But more consistent and, we hope, more instantly recognizable."
As we touched on in our Guide To Brand Management, this cross-platform consistency is exactly what we need to see from a great B2B rebranding example.
The comprehensive and consistent rebrand resulted in some backlash, but as the company had solid reasoning for their rebrand, and a strong brand strategy to back that up, it eventually paid off. Now, we're all used to the new Slack, and we can't imagine it without the new, fresh identity.
Future Platforms
Advanced electronics and technology company Future Platforms produce digital solutions that help businesses grow revenue, enhance sales, and expand existing user bases.
When Future Platforms approached Huddle's branding experts, they were in need of a visual identity refresh. Neither their brand identity or their website was reflective of their core values and vibrant product quality, and they needed their credibility and position as industry leaders to shine through.
With a new brand identity much more aligned with their business expertise and establishment in the industry, a redesigned logo and reimagined colour palette, followed by a UX and UI overhaul of the website, Future Platforms were ready to take their business to the next level.
The result was a brand identity that feels both modern and professional, a true reflection of the business Future Platforms is today.
And, since launching the brand refresh, the company has received nothing but positive feedback from clients - a win-win in our eyes.
Dropbox
Dropbox and Collins: Dropbox rebrand (Copyright © Dropbox, 2017)
In 2017, Dropbox unveiled a complete rebrand in conjunction with design studio Collins, offering the most drastic change to the company’s visual identity in its decade-long history.
Featuring a shift in typography to Sharp Grotesk, a number of vibrant illustration collaborations and edgy portraits, and a "cleaner and simpler" logo icon, the rebrand truly injected a much-needed boost of energy to the brand’s image. In their press release at the time of the rebrand, Dropbox stated:
“We’re a living workspace where people and ideas come together. But while the way people use Dropbox has changed dramatically over the past ten years, our brand hasn’t. That’s why today we’re excited to tell the story of our brand and unveil a new look for Dropbox. The design reflects our passion: building tools that help teams find focus, stay in their flow, and unleash their creative energy.”
We love this. Dropbox showed that by simply reflecting their values through the rebrand, they would be able to communicate more effectively with current and potential users alike. They also paid close attention to their colour palette throughout, using a vibrant electric blue amongst other colours to create a brand experience that felt instantly recognisable yet fresh and modern in a competitive landscape.
Dropbox also used their B2B rebrand to highlight the fact that they were more than just a file-storing solution, repositioning their value proposition to their target audience. They went on to say:
“Our old logo was a blue box that implied, ‘Dropbox is a great place to store stuff. The new one is cleaner and simpler. And we’ve evolved it from a literal box, to a collection of surfaces to show that Dropbox is an open platform, and a place for creation.”
LD Communications
Leading events sector UK PR & communications agency LD Communications works with some of the most well-known, respected household names and brands. However, their old website was not reflecting the professional authority and experience they desired to portray.
By joining forces with LD Communications, Huddle's branding experts were able to develop a customised website design that not only better embodied the company's premium positioning but also featured integration of icons into its layout.
Our digital design team reworked the UX and UI of their website to emphasise its premium quality, all while keeping within a swift timeline so that it could be live in 6 weeks. With all aspects of the brand identity kept consistent, the website acts as an engaging and informative platform for LD Communications’ current and potential partners.
The end result is a crisp and professional website with a new identity that conveys LD Communications' authority in the events industry. The new website is now better equipped to represent their brand at its best, aligning perfectly with their initial vision.
The brand is happy with their redesign - and we’re proud to have been a part of it.
Zendesk
When tech giant Zendesk rebranded in 2017, they unveiled a modern design that was eye-catching, needing to capture the brand’s innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. Working with branding agency Collins, they developed a new logo that featured an updated colour palette, font choice and style of illustration.
"The new version of Zendesk has more colours, individual product identities, and a super sweet logomark. We’ve also expanded the conversations we have to focus more on human relationships, not just software. Lastly, we have retired the lotus flower and the Mentor, who is now living out his days, fat and happy, in an old mascot retirement home."
Zendesk's rebranding efforts paid off, as their new logo and imagery quickly resonated with audiences. While they changed their primary icon, incorporating modern elements to create a design that was both recognizable and refreshed, their press release featured a friendly nod to the previous logo, showcasing Zendesk's commitment to its long-term users.
The updated colour palette and font choice added a sense of dynamism and professionalism, while the choice of illustration demonstrated Zendesk's commitment to innovation. By delivering a rebrand experience that was both relatable and modern, Zendesk were able to successfully connect and engage with current and potential customers alike.
VibeIQ
VibeIQ is a revolutionary American tech company that helps brands rapidly launch their products and services with user-friendly apps, as well as an extendable cloud platform.
Huddle's branding pros were asked to give Vibe IQ a modern brand makeover, providing a new logo, style guidelines, visual assets and an updated WordPress website design that is flexible and agile. Their goal was to create an innovative platform with scalable solutions for the ultimate user experience.
To help VibeIQ stay relevant in a world already saturated with global connection, the team crafted a brand identity that was simple yet sophisticated. The new colour palette and modern font choices perfectly captured VibeIQ’s mission of establishing meaningful customer relationships.
They need a timeless, modern, and progressive look. And that's what our brand refresh delivered.
Closing thoughts
So, we've given you 6 of our top B2B rebranding examples, but how can you apply all of this to your own rebrand?
Whether you're launching a product, service or company from scratch, modernising an existing one, or simply refreshing your brand identity, the key is to make sure that you stay true to your values.
By defining the goals, target audience and brand vision upfront, and working with a creative branding agency or digital design team to come up with visuals that capture the essence of what you stand for, you’ll ensure that your rebranding efforts will be successful in the long run.
Huddle's services provide a range of bespoke solutions, guaranteeing that your rebranding project will be tailored to your needs and objectives. So contact us today for a consultation and let’s get started on transforming your brand!
Get started today with a free brand health check!
B2B Rebranding Examples FAQs
How do you rebrand B2B?
An experienced branding agency or creative agency can help you rebrand your B2B organisation to meet your requirements, addressing customer needs, researching your target audience and understanding the goals of rebranding. You will also need to consider your brand identity – including visual elements such as colour palette, logos & typography and messaging. A good rebrand strategy should also include a detailed plan for implementation, from website design and content to advertising and promotional materials.
What is an example of a company that rebranded?
Dropbox is a well-known example of a company that has successfully rebranded. The company unveiled a new look in 2017, with design elements which reflected the passion behind their tools and products. They also highlighted the fact that they are more than just a file-storing solution, aiming to reposition their value proposition to customers.
What are two examples of rebranding success?
Two rebranding success stories include Dropbox and LD Communications. Zendesk launched a new logo in 2016, which is now recognisable for its vibrant and modern style, as well as better embodying their mission of customer engagement. Meanwhile, LD Communications worked with Huddle to develop a customised website design that not only better embodied the company's premium positioning, but also integrated creative icons and other branded assets.