Solving the Rebranding Puzzle: How an agency can help you think outside the box

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve likely already been considering a rebrand for your business. Maybe your company’s mission has expanded, or your audience has changed. Maybe your visual identity is starting to feel outdated, or your competitors are stepping up their game. Whatever the reason, the rebranding process can feel a bit daunting at first. Where do you start, and who do you work with?

If you have an in-house marketing or design team, it can be tempting to throw the rebrand ball their way. But when it comes to rebranding, even the most talented in-house teams can struggle. You can’t see the forest if you’re staring at the bark of a tree which means you can’t break the mold and innovate when you’re working within the same perspective every day.

That’s not to say it’s not possible to keep your rebranding project in-house! But unless you’ve got Coca-Cola or Netflix-level resources, keeping things in-house can end up being a more significant challenge than most companies realize.

Keep reading to learn about navigating a rebrand both in-house and with a branding agency, and find out why Quill gives you the best of both worlds with branding expertise and in-house team support.

The In-House Approach: Familiar But Limiting

The level of familiarity an in-house team has with your business can seem like a major advantage when it comes to rebranding. But with that familiarity comes a limitation—they’re often too close to the brand to truly reimagine it. Rebranding demands fresh thinking, and it’s hard for an in-house team to shift their mindset when they’re still working within the boundaries of the current brand every day.

The Role of Team Structure

Even if you have a great in-house team of designers and marketers, you’ll need a creative director at the helm who can guide the rebranding process. Rebranding isn’t just about updating visuals—it’s about rethinking your entire brand strategy, starting with foundational market research and current brand analysis. Without someone driving that strategic vision, it’s easy to fall back onto what’s familiar.

The reality is that most companies just don’t have a robust enough in-house team to tackle a comprehensive rebrand. While your team may be great at handling day-to-day tasks, a rebrand requires a larger, more coordinated effort.

While an in-house rebrand is possible, it demands significant time, energy, and expertise. Without that, you may struggle to achieve the full transformation your brand needs.

Too Many Cooks

Rebranding in-house often comes with an additional hurdle—what we like to call a “too many cooks in the kitchen” problem. When an internal team takes on a rebrand, additional people outside the creative team tend to get heavily involved. This can lead to endless rounds of feedback and revisions, usually from higher-up company leaders who are heavily invested in the brand’s success but don’t have any brand design expertise. There can also be a lack of confidence in the in-house team’s ability to deliver because they’re not perceived as specialists in rebranding, which can end up creating a churn of revisions that can drag out the process.

In contrast, when an outside branding agency steps in, leadership is more likely to trust their expertise. Agencies are specialists in rebranding, which means they can guide the project confidently and keep things moving forward, freeing up in-house creative teams and company leaders to focus on day-to-day operations. 

The Branding Agency Approach: Fresh Eyes

The biggest advantage of partnering with an outside branding agency is the fresh perspective they bring to the table. Brand designers step in with a clean slate, free from the biases and preconceived notions that often accompany an in-house team. They’ve worked across various industries and can draw inspiration and ideas from a broad spectrum of experiences, helping you innovate in ways you might not have considered.

Any branding agency worth its salt will always start with strategy first. Laying a strategic foundation for your brand ensures that every decision is rooted in a complete understanding of your brand’s goals, customers, competitors, and values—essentially, its core essence.

A branding agency will employ tried-and-true processes honed over years of experience, allowing them to navigate the complexities of rebranding while minimizing disruption to your daily operations. They’re not just designers—they are specialists who live and breathe branding.

What About Other Kinds of Agencies?

Another common rebranding pitfall is selecting the wrong type of agency. You may have already decided to take your rebrand project outside the company, but in a world with dozens of different types of marketing and design agencies, it can feel dizzying trying to narrow down who to work with.

Many full-service agencies will advertise branding services with a “we do it all” kind of attitude that can be misleading. While they may have a broad range of services, they’re likely not branding experts. This jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none approach can dilute their effectiveness when it comes to the specialized task of rebranding.

Full-service agencies also frequently work on a retainer basis, which may require a longer-term commitment than you need right now. This can feel restrictive and may not align with your specific goals. Plus, when you’re dealing with an agency that offers a wide array of services, you might find it challenging to get the personalized care and attention you deserve.

Quill’s Approach to Empowering In-House Teams

At Quill, our goal is to provide tactical support, innovation, and resources your team can use long after we’ve finished your rebrand. We provide a comprehensive brand guide, ongoing brand management recommendations, and templates for a variety of platforms and collateral. This means your team can take your brand a run with it while still getting expert support.

You’ll also get the benefit of a built-in network of other trusted creative professionals who are experts in their field. We can recommend trusted top vendors for things like videography, photography, and copywriting that aren’t in our immediate scope of expertise. 

Transformation with the Right Support

If you’re rebranding, you want to do it right the first time. While it’s certainly possible to tackle rebranding internally, it’s not without its challenges, and you’ll need to make sure you have the time, energy, and resources.

With their expertise, a creative branding agency like Quill can help you find those blind spots and bring new ideas and creative solutions that will take your brand to its next level.

If you’re ready to transform your brand with help from the experts, let’s chat!