Reviving Your Brand.

Like anything in life, brands must grow, evolve, and stay relevant for new audiences and new generations – adapt or die, so they say. We see brands successfully shed their skin all the time – from the legacy Gleneagles townhouse which underwent a robust brand refresh to bring the legacy elements into a new era, to the Carlyle which made a splash for a new generation simply by promoting new merch collaborations. At some point, every concept faces a need to attract newer, younger audiences and get fresh attention.

That’s where we come in. As strategists, our job is to help brands (whether shiny & new or mature & established) identify the right moments and methods for evolution. And while everyone approaches this process a bit differently, there is some shared DNA across brand work that we at Crown see on a spectrum – from a simple brand refresh, to a more robust brand transformation, to a full scale rebrand.  

On the simplest side of the spectrum, you have a brand refresh – a strategic update to reinvigorate a brand’s relevance without reinventing the wheel. This is a fresh coat of paint on an otherwise solid foundation, to reinforce what’s already working and quietly strip away what isn’t.

We might do this via an updated social presence, website, activations and partnerships, art direction/styling, brand collateral, and other supporting manifestations of the brand.

Let’s take a closer look.

Why engage in a brand refresh project? Well, many brands have better DNA than they think and simply need some outside perspective to help them see what’s important and what can be stripped away. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Secondly, a smart brand refresh can simply be the most efficient path – demanding far less time and investment than a full rebrand. In many cases, a refresh can be completed in just a few months, but can still make a big splash for the brand.  

We partnered with Belfast’s newest hospitality house Regency House to bring a fresh visual identity and experience strategy to life, without fundamentally changing the solid foundations already laid. This included not only physical assets such as signage and guest communications, but also a revamped digital campaign including website, photography, socials and beyond. Every touchpoint and asset we developed brings to life this notion of understated, confident elegance targeted towards Belfast’s most discerning visitors and locals. 

Somewhere in the middle is a brand transformation – a more holistic shift in a brand’s positioning, identity, and messaging that would be more immediately noticeable to consumers. This often entails more significant changes to the brand’s products/services and identity, often including an evolved logo or word mark to help visually cue the brand’s next chapter and change how it shows up in the world. 

At this stage we might fundamentally evolve the brand hierarchy (tidying and restructuring brand visuals) – then we would use that new direction to create assets similar to the process in a brand refresh, such as social presence, website, activations and partnerships, art direction/styling, and other brand collateral.

Why engage in a brand transformation project? This tends to have a big impact, without completely starting from scratch. At Crown, we engage in many of these types of projects – to tell (or retell) a brand’s story and help it find its way in a new era, helping brands without a clear vision or strategic ‘north star’ find their guiding light.

Le Meridien has a great brand foundation with a storied history – but after years of service, the core message was getting lost. What the brand actually was founded on (the adventure-loving, jet-setting, life-savouring mentality) had gotten buried over time by muddled messaging. We helped reshape the narrative of the brand to better resonate with today’s audience and a new generation of travelers, then we redesigned a lot of the brand collateral and programming. To feel cohesive and better reflect the chic, worldly aesthetics of the core concept.

On the most rigorous end of the spectrum, you have a rebrand – a more significant overhaul of a brand’s identity, often to target a new market or reposition the business due to changing market conditions. This is big and newsworthy! Here, nearly anything can be on the table to evolve. 

In this world, we often create a visual identity from a blank canvas – revisiting the fundamental strategy behind the logo, word mark, core brand guidelines, and all collateral.

Why engage in a rebrand? When you really need a fresh start. These projects are big, but have a big payoff too. This is best when the brand is truly struggling and/or actively seeking to target a new group of consumers. At Crown, we love these projects because they allow us to flex our creative muscles while staying grounded in the brand’s core legacy and story.

We partnered with Waldorf Astoria’s signature bar Peacock Alley in a full rebrand, to breathe new life into a brand with rich history but had not been modernized in decades. Inspired by the glamorous, glitzy golden age of NYC dining back in the roaring ‘20s, we gave Peacock Alley a modern look that conveys elegance and sophistication it deserved.

“Working with Crown Creative on the rebranding of Peacock Alley for Waldorf Astoria was a true pleasure. They were more than a creative agency, they were a trusted partner throughout the entire process, from shaping the vision of this iconic brand to delivering world-class execution across our global portfolio. Their attention to detail, from bespoke illustration and custom pattern making to the finest execution of branded collateral, was second to none. Crown didn’t just help us build a brand – they helped us bring it to life, beautifully and consistently, around the world”

Hilton Global F&B Team