It’s often a natural process for retail brands to go through evolutions in step with their customers and their markets. Remaining agile in the face of progressive change is an important element for brands to continue to align with their consumers and stay relevant. Visually, rebranding is a managed risk that can result in great reward. Careful planning of the brand evolution can provide access to new markets, reintegration with existing markets and the opportunity to reflect company ethos and value in a new way.
How can signage impact a rebrand?
Although it seems an obvious question, there are a number of impacts the physical signage can have on the rebranding process and outcomes:
- The first challenge is identification and whether the rebrand needs to be a gradual evolution or an immediate change. Ensuring you don’t lose existing customers through the rebranding can sometimes be a challenge if the change involves a new name or stark contrast in the look. Creative transitioning and temporary signage can be useful in informing customers that you’re still the brand they have come to love; things just look a little different now.
- Emerging with the rebrand process is the opportunity to explore new store concepts and creative innovation. Considering factors such as design, colour, illumination, environment, longevity and store integration, there is a number of benefits in how you can innovate the build of your new brand to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment. The impact of designs can be altered from the materials used to the way signage is integrated to achieve optimum exposure. Shifting the look and feel of your brand can also provide an opportunity to shift more to what your customers really value.
- Synergy within one store and across all retail spaces can be achieved through clever signage design. Rebranding provides the perfect opportunity to reconsider your customers experience and how the retail journey impacts their relationship with your brand. Wayfinding, informational, promotional, product and price related signage can all be integrated to elevate the experience.
- Australian retailers have indicated strong return on investment, with numbers indicating a 5 – 30% increase in like for like sales. The brand relaunch sales have also see some brands have a 50% spike in sales for the initial launch period (notably with ‘store of the future’ concepts). The relaunch phase also allows an opportunity for stores to reintegrate into communities, align with other local vendors and reach out to media outlets.
CV Media & Signage specialise in delivering retailers quality signage fit for their space. Becoming specialists in delivering for retail and large format retail clients, the team has developed a key understanding of the requirements involved in delivering different signage elements from building fascia, wall prints, acrylic lettering, floor prints, promotional banners, shelf signage and more.
If the visual direction involves digital, we also have the capability to build the best platform for you. Physical retailers are in the midst of progressing their stores to have a greater digital presence, in line with the natural movement of technology. Some highlights from the digital space for retail outlets include digital integration for campaigns, visual merchandising, store aesthetics, branding, wayfinding, store information and collecting customer data.
Digital tools including video walls and digital screens, social media integration, interactive touchpoints as well as virtual and augmented reality are all available to enhance the in-store experience and the emotional reactions associated with the physical purchase.
Project Snapshot
Most recently, all 68 Amart Sports outlets rebranded to Rebel stores under Super Retail Group. Super Retail Group combined the best of both brands into one single customer-focused offering that brings together Rebel’s strengths in solutions and services with Amart Sports’ customer service excellence into the one strong, national omni sports retailer that will continue to provide customers inspiring solutions and services to make the most of their leisure time.
Erica Berchtold, Super Retail Group Managing Director Sport said “Focusing on the Rebel brand will enable us to offer customers an expanded range of solutions and services at more locations, concentrate our investment building world class omni retail capabilities, and further streamline the end-to-end supply chain required to deliver the seamless omni experience that customers expect.”
The project required an extremely efficient turn around for their new signage products including the manufacture and installation for the internal and external sign elements. In just eight weeks, the CV Media & Signage team was able to deliver and install the new signage across all Amart Sport sites. For a large format retail rebrand such as Amart Sport to the Rebel transition, timing was key. Super Retail Group progressed the shift quickly enabling the Rebel brand to establish itself as a competitive market leader in the sporting goods space with a network of 160 stores nationally.
