Launching a Brand? Here’s the Timeline to Expect

You’ve decided to launch or refresh your brand, and now you need to plan out the timeline to execute it.

Q. So, how long will it take?

A. How long is a piece of string? And then how long does it take to revamp the piece of string and let everybody know about it?

Let’s take a look at the steps involved in a brand launch timeline, keeping in mind that it will typically take 1-2 months.

Plan Your Brand Launch Well in Advance

Before the big day, everything should be ready. Your newly designed collateral like your stationery, business cards, brochures and more should all be updated. Your new brand design should be everywhere, and you should be loving it.

Begin your brand launch internally. Your content guidelines work as the manual that demonstrates who you are and what you do, so it’s critical everyone internal is across it. This involves steps like defining your key messages so they can be conveyed in all of your creative.

 

Competitor Analysis

Take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors in your industry. What their website looks like, its functionality, their brand awareness and social media presence.

Uncovering what they do well and not so well will help inform what your brand needs to be strong at to compete, and what you can knock them out of the park with to set you apart.

Nail Your Target Audience

Ask yourself:

• Where are they?
• What’s their age?
• Gender?
• Interests?
• Income?
• Brand affinities?

Here’s an example: New mums in Melbourne who like boutique fitness and vegan brands.

These questions work to inform the demographic you’ll be targeting when you launch your new brand. With this in mind, target high-value clients or possible ambassadors for the brand to maximise your ROI (return on investment) and awareness.

“Don’t think the launch is the end of the journey—it’s just the beginning.”

Uncover Your High-level Marketing Objectives

In terms of a timeline, this can be broken in short-term, medium-term and long-term marketing objectives.

Begin by hyping the brand launch before it goes live, for a minimum of a week before launch. This can also work as a strategy to give yourself a time buffer. Even though you would have, of course, left ample time to execute the entire launch.

“What will create the most interest? What will have the highest impact?”

Your high-level short-term marketing objectives will be launching the new branding, having a responsive website, brand design, and logo. On social media, this might look like a GIF of the before and after of your logo. Or a video tour of your newly branded office.

For the medium-term, your business goals might be to increase traffic to the website and increase engagement on social media. Think of campaigns you could use, like competitions, collaborating with influencers and email marketing.

Your high-level long-term marketing strategy is most likely to be building on your number of loyal repeat customers and continuing to increase brand awareness. Have a plan to move from strength to strength.

Post-launch, think about campaign ideas to continue the interest generated, bolster your engagement, and complete your medium and long-term goals. Don’t think the launch is the end of the journey—it’s just the beginning.

What will create the most interest? What will have the highest impact? These questions won’t change no matter what stage of the launch you’re at.

“Be sure your brand launch is seen by the number of people it should be, and with work to a quality that’s impressive.”

Leave It to the Professionals

If it’s worth launching a brand, it’s worth doing right. Brand design that isn’t up to scratch can be spotted a mile away. Got a good design? Then maximise your efforts with strategy that works.

Be sure your brand launch is seen by the number of people it should be, and with work to a quality that’s impressive.

That’s where we come in! Looking to launch or relaunch your brand? Talk to us today about how we can do your brand justice. Contact our brand naming experts to ensure your brand identity reflects its essence effectively.