5 ms·

It's never a good time to rebrand.

20 points by rriepe 17y ago

rriepe 17y ago
Full disclosure: I'm the Rex in "By Rex" But this is one of our better blog posts and I thought HN would like the info. You guys were hugely helpful a few months ago when we did an Ask HN. I thought I'd share some of what we've learned since.
tdoggette 17y ago
This isn't hugely relevant, but why did you go with "kitn" instead of "kitten"?
- rriepe 17y ago
  We wanted to emphasize the "press kit" part of the name. Press kits make information and media easily available to the press, just like our product. I don't think "Presskitten" would have necessarily taken away from that, but in our minds "Presskit'n" just worked better.
- DLWormwood 17y ago
  I'd think the name you'd decide to market under would be highly relevant to the whole rebranding exercise. There's usually some thought into spelling and slang use for many logos and brands. (The reversed "R" in Toys 'R Us, comes to mind.)
pxlpshr 17y ago
While I agree with the context of your article (though sometimes it is VERY necessary to rebrand), I think you missed an important point on how to avoid rebranding woes. Most established companies tend to favor unique typographic or vague logo marks more often than detailed illustrations to avoid narrow definition and the hassles of a complete rebrand. By adhering to a simple and less specific brand mark, the logo becomes more organic in nature. Companies can redefine their marketing message and expand their product offering with flexibility. Think about the most prominent web/software companies such as Google, Microsoft, Digg, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr... most have unique typographic logos because features change overtime. Case in point, Flickr now supports video. The fashion industry is also a very good example of this. Non-specific logos allow them to build (and change) associations based on lifestyle photography. Why is this important? Product cycles are seasonal and generally very trendy/volatile.
- rriepe 17y ago
  You're right, the timing will seem perfect in a lot of situations, such as Xe's recent rebrand. I felt like those decisions deserved their own post, though. Also, I wasn't entirely clear in my post; we rebranded some of our features, not our central site. IvyLees is still up, just functioning as an umbrella site for our tools. It already had a pretty versatile logo, which I agree is important.

20 points by rriepe 17y ago

Full disclosure: I'm the Rex in "By Rex" But this is one of our better blog posts and I thought HN would like the info. You guys were hugely helpful a few months ago when we did an Ask HN. I thought I'd share some of what we've learned since.

tdoggette 17y ago

This isn't hugely relevant, but why did you go with "kitn" instead of "kitten"?

rriepe 17y ago
We wanted to emphasize the "press kit" part of the name. Press kits make information and media easily available to the press, just like our product. I don't think "Presskitten" would have necessarily taken away from that, but in our minds "Presskit'n" just worked better.
DLWormwood 17y ago
I'd think the name you'd decide to market under would be highly relevant to the whole rebranding exercise. There's usually some thought into spelling and slang use for many logos and brands. (The reversed "R" in Toys 'R Us, comes to mind.)

pxlpshr 17y ago

While I agree with the context of your article (though sometimes it is VERY necessary to rebrand), I think you missed an important point on how to avoid rebranding woes. Most established companies tend to favor unique typographic or vague logo marks more often than detailed illustrations to avoid narrow definition and the hassles of a complete rebrand. By adhering to a simple and less specific brand mark, the logo becomes more organic in nature. Companies can redefine their marketing message and expand their product offering with flexibility. Think about the most prominent web/software companies such as Google, Microsoft, Digg, Facebook, Vimeo, Flickr... most have unique typographic logos because features change overtime. Case in point, Flickr now supports video. The fashion industry is also a very good example of this. Non-specific logos allow them to build (and change) associations based on lifestyle photography. Why is this important? Product cycles are seasonal and generally very trendy/volatile.

rriepe 17y ago
You're right, the timing will seem perfect in a lot of situations, such as Xe's recent rebrand. I felt like those decisions deserved their own post, though. Also, I wasn't entirely clear in my post; we rebranded some of our features, not our central site. IvyLees is still up, just functioning as an umbrella site for our tools. It already had a pretty versatile logo, which I agree is important.