Rebranding can feel a bit like renovating a house while you are still living in it. The business doesn’t stop, clients are still watching, teams are busy, and everyone (and we mean EVERYONE!) has an opinion!

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Whether you are refreshing your website, updating your logo and colour palette, or completely redefining your brand messaging and voice, a rebrand is rarely just a visual exercise; it’s a strategic reset. One that, when done well, can sharpen your positioning, modernise how you show up, and make sure your brand still sounds like it belongs in today’s conversations.

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We know this firsthand because we recently rebranded ourselves! As a global team of marketing communications strategists and creatives, the pressure was very much on! If anyone was going to notice the details, it would be our peers, our clients and, of course, ourselves.

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So we thought we’d use the experience to break down how to approach a B2B rebrand thoughtfully, what to considerbeyond logos and colours, and why defining your brand voice is just as important as how your brand looks.

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What does a B2B rebrand actually involve?

A common misconception is that rebranding starts and ends with design. New logo, updated colours, job done. In reality, a successful B2B rebrand usually covers four key areas.

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1. Strategy and positioning

Before anything visual happens, you need clarity on who you are, who you serve, and how you are different. This means revisiting your positioning, value proposition, and target audience.

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Working with clients, we host branding workshops with leadership teams in which we ask the following questions, among many others:

●     Has our market changed since we last defined our brand?

●     Are we attracting the right type of audiences?

●     Does our messaging still reflect the work we actually do today, as well as what we aspire to do tomorrow?

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Without this strategic foundation, even the most beautiful rebrand risks being surface-level.

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2. Visual identity

This is the part most people think of first. Your logo, colour palette, typography, and overall design system.

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For B2B brands, the goal is rarely to be flashy. It is to be credible, distinctive, and modern without chasing trends that will date quickly. Your visual identity should support your positioning, not distract from it.

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A good visual refresh can signal growth, maturity, or a shift in focus, especially if your brand has evolved faster than your website.

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3. Brand voice and messaging

This is where many rebrands fall down.

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You can update your visuals, but if your website copy, for example, still sounds stiff, generic, or stuck in 2012; the disconnect is obvious. Brand voice defines how you sound, not just what you say.

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In B2B, especially, language matters. Buyers are more informed, more human, and less tolerant of jargon than ever before. A clear, confident, and contemporary brand voice helps you:

●     Build trust faster

●     Explain complex ideas more clearly

●     Sound consistent across teams, regions, and channels

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4. Internal alignment

A rebrand is not just an external exercise. Your internal teams need to understand it, believe in it, and know how to use it.

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This includes sales decks, proposals, internal communications, and even how your team talks about the business day today. Consistency is built from the inside out.

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Why modernising your brand voice matters

Language evolves quickly. Phrases that felt fresh a few years ago can now sound tired or overly corporate.

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Modernising your brand voice does not mean jumping on every trend or trying to sound like a startup if you’re not one. It just means being intentional about how you communicate.

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For B2B companies, this often involves:

●     Reducing unnecessary jargon

●     Writing like a human, not a commercial brochure

●     Balancing authority with approachability

●     Reflecting your actual culture, not an aspirational one

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A strong brand voice helps you stand out in crowded markets where many competitors look and sound interchangeable.

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Pro tip: The role of a brand voice guide

One of the most valuable outputs of any rebrand is a clear brand voice guide.

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This document goes beyond tone adjectives like “professional” or “friendly”. It defines how your brand shows up in real situations.

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A useful brand voice guide typically includes:

●     Core voice principles and personality traits

●     Examples of phraseology and language that suit your brand

●     Guidance on grammar, punctuation, and formatting

●     Sample copy for key use cases like websites, social posts, and thought leadership

●     Your customer avatar - make them a real person that you can relate to.

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For global B2B teams, a brand voice guide is essential. It ensures consistency across regions, writers, and platforms, while still allowing for flexibility and nuance.

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Rebranding with the help of an agency

Working with a branding or communications agency can bring clarity, structure, and objectivity to there brand process.

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An experienced agency is not there just to make things look nice; we help you ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, translate strategy into execution, and navigate change management with internal teams.

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That said, the best agency partnerships feel collaborative, transparent, and grounded in your business reality.

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During our own rebrand, having a clear process and honest internal conversations was critical. When you are too close to the brand, an external perspective helps you see what is really landing and what is just noise.

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Lessons from rebranding our own brand

Rebranding your own agency comes with a unique kind of pressure. You know the theory, you teach the best practice… but then you have to apply it to yourself!

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A few things stood out for us:

●     Clarity beats cleverness

●     Voice matters as much as visuals

●     Internal alignment is very much part of the rebranding process

●     A brand should feel like a natural evolution, not a personality change

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Is it time to rebrand your B2B company?

Not every business needs a full rebrand. But some signs it might be time include:

●     Your audiences have a hard time articulating who you are and/or what you do

●     Your website no longer reflects the work you do

●     Your messaging feels generic, dated or the same as your peers

●     Your brand looks different across business units and channels  

●     Your team struggles to explain what makes you different

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If any of these feel familiar, a considered rebrand can be a powerful reset!

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Remember - a rebrand is not about becoming someone else; it’s about becoming more clearly who you already are!

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