In the fast-growing cannabis industry, many companies seem to be smoothing out their brands. As the industry grows and matures, it may be a good idea to reassess how your cannabis dispensary brand is holding up. At one point or another, you’re going to run into this question: rebrand or refresh? Some may mistake one term for the other and vice versa, but they’re distinct approaches. Yes, a cannabis marketing agency can help guide you through this, but it’s always good to have a breakdown of the terms. Let’s look closer at what rebrand and refresh mean, so you can see if either is appropriate for your cannabis dispensary brand at this time.
What is a Rebrand?
A rebrand for your cannabis dispensary means you’re repositioning the organization entirely. The need for a reboot could be influenced by many reasons, including issues that come along with growth in the industry, adoption of a different system, PR disasters, and so on. Ultimately, a rebrand sheds away what your brand was so that it can become something much better. Without a doubt, a cannabis rebrand will cost more as far as time and funds go. However, if it’s done correctly, the return can be much more than the cost to execute it. At Canna Media Agency, we have the right talent and tools to rebrand your cannabis dispensary. We have the experience to successfully lay out a new and bold path for your cannabis business.
Reactive vs. Proactive Rebranding
Let’s start with reactive rebranding. Reactive rebranding is when a company needs to rebrand as a reaction to an urgent situation, such as bad publicity. Other reasons reactive rebranding may be required are when your competition has gained a massive advantage, your brand is violating copyright laws, or you’re merging with another company. On the other hand, proactive rebranding is when you anticipate changes in the market and plan to adapt to them. When you are proactively rebranding, you’re taking your cannabis brand in a new direction to position yourself better for the future. You may want to consider proactive rebranding when you want to expand to a broader market, reach a completely different audience, or expand your services.
Questions to consider when thinking about a rebrand:
Did you change your business strategy?
Are you trying to separate your brand from something negative?
Is your competition advancing faster than you?
What is a Refresh?
When you’re talking about a refresh, you’re not wiping the slate clean. The cannabis dispensary brand you have might be solid in a fundamental way but feels outdated. Typically, a refresh consists of redoing or reworking the visual identity of a cannabis brand. However, it can also be a reimagining of services, culture, and systems for the organization. How? A new look and feel for your brand can spark new life into your cannabiz, boosting performance and employee morale. Additionally, a cannabis brand refresh can help keep your business up-to-speed with the current trends of the space. As in life, reinventing yourself to stay fresh is essential for a cannabis business. A refresh is essential to sharpen your competitive edge.
Logo
As your brand evolves and grows, your logo may not represent it as accurately as it should. Creating a new logo for your cannabis dispensary brand may be worth considering if your brand has grown to be more than it was initially. Also, you may want to pivot in what your cannabis brand represents, which may call for a logo change as well.
Fonts
It may not be as noticeable, but changing your brand’s font(s) to keep up with changing styles can be just the refresh your cannabis dispensary brand needs. It may be something as simple as moving from a serif font–where the letters have decorative strokes at their stems–to a sans serif font. Looks and styles change, so transitioning to a more modern font might be the refresh required to attract the right audience.
Color Palette
The color palette of a brand can say a lot. If your cannabis dispensary brand’s color palette seems stale or unmotivated, referring to color psychology and breaking down what you want your cannabis brand to express may lead to more motivated colors. Also, there doesn’t need to be a drastic change in your color palette. You may choose slight variations of the colors you’re currently using for a fresher look.
Questions to consider when thinking about a refresh:
Are you getting negative feedback about your website?
Does your brand identity feel stale?
Are you not attracting the right audience/customers?
