Rebrand Plan

---
name: rebrand-plan
description: "Plans brand refreshes and full rebrands with phased rollout, stakeholder communication, asset transition checklists, and timeline management. Use when evolving your brand identity."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Rebrand Plan

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Plan a full rebrand (new name, logo, visual identity)
- Execute a brand refresh (updated look, same core identity)
- Manage the transition from old brand to new across all touchpoints
- Communicate brand changes to customers, partners, and team

**DO NOT** use this skill for creating the new brand identity itself, designing logos, or writing brand guidelines. This is for planning and managing the rebrand process.

---

## Core Principle

A REBRAND WITHOUT A ROLLOUT PLAN IS JUST A NEW LOGO IN A FOLDER — THE TRANSITION IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE DESIGN.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Scope** | "Full rebrand (new name + identity) or brand refresh (updated look, same name)?" | Brand refresh |
| **Reason** | "Why are you rebranding? (outgrown current brand, new audience, merger, negative associations)" | Must be provided |
| **Touchpoints** | "List every place your brand appears (website, social, email, packaging, signage, legal docs)." | Must be provided |
| **Timeline** | "Target launch date for the new brand?" | 8-12 weeks from now |
| **Budget** | "Budget for the rebrand rollout (not including design)?" | $1,000-$5,000 |
| **Stakeholders** | "Who needs to be involved or informed? (team, customers, partners, investors)" | Team and customers |

**GATE: Confirm brief before proceeding.**

---

## Phase 2: Plan

### Rebrand Phases

**Phase 1: Pre-Launch (weeks 1-4)**
- Finalize all new brand assets
- Update all internal documents and templates
- Brief the team on new brand with usage guidelines
- Prepare customer communication

**Phase 2: Launch Day**
- Switch website, social profiles, and email templates
- Send customer announcement
- Update directory listings and partner profiles
- Internal celebration and social media campaign

**Phase 3: Post-Launch (weeks 1-8)**
- Catch and fix missed touchpoints
- Monitor customer feedback
- Update remaining materials (print, signage, legal)
- Redirect old brand URLs and handles

### Touchpoint Transition Matrix

| Touchpoint | Priority | Pre-Launch | Launch Day | Post-Launch |
|-----------|----------|------------|------------|-------------|
| Website | Critical | Prepare staging site | Go live | Monitor |
| Social profiles | Critical | Prepare new assets | Switch | Update pinned posts |
| Email templates | High | Build new templates | Activate | Archive old |
| Business cards | Medium | Order new | Distribute | Recycle old |
| Legal documents | Low | Draft updates | — | File with authorities |

**GATE: Present the rollout plan and wait for approval.**

---

## Phase 3: Build

### Deliverables

**1. Complete Rebrand Rollout Plan**
- Week-by-week timeline with tasks and owners
- Touchpoint transition matrix with priority rankings
- Launch day checklist (minute-by-minute for critical items)
- Post-launch monitoring plan

**2. Communication Templates**
- Internal team announcement
- Customer email announcement
- Social media launch posts
- Partner/vendor notification
- Press release (if applicable)

**3. Asset Transition Checklist**
- Every digital and physical asset that needs updating
- File locations and access credentials needed
- Status tracker (not started, in progress, complete)

**4. Risk Mitigation Plan**
- What could go wrong and contingency for each
- Old brand redirect plan (domains, social handles, email addresses)
- Customer confusion response playbook

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### Post-Launch Audit (30 days)

- Scan all touchpoints for any remaining old branding
- Review customer feedback and questions
- Check SEO impact (traffic, rankings for brand terms)
- Verify all redirects are working

### Brand Consistency Lock-In

After the transition is complete, conduct a brand audit (use brand-audit skill) to establish the new baseline and catch any inconsistencies introduced during the transition.

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## Example 1: Brand Refresh (Updated logo and colors, same name)

**Timeline:** 6 weeks. Focus on digital touchpoints first (website, social, email), physical materials on a rolling basis. Soft launch: no major announcement, gradual transition.

## Example 2: Full Rebrand (New name and identity)

**Timeline:** 12 weeks. Hard launch date with coordinated customer announcement, social campaign, and PR push. Old domain redirects to new. Legal name change filed.

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## Anti-Patterns

- **Surprise rebrand** — launching a new brand without warning confuses customers. Tease the change, explain the why, and give people time to adjust.
- **Partial rollout** — old logo on the website and new logo on social media is worse than keeping the old brand everywhere. Coordinate the switch.
- **Forgetting legal and administrative** — business licenses, bank accounts, contracts, and invoices all need updating. These take the longest and are easiest to forget.
- **No redirects** — old URLs, social handles, and email addresses must redirect to new ones. Broken links lose customers and SEO value.
- **Rebranding to fix business problems** — a new logo will not fix a bad product, poor service, or toxic culture. Rebrand for growth, not escape.

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## Recovery

- **Missed touchpoints discovered post-launch:** Maintain a living checklist. Add newly discovered items and prioritize by customer visibility.
- **Customer backlash:** Acknowledge the feedback, explain the reasoning, and show continuity (same team, same values, same quality). Most resistance fades within 2-4 weeks.
- **SEO drop after rebrand:** Ensure all 301 redirects are in place, update Google Business Profile, and submit new sitemap. Recovery typically takes 2-8 weeks.
- **Team resistance to new brand:** Involve team members early in the process. People support what they help create.