| 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.
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.
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.
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.
