Every brand needs a strategic revamp from time to time. If you’re wondering how to recognize when it’s time for a brand refresh, how to start and where to find inspiration for your refreshed brand identity, you’ve landed on the right post.
Every once in a while, even the most successful businesses undergo a brand refresh to remain relevant. Here at Superside, for example, we recently completely overhauled our brand, and we took on an entirely new look at the start of 2025.
Visuals play a crucial role in how customers view our brands, accounting for 55% of brand perception. Aligning your brand’s look and feel with changing customer needs and market trends is, therefore, absolutely important to reinforce brand positioning.
Typically, a brand update involves clarifying and enhancing your brand identity rather than completely altering it. The project should evolve your brand without compromising the audience equity you’ve built over time.
Our creatives agree that a brand refresh project shouldn’t be rushed or skimped on: it’s not worth the rush, as everything needs to be well-done. Start the process by exploring the nine great examples from leading brands outlined in this article.
The difference between a brand refresh and a complete rebrand
Before we continue, let’s take a quick look at how a brand refresh differs from a full rebrand. Although both processes involve updating your company’s brand identity, the scope and purpose differ.
A brand refresh
A brand refresh strategy focuses on evolving and modernizing existing brand elements without changing the core identity, company mission or brand name. It’s about refining what exists to help the brand remain relevant and consistent.
The brand refresh process typically involves updating your logo, color palette, typography, web design, video content and/or brand voice.
A rebrand
Rebranding involves a significant shift. A complete overhaul of the brand’s positioning, name, values and visual identity.
This strategic process is typically triggered by major shifts like mergers, acquisitions or a fundamental change in business direction.
- To summarize: A brand refresh is an evolution, whereas a full rebrand is a revolution. Understanding the difference helps you select the most effective approach.
When is a brand refresh necessary?
Think of your brand identity as a suit. You have it from years ago, and it’s still functional, but it shows wear and no longer reflects who you are or how you wish to be seen.
What if, instead of getting a new suit, you send it to a tailor to make it look like new? The same suit, but better than ever before.
This is what a brand refresh is about. You don’t have to change your whole brand personality, but with the span of years and the experience, brands naturally change, and so should your positioning and the way design reflects your brand.
This refresh can be extensive, almost like a rebranding, or just punctual and more design-centered, like a logo redesign. And all successful brands should do one from time to time.
But, how to know if you need a brand refresh now? Use this simple brand audit checklist to judge whether it’s time to refresh your brand:
Just remember to share your new brand guidelines with all your creative teams (internal and external), as inconsistencies could land you right back where you started.
How Superside goes beyond the standard brand refresh
Did you know how top venture enterprise Antler boosted its creative output while launching a record-time brand refresh? Antler used Superside to expand its internal creative team and plan and create unique, consistent and on-brand creative and guidelines for all its branding projects and further creatives. Here's the breakdown:
- The challenge: Operating across six continents, the global venture capital firm faced the challenge of localizing its content and meeting diverse branding needs within a four-month deadline. Superside stepped in, assisting the brand in pulling off its brand identity refresh in record time.
- Goal: The brand refresh had to integrate feedback from 70 partners. Additionally, the new positioning and messaging framework had to align with updated website wireframes and be visually distinctive.
Fortunately, we’re experts at helping enterprise brands scale with top-tier creative support. We equipped Antler with a dedicated team of branding experts, project managers and designers to make light work of the task.
- The impact: We created a new visual identity aligned with Antler’s core values and messaging. Using smart automation and AI-powered workflows, we enabled quick feedback and adjustments, ensuring the brand refresh process was concluded without a glitch.
- The result: Superside completed the brand refresh in 3.5 months, well ahead of schedule. The refresh invigorated Antler’s brand identity and enhanced its global presence.
Strike up your brand!
Building brand guidelines or visual identity
systems to ensure consistency takes both
time and top talent.
Short on both? Superside gives you a dedicated team
to make it happen.
9 best brand refresh examples from top companies
Refreshing your brand is an exciting process that should be approached cautiously to ensure you strengthen rather than hurt your brand.
These brand refresh examples show us how it should be done.
1. Superside: Partner with experienced, top-tier designers
Our collaboration with Antler highlights the significance of a strong strategic partnership in achieving a winning brand identity. Transforming a brand can be hard work, but the right ally can lighten your load and supercharge your business growth.
In another brand refresh example, Superside partnered with wireless networking company Doodle Labs to create a new logo and updated website. The project was so successful that the brand experienced a 20% increase in conversions via the website.
Before and After Doodle Labs logo
Over the last few years, Superside has partnered with many other leading brands as a strategic creative partner.
We’ve collaborated with major SaaS companies, including Reddit and Shopify, helping them implement new branding elements and fresh new creative to grow their businesses.
3 key reasons why Superside is the ideal partner for your brand refresh
For marketing managers, creative directors and business owners seeking a creative outsourcing partner, Superside is the ideal choice.
Here’s why partnering with us for your brand refresh makes sense:
- Our dedicated teams consist of specialized branding professionals who integrate seamlessly with our customers’ in-house teams to execute their vision.
- We manage projects of varying scopes and scale content easily, delivering consistent quality across all creative during the brand refresh process.
- We’re agile and super flexible, which means we easily meet rapid turnaround times without compromising on quality, creativity or strategic alignment.
What’s more, Superside’s creative design services go well beyond branding and marketing strategy. With our flexible subscription model, you can access any of our design services when you need them—without having to find and approve new vendors every time.
- Key takeaway: The world’s best creatives can provide the strategic insights, expertise and creative skills you need to truly transform your brand. Investing in top talent from the start ultimately saves time and money (not to mention blood, sweat and tears).
This is the quality you can create with Superside
Discover how Supersiders help global brands
launch high-impact campaigns at scale with top design.
We're your creative team's creative team.
2. Dunkin’: Simplify brand identity
(Source: Dunkin’ Donuts)
In 2019, Dunkin’ Donuts rebranded as “Dunkin” to reflect a broader focus on donuts and delicious beverages. The new brand identity aimed to highlight the expanded menu while maintaining the brand’s recognizable color scheme, fonts and visuals.
Dunkin’ successfully refreshed its visual identity to support its new strategy, with 34% of consumers immediately noticing the change. The update modernized the brand while preserving its core identity.
Key takeaway: Adapting your brand identity can signify a major change in your offering, an effective way to market your new products or services.
3. Pepsi & Walmart: Modernize visual elements
In 2023, Pepsi updated its logo and visual identity for the first time in 14 years, adopting a minimalist design that aligns with modern aesthetics and a shift to digital platforms.
Following the redesign, brand momentum increased by an impressive 7.6 points, boosting Pepsi’s brand equity and consumer interest.
In 2025, Walmart also introduced a new logo featuring bolder colors and a modern design. This subtle update included a new typeface and a stronger emphasis on its spark logo.
Key takeaway: Refreshing visual elements like logos, colors and typography can revitalize your brand, aligning it to a digital-first world, boosting brand recognition, improving usability across platforms, and showing audiences your brand is keeping up with the times.
4. Ernst & Young: Revitalize brand messaging
(Sources: LinkedIn, Ernst & Young)
Leading accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) unveiled a new tagline, “Shape the future with confidence,” as part of its recent global brand refresh.
While the performance data isn’t available, EY’s Chief Brand and Marketing Officer says the brand refresh energized employees, other stakeholders and target customers, driving significant value for the brand.
Key takeaway: When you do your brand refresh, ensure your brand voice and messages closely align with your vision, mission and value proposition. Get this right, and your employees will become your strongest brand advocates.
5. Dropbox and Telstra: Embrace digital transformation
Dropbox recently transformed itself from a basic file-sharing service to a fully fledged collaboration platform, refreshing its branding to align with this new focus.
It introduced new brand guidelines that provided a visual identity system for the platform, emphasizing creativity and collaboration over mere file storage.
In another case study, Telstra launched an animated campaign, “Wherever We Go,” to invigorate its brand personality and connect with potential customers.
The campaign featured a creative animated film with two charming characters— metaphors for a partnership that represents the brand’s new identity.
Telstra’s brand positioning campaign was launched across multiple platforms, including broadcast, digital and social media, as well as nearly 3,000 out-of-home (OOH) installations.
The brand refresh strategy ensured visibility in prominent new locations, ensuring more people were exposed to the brand’s messaging.
Key takeaway: OOH installations can help you launch your brand refresh in eye-catching ways, often in moments when people are least distracted by their digital devices. The key is to make your brand personality shine in the real world.
6. Mars: Leverage nostalgia
Mars recently reintroduced the name “Marathon” for its world-famous chocolate bar, usually known as “Snickers,” after a 34-year hiatus.
The 1990 rebrand from Marathon to Snickers sparked a significant backlash in the U.K., with loyal fans voicing their displeasure for decades, even into 2024.
To honor this nostalgia and celebrate over 90 years of chocolate-making in the U.K., Mars released a limited-edition “Marathon” bar, allowing longtime fans to enjoy the classic name once more.
Key takeaway: Using nostalgia to evoke positive memories can help build lasting connections and generate interest among new and existing customers. When executed thoughtfully, nostalgic references can connect a legacy brand’s heritage with the present, breathing new life into the brand identity.
7. Starbucks: Enhance customer experience
(Sources: Starbucks, Message from the CEO / Starbucks)
In 2024, Starbucks launched the “Back to Starbucks” initiative, which aimed to reduce menu items by 30%.
The brand wanted to decrease wait times, reintroduce self-serve condiment bars, and redesign store layouts to enhance the customer experience. Ultimately, they aimed to turn their cafes into cozy community hubs—a brand refresh, in other words.
After running the campaign for a few weeks, customer demand for ceramic mugs and glasses as opposed to takeaway cups in their U.S. cafes had tripled, proving that customers were choosing to spend time in the coffee shop, and their clever brand strategy had paid off.
Key takeaway: Prioritizing customer experience can build trust and loyalty and help customers take note of your refreshed brand identity.
8. Hostess: Update packaging design
(Source: J.M. Smucker Co)
U.S. bakery company Hostess recently revamped the packaging for its classic products (e.g., Twinkies and Ding Dongs), featuring a bright, modern color palette while preserving the products’ nostalgic charm.
Updated product photography and descriptions were also implemented based on consumer testing. Early results indicate customers prefer the new packaging, with a 2:1 favorability ratio compared to the old design.
Key takeaway: Updated product packaging as part of a brand refresh can attract new customers and retain existing ones. Fresh packaging can signal innovation, aligning your brand with current design trends.
9. ACLU: Reinforce core values
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently updated its branding to highlight inclusivity, using a diverse color palette. They created a 180-page design handbook based on their core values to guide design and campaign development.
The refreshed brand identity received a Gold Award in the Corporate Identity category at the International Design Awards. This brand refresh also led to a significant 680% increase in social media followers and a 360% rise in website traffic.
Key takeaway: Highlighting your brand values during a brand refresh can help build trust. It’s important to show what your brand stands for even as it evolves.
5 steps to start a successful brand refresh
Superside’s partnership with PointCard demonstrates how a strategic brand refresh can enhance a company’s image and reinforce its brand positioning.
Point was looking to stand out from other start-ups, most of whom used neutral color palettes and bland designs. The brand seeked high-quality visuals, bold design and vibrant colors to boost its creative performance. Acting as an extension of their creative team, our creatives helped them refresh their brand and achieve a 275% increase in conversions as a result.
This experience (and many others) have taught us that every brand refresh should be approached in a step-wise fashion:
1. Define clear objectives and strategy
Start your brand refresh process by clearly defining your goals, e.g., attracting new customers or differentiating your brand from competitors. Ensure these objectives closely align with your company’s broader business strategy.
2. Understand your target audience
Conduct market research to understand your target audience's evolving needs and preferences. In fact, 82% of marketers stress the importance of high-quality target audience data.
3. Revise brand elements
Consider revising key brand elements (e.g., your logo, color palette, fonts and brand messaging) to align with the new brand image.
The results? A consistent brand color can boost brand recognition by 80%, and a consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%.
Ensure all your marketing materials are revised accordingly.
4. Test and gather feedback
Test your updated marketing materials with a select audience before a full rollout. Gather quantitative and qualitative feedback to pinpoint areas for improvement.
A brand refresh is most effective when directly tested with the target audience.
5. Monitor performance and iterate
After you’ve completed the brand refresh, continuously monitor key metrics like customer engagement, brand perception and sales. Use these insights to keep your brand dynamic and responsive to market trends.
Side note: Superads makes this process really easy. The platform provides real-time creative performance analytics in a user-friendly format that connects marketers and creatives for better branding and marketing outcomes.
Revitalize your brand with Superside
A brand refresh isn’t just a cosmetic update: it’s a strategic chance to reconsider who and what you are, reconnect with your audience and drive business growth. The best brand refresh examples are purpose-driven and closely aligned with changing customer preferences.
Recognizing that your brand needs a refresh is the first step. Having the support to implement this change is next.
Do you have the capacity in-house? Our Overcommitted report indicates that over 75% of creative leaders feel overwhelmed by creative demands.
Let Superside’s creatives integrate with your in-house team to handle every element of your brand refresh. No hiring headaches, just seamless collaboration. Book a call today.
Give your internal teams the power to boost your brand
Publish once. Deliver everywhere. Our Creative Ops platform
puts your brand in front of the right people, everywhere.
Unlock seamless content distribution. Access your audience.
