“The only thing to fear is fear itself.”

The Franklin D. Roosevelt quote is almost worn out. Almost. 

But when it comes to the rebranding process, there’s still a lot of truth left in it.

That’s because updating a brand on whatever scale often starts with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. There’s an appetite for change. The ideas flow thick and fast.

But after a while, reservations are expressed. Investment directors with big personalities get involved. Ambitions clash. Fear sets in. And the more complex the firm, the greater the fear.

Before long, the whole update stalls. Sometimes the plans are shelved entirely, never to see the light of day again. On other occasions, what started as a bold, confident direction becomes watered–down and ends up being thoroughly uninspiring.

The only constant is change. The market is changing. Client needs are changing. 

So is it better not to bother? There’s no doubt that bold change in an asset management firm with a rich history takes a lot of effort.

So before we move on to overcoming the fear of change, consider how important change is for your brand.

Relevance needs to be maintained. Especially for firms that have been around for a while. You don’t keep it by standing still. You have to keep adapting to articulate why you matter now.

Changing markets, audiences, and behaviours make reframing necessary. Without timely changes, a brand risks being perceived as out of touch. 

And, over time, asset management firms look and sound alike. They watch each other for inspiration. But their clients need to know what makes them distinctive. What makes them better.

Another consideration is the age profile of your audience. If you’re targeting an ageing audience, they’ll need replacing sooner rather than later.

So change is necessary. But the fear of change, especially amongst colleagues, makes it difficult. 

The first step to overcoming fear is to understand what you’re up against.

Fear of change is human nature. Unfortunately, we’re hard–wired to resist change in most cases. We like predictability. In fact, research has shown that we prefer a predictable negative outcome over an uncertain outcome.

So when we battle against fear of change in the boardroom and with internal stakeholders, we’re battling against human nature. This gives you some idea of the scale of the challenge you face.

Fortunately, there are ways around this.

At Sparks, we’ve learned a lot from working with asset management firms with rich histories. Firms who need to find a distinctive edge in a marketplace that is tending towards the generic and bland. 

We’ve developed an approach that factors in a fear of change. One that engages all the relevant people within the firm. Incorporating this engagement into the creative process means that the chances of success are much higher. You will end up with more people bought into your ambition. Which makes your job easier in the long run.

Bye–bye inertia.

We’ve helped a number of asset management firms. 

We’ve been at the birth of a new firm, sold from a business with a long family history.

We’ve helped a firm following a merger to ensure the different brands worked well with their combined client base. We ensured they communicated the right messages in the right order to the right people; celebrating each brand’s distinctiveness. And strengthening what makes them a good fit for each other.

In each case one of the secrets of success was to engage all the right people in the firm.

From our experience, these are the four ways that our process works with, rather than against, fear of change. 

1. Engage power players at the outset

Consider the scale of change behind your ambition. Write it down. Then think about all the people that will be affected by what you’re planning. Identify these who will have the biggest reservations. Meet them. Discuss what’s working well in the business and what areas needs to be improved. And explain what you’re planning to do in the context of the improvements. Get their concerns on the table. Listen first and then outline the benefits of the changes you’re planning.

2. Create certainty 

If you want to overcome inertia you don’t just need an inspiring vision. You need to create a sense of safety. That way, people are more willing to move forward with you.

The best way to create certainty is through clear and methodical processes. Tell people what steps you’re taking, why you’re taking them, and when they’re happening. Provide timetables. Show them the path ahead.

And from the start, communicate how strengthening the brand will be beneficial – for individuals and the organisation as a whole. Always keep the outcome and benefits in view. Our process is set up to give stakeholders these assurances along the way. 

3. Celebrate history

The people most closely associated with the last brand iteration are most likely to be defensive. The proposed plan threatens to undo all their hard work.

This concern is understandable. So it’s important to show that the new direction will build on their hard work rather than replacing what they’ve done.,

We always develop ideas with an eye on the history of the organisation we’re working with. This is often fertile ground for creating directions that have continuity as well as freshness.

So work on celebrating relevant fundamental aspects of your company’s rich heritage. How can the rebrand nod to these moments?

4. Enlarge a wider circle of stakeholders

Any rebrand will have ripple effects. Done properly, it won’t just impact the marketing or communications teams of the business. It’ll touch on every aspect of it, sometimes on those you least expect.

To account for this, we help our clients to enlarge the circle of stakeholders. When people are consulted on the rebrand, they feel ownership of it. This lowers resistance to the change that’s on the way.

But we’re clear that this isn’t design by committee. Stakeholder input informs design, it doesn’t determine it. The idea is to get them in the room early so that they feel part of the change, not surprised by it.

Most inertia in the rebranding process is due to fear of change in some form. 

So factor it into your rebrand from the start. And you’ll find that clarity of direction is maintained, giving you a much better result – for everyone.