Your audience has shifted, has your brand?
Don’t fall for the sunk cost fallacy. A common mistake I see companies make is sticking with an outdated visual brand just because it previously served them well or because they spent a lot to create it.
I’m looking at you, 2010s star gradients and robotic fonts.
I call this the sunk cost fallacy.
Storytime: I recently consulted with a high-end client considering shifting their visual brand from a purely clinical, medical look to one focused on luxury wellness. Their audience had expanded. No longer were they just targeting doctors, but also serving elite athletes and the wealthy 1% seeking alternative health care options.
Their creative director and I discussed that the visual brand needed to evolve to keep up with this new direction and presented recommendations for how to move forward. The CEO, understandably, was hesitant. He was worried about the cost of replacing materials they’d already invested in.
That’s the sunk cost fallacy: avoiding change because of past investment, not current relevance.
But running back the same visuals won’t support your new goals, especially if your target market has shifted. And while a rebrand or refresh may seem expensive up front, the long-term cost of not aligning your visual brand with your new strategy is much higher.
Misalignment leads to internal confusion, wasted ad spend, and unclear messaging. All of this is much more expensive to fix than if changes are made in unison.
Don’t fall for the sunk cost fallacy. Do you know if your brand is still working for you?
Send me a message and let’s chat.