Matter’s 2023 Marketing Outlook Survey found that brand leaders are prioritizing public relations and social media, marketing and analytics, and content marketing in order to drive maximum ROI. Refining marketing competencies and pushing them forward is enough of a challenge, but many marketers find themselves simultaneously supporting substantial changes in leadership, mission, product, or even the entire brand – and why?

Because so many businesses are taking post-pandemic uncertainty as an opportunity rather than a threat, and are enthusiastically reinventing themselves to become more conscious, resilient, sustainable entities.  

If that’s you, then congratulations on your metamorphosis! But no matter the size, shape or focus of your business, three things must never be ignored when you’ve decided to shuffle off the old in favor of the new:

1. Content continues to be King

Newsrooms are still shrinking. There are fewer journalists every day, and their publications are in desperate need of unique, insightful, brand-agnostic content. No communications plan is complete without the ability to provide full content pieces that tell a story much bigger than the brand the author represents, even if it is inspired by the changes that brand is making to its identity. Do your journalistic research and tie your renewal to what’s happening across your industry, community, country or cause.

2. Your spokespeople need a refresher

I don’t care how many interviews a thought leader has aced or how many wildly compelling contributed pieces they’ve penned – communicating a rebrand to the public is complicated work, with different messages for different audiences with different levels of investment in the brand’s success. Anyone in charge of sharing these messages with stakeholders needs to sit down for a refresher course on the state of the media landscape (as it is in this moment),  journalist personas, interview techniques, and most importantly, challenging questions about the new direction of the business.

3. Internal audiences should be the first to know

Brands are so often focused on the nuances of informing the general public of their developments that they forget their most dedicated audience – their employees – can become their most powerful public advocates, especially if elements of the reinvention are focused on environmental, communal or societal good. Keep employees informed pre-rebrand, give them ownership of the positive changes taking place, and they’ll be there to amplify your new messages when it’s time to go public.

Vanessa Taylor is the general manager of Precision, a PR and content division of Matter that provides highly focused programs to support critical business drivers. Known for its nimble, focused work, years of experience and continuous growth, Precision will handily assist brands embracing reinvention in order to create more impactful, more responsible and more sustainable operations.