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A re-brand or brand evolution? Is it time to change?

Embracing change is essential for businesses, especially in today’s dynamic landscape where market conditions and customer demands are constantly shifting. Recent times have underscored this truth, urging businesses to adapt swiftly. As businesses evaluate their strategies, it’s inevitable that their brands must also evolve to stay relevant and competitive.

Brand transformation is a recurring topic among our clients, often sparking discussions on whether a complete re-branding or a more subtle brand evolution is the way forward.

But what exactly sets these two approaches apart?

A re-brand signals a significant change in direction. Perhaps you’ve acquired a new entity, are looking to enter a new market or want to shift brand perception, a re-brand reflects a change in the DNA of your business. In practise this can include a new name, logo, brand architecture, etc. The driver is a big change, not just the sense that your visual identity needs to be modernised or the messaging refined – that’s where the brand evolution comes in.

A brand evolution maintains your business DNA but gives the company a refresh, it keeps the company current, up to date and in line with industry trends. Whether that’s refreshing your colour palette, changing fonts, updating the website, redefining messaging or updating templates, a brand evolution maintains your brand equity but let’s you move with the times. Unlike a rebrand which requires a “launch”, a brand evolution can be as obvious or subtle as is required and can happen over time.

Over the years we’ve helped many businesses assess their brand development needs and define whether they need a re-brand or brand evolution.

Here are a few examples, all of which had differing motivational factors and requirements:

Ace Oil Tools

Ace Oil Tools wanted to modernise and professionalise their visual identity to reflect their growth to date and global ambitions. We maintained the “hot pink” core colour the company were well recognised for but updated their messaging, logo, website and sales collateral. The result was a more impactful, fresher, up to date yet recognisable identity.

Archer

Archer, a well-established industry brand, had refreshed their online presence and wanted to improve their product literature and PowerPoint template to bring it in line with the adapted look and feel. So while retaining all of their brand identity elements we supplied an updated, fresh design, which better reflected their enhanced online presence.

Learn how businesses adapt to market shifts

CannSeal

CannSeal were acquired by Interwell and as a result they needed a “part of Interwell” identity created. The goal was to retain the CannSeal identity but align it closer with Interwell and create a suitable brand architecture. As a result, we created a new logo which stated “part of Interwell” to clearly convey the relationship between the two entities. We also updated the typography and colour palette used by CannSeal, aligning them with Interwell visually.

Cegal

Cegal had developed their 2025 strategy and wanted a refreshed visual platform to communicate this plan both internally and externally. As a result, we developed a new PowerPoint template and supporting PDF document which maintained the Cegal brand elements but provided them with a fresher, forward looking design. This has subsequently been rolled out to other external presentations.

Explore the nuances between a re-brand and brand evolution

These are just a few examples of some of the projects we’ve worked on. As you can see the reasons for change and the extent of the change varies dramatically. We fully recognise that terms like “re-brand” can be off putting for fear of cost, time, resources etc. However, as these examples illustrate, adapting your branding can take a simpler, less complex (and costly!) form by adopting a brand evolution approach. The core factor which underpins this decision is your business strategy. So while change is inevitable and vital, the extent to which you change depends on your business needs.

So, if you think it might be the right time for change and you want to have a chat then don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Behind the brand: Our Managing Director’s path to Project Neon

I’m sure, like many of you, my story isn’t totally linear and there are some good secondary stories behind this high-level one! However, to give you a flavour of me, let’s go back…

I’ve always been an organiser… Head Girl at school, Editor of the school yearbook, President of the student organisation at sixth form college and again at university… I’d have been a walking Hollywood movie cliché (although not with the mean streak!) had I been in the USA rather than the UK!

But 20+ years on, I can see that being at the heart of organisations, engaging with people, and communicating is something I’ve always loved to do.

Professionally, my career started at an Aberdeen company called Nautronix. I was hired, fresh from university, to be their Marketing Coordinator. Like many of Project Neon’s clients now, Nautronix had no existing marketing function, so I had the remit to jump in and make it happen. Fortunately, the CEO of the company was a big believer in marketing and a masterful networker. So, I spent many happy years building a marketing function, travelling to energy conferences around the world, learning all about the sector, and meeting a large network of fantastic people.

After six years, I decided to take a new opportunity at Seawell. Little did I know on accepting the role that Seawell was going to acquire a US company (and others to follow) and, upon acquisition, a new company would be born. My boss and I were tasked with creating a brand for the new entity, so together, with a fantastic third-party collaboration team, we created the Archer brand.

The Archer project was an amazing (and challenging) experience. There were huge expectations but a short amount of time to deliver and (as is often the case!) a budget that needed to stretch a long way. Since the new company (Archer) was going to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the whole process had a firm deadline and was a tightly guarded secret, only to be discussed with the board, my boss, and our third-party team. Due to the secrecy, we developed a code name for the project – Project Neon. Yes, the true inspiration behind our company name today!

With the new brand framework in place, we then rolled it out across 118 global offices and developed the brand to meet the growing business’s requirements. I was promoted to VP Marketing, Branding, and Communications and had the pleasure of leading a wonderfully talented global team, delivering marketing activity across the global business.

Although the 16-year-old Head Girl version of me would have been very proud of where I’d come, the truth is I grew a bit disillusioned with corporate life and felt the need to try something different.

I love being active, so a small Aberdeen company caught my eye. ActivityMix offered a range of sports-oriented services designed to help companies engage, inspire, and enthuse their teams – employee engagement. I won’t lie, it meant a drastic pay cut, but I was keen to try something new and experience a much smaller company. It’s fair to say that it was different in both good ways and bad. However, it was a fantastic insight into small business life, which ultimately gave me the confidence to set up my own company.

This opportunity presented itself in 2016 when my husband’s role was transferred from Aberdeen to Stavanger. At the time, I was on maternity leave with our eldest (born December 2014), but I was keen to return to work once he was at barnehagen (nursery). With the industry in a downturn, a distinct lack of Norwegian language skills, and a long-standing desire to establish my own company, Project Neon was born.

2016 was an ONS year, and you’ll find that our company registration was processed on the first day of the show that year! With my son starting barnehagen the week or so before, I’d frantically sorted the paperwork, some business cards, and a small website, knowing that I needed to get in front of my network at the show!

Now, eight years later, I’m proud of the agency we have created.

Claire joining me in 2018 was an instrumental shift, with her media and communication background fully complementing my own. As anyone who runs a business will tell you, it’s a rollercoaster and resilience is a key skill required.

Today, my role is founder and managing director of the company. I manage the day-to-day running of the business, as well as lead the commercial activity and drive our own business development as we strive to grow the business, attract new clients, and diversify into complementary sectors.

I am also still active with our clients and get heavily involved from a strategic perspective, particularly when we are onboarding a new client or for specific projects. I love diving into client work, but I equally respect the work of my team and know that in many cases they are better qualified for a task than me!

As well as being the MD of Project Neon, I’m also a board member for UTAX AS – a digital transformation company, creating AI lead products within the health sector.

Outside work, I fully embrace Norwegian life with my husband, two boys, and dog Albie. As a family, you’ll find us on the ski slopes, on mountain bikes (very reluctantly from my perspective), at the beach, hiking the mountains, and travelling around in our camper van. Since my husband and I are both active, we try to inject our love of sport and the outdoors into our kids. As a result, like many parents, our lives are filled with after-school clubs, and I’m an Oilers hockey mum in the winter!

While we spend a lot of time as a family, we also try to carve time for ourselves. So, every Saturday morning, I get with a great bunch of ladies for a morning swim in the fjord… yes, all year round! I’m also very routine with my commute to work, running three times a week.

As an immigrant, family can often take on new meaning, and I feel very fortunate not only to have a fantastic and close family in the UK but also a secondary family – close friends who we love to spend time with and turn to for the day-to-day.

It’s probably fair to say that Project Neon’s company values (proactive, engaged, and vibrant) are unsurprisingly quite reflective of my own. But from a personal perspective, I’d also add honesty to that list… a value I try to live by both as an employer, supplier, and person in general!

Quite honestly, I haven’t always made the right decisions. Saying that, I have made some great ones! But we live and learn. The path we take shapes us, and while I love the path I’ve taken so far, I’m always excited about the journey to come.

– Laura