Family brands build value over many years, thanks to trust, relationships, and consistency. During the transition, the task is to maintain the distinctive assets that have a place in the minds of customers. At the same time, it is necessary to update what hinders expansion into new markets and generations of customers.
In this article · 5 sections
A family brand is not built in a day. It accumulates through each relationship, each timely delivery, and each customer who refers others. When the next generation takes over, the first question is often: 'Should we refresh it?' But that is the wrong question. The right question is: what to keep, what to change, and in what order.
Two forces pulling in opposite directions
The next generation often faces pressure from both sides. On one side are long-term customers expecting stability: they buy because they trust the previous person and want to know if the next one shares that commitment. On the other side are new markets and competitors. An old image can signal that the brand is not changing, while younger competitors become sharper and more modern each year.
This conflict is a strategic issue, not just an aesthetic one. The brand is serving two customer segments with two different sets of expectations. If the gap between them is too wide, a single visual language cannot communicate with both.
Distinctive assets: not everything can be replaced
Jenni Romaniuk and Byron Sharp, in their research on brands at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, introduced the concept of 'Distinctive Brand Assets.' These are elements that are quickly recognized and closely associated with the brand name in the minds of consumers. This is what customers use to recognize you before reading the name, not just the logo or colors alone.
For long-established family businesses, distinctive assets are often less glamorous than one might think. It could be the familiar tone of the sales team, the recognizable product packaging, or simply the primary color that has appeared on the signage for twenty years. These elements have been repeated long enough to create recognition reflexes. Removing them without a replacement plan disrupts the accumulated memory mechanism, rather than refreshing it.
What should be retained
There is no universal checklist for every business, but there is a set of self-assessment questions. Ask long-time customers: 'What keeps you coming back to us?' The answer is often a commitment, a way of working, a feeling of being valued. It is rarely about the logo or colors. This is what needs to be translated into a new language, not erased.
Kapferer describes a brand through six facets of the identity prism: physical form, personality, culture, relationship, reflection, and self-image of the user. In generational transitions, the 'culture' facet is often the most important to preserve. This includes core values, the way customers and employees are treated, and what the founder considers non-negotiable. The 'physical form' facet can be updated without losing its roots.
A brand is not a logo. A brand is the perception in the customer's gut about a product, service, or company.
Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap
What should be renewed
Visual expression is the fastest thing to become outdated. It is also the least risky to update, as long as the update is calculated. A logo from the 2000s with metallic gradients and elaborate fonts does not signal longevity and trustworthiness; it signals that the brand has stagnated. Refreshing the form does not mean just changing colors and names. It can simply be a refinement: simplifying, sharpening, and improving visibility on digital platforms.
A refresh should occur when the target customer segment has shifted upward, and the current image no longer aligns. It should also be refreshed when wanting to reach a younger customer base while still retaining the old one. Or when the primary sales channel has moved online, and the old identity system does not perform well on small screens. These are valid triggers, unlike feelings of boredom or a desire to mark a new era for oneself.
The order of work determines success or failure
The most common mistake in generational transitions is starting with design. A designer is hired, a new logo is launched, and the website is revamped. But the foundational question has not been answered: who is this brand serving in the next ten years, and why should they choose it over competitors?
The correct order is to clarify positioning first. Then identify which assets to retain and which to build anew, before translating everything into visual and verbal forms. If you reverse this order, most of the design budget will need to be redone when it becomes clear that the forms do not align with the business direction.
For family businesses, the most challenging phase is often the internal conversation, not the design phase. The founding generation needs to identify what core values need to be passed on and what habits or personal preferences the next generation has the right to update. These two things are not always easy to distinguish when standing in the middle.
- Inventory distinctive assets: ask long-time customers what they recognize you for, do not assume.
- Separate core identity (values, commitments, ways of working) from modes of expression (colors, fonts, imagery). The former should be preserved, while the latter can be updated.
- Identify the true trigger: outdated imagery, shifting segments, non-functional digital channels, or simply a desire for personal branding? Only a genuine trigger provides sufficient reason to invest.
- Positioning first, design later. There are no shortcuts at this stage.
References
David Aaker, Managing Brand Equity (Free Press, 1991). Jenni Romaniuk & Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow Part 2 (Oxford UP, 2016). Jean-Noël Kapferer, The New Strategic Brand Management (Kogan Page, 2012). Wally Olins, On Brand (Thames & Hudson, 2003). McKinsey & Company, The Business Value of Design (2018). Kantar BrandZ Global Report (~2020).