Feature
There's a moment in every growing organisation when the gap becomes obvious. The business you've become doesn't match the brand you're showing the world.
Maybe you've expanded into new markets. Maybe your offering has become more sophisticated. Maybe the problem you're solving has shifted as the world around you has changed. Whatever the reason, your communications no longer reflect reality.
The cost of the gap
When your brand lags behind your business, the effects ripple outward. Potential clients don't understand what you do. Talented people overlook you because your materials don't reflect the calibre of your work. Investors struggle to grasp your proposition. Your team finds it harder to explain what makes you different.
This is particularly common in the built environment sector. A developer that started with residential projects now leads mixed-use regeneration schemes. An architecture practice that built its reputation on one building type now works across multiple sectors. A place-making organisation that began with a single location now operates at city scale.
The work has evolved. But the story hasn't.
The strategic approach
Closing this gap isn't about a rebrand for the sake of it. It's about bringing your communications into alignment with what your business has become – and where it's heading.
This requires looking honestly at three things:
Your position: What problem are you solving now? Not five years ago, but today. What makes your approach distinctive? Where do you sit in your market and sector?
Your touchpoints: Where does your brand show up? Your website, proposals, presentations, physical spaces, the way your team talks about the business. Are these consistent? Do they reinforce the same message?
Your trajectory: Where is the business going? Your communications need to work for where you are now and flex for where you're heading. Otherwise, you'll be back in the same position in two years.
When to act
The organisations that get this right don't wait until the gap becomes a crisis. They recognise when their brand has become a constraint rather than an asset, and they act strategically to address it.
If your business has outgrown your brand, the answer isn't to keep patching and updating. It's to step back, reassess your position, and build communications that will work hard for the business you've become – and the business you're building.
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