Rebrand Revisited: A Year Later, Coldwell Banker Successfully Navigated A Daunting Rebrand in Unprecedented Times

2020 will forever be remembered as the year of a once-in-a-century pandemic, but it should be recognized that it was the year we all got reacquainted with our homes. From streaming a late-night movie in the living room, to hopping on early-morning conference calls in our home offices (or closets or spare bedrooms), in 2020 our homes were asked to do it all. Almost a year ago David Marine, the CMO of Coldwell Banker, joined Marketing Trends to detail the company’s ambitious rebranding strategy and he’s back now to update us on how it all worked out. 

“2020 was going to be the year of the rebrand, and what a great year it was going to be with all these plans. And as you know, 2020 happened to all of us. So things had to change, but here we are a year later and I can honestly tell you with a straight face that 2020 was actually the perfect year for Coldwell Banker to rebrand.”

Things may have worked out for Coldwell Banker, but it wasn’t easy. Campaigns had to be altered, messaging and digital strategies were scrapped and shifted on a dime, and David was along for the ride every step of the way. On this episode of Marketing Trends, David tells us what it was like, he details the wins and losses of 2020 for Coldwell Banker, and he dives into how marketers can be agile in their digital efforts so that they, too, can rebrand or adjust when the time calls for it.

Main Takeaways:

• A Brand You Can Trust: When you have more than 100 years of company lineage, consumers have had time to build trust in a brand. But just because you have heritage and time on your side, doesn’t mean your messaging doesn’t have to meet the moment. Consumers are more likely and willing to trust brads that deliver authentic messaging that matches the purpose of your brand, the story you are trying to tell, and that meets the moment of the ad and acknowledges whatever might be happening in the world.
• Is That a Hybrid?: A new way to look at your ad spend should be a mix between traditional broadcast channels and streaming services. Your digital strategy should be a mix of your larger media plan. Focus your broadcast plans on marquee events that drive live audiences, such as sporting events. Then use your digital channels to supplement that audience with platforms such as Hulu, that allow you to target your audience while snagging a different demographic at a lower cost.
• This is Us: When thinking about partnerships, you have to be strategic. Don’t just go out and partner with the first company that is willing to give you money. Instead, ask yourself how this partnership brings value to your brand and does this company meet the standards and expectations that you have already set for yourself?

---

Marketing Trends podcast is brought to you by Salesforce. Discover marketing built on the world’s number one CRM: Salesforce. Put your customer at the center of every interaction. Automate engagement with each customer. And build your marketing strategy around the entire customer journey. Salesforce. We bring marketing and engagement together. Learn more at salesforce.com/marketing. 

To learn more or subscribe to our weekly newsletter, visit MarketingTrends.com.

Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org.