When it comes to company value, a company’s brand can provide a host of positive aspects. A brand provides recognition, trust, reliability, consistency, and value. In some cases, as mentioned in our article “Four Ways IP Provides Value During Bankruptcy,” a brand can help a company survive a financial crisis. Some of the most famous brands in the world include McDonald’s, CVS, Apple, and General Motors. Over the years, these specific companies have had to adjust their brands in order to keep up with consumer taste changes.

Sometimes, the only alternative a company has during times of change is to try to rebrand. However, rebranding is risky. It is extremely costly as it may involve changing logos, revamping advertising methods, introducing new products, and attracting new customers as well as retaining loyal customers. For big name companies that are famous around the world, such as McDonald’s, Target, Apple, and Harley-Davidson, they have to be cautious about changing products or images that landed them a huge customer base. While consumer tastes may change, many consumers also like the tried and true.

The key for many of these companies is to retain some of the tried and true, but also introduce new products, services, or other offerings that draw new consumers in the hopes of gaining a large, loyal customer base. For CVS, it was a simple name change from CVS Caremark to CVS Health and the removal of tobacco products from its inventory. In this case, the company decided to stick to the concept of its new name, despite going against the grain. So far, the change has done no harm to the company since it rebranded in 2014. Since then, the company’s revenues grew from $139 billion to $176 billion in 2016.

While rebranding can be risky, it can also be the perfect transformation to help companies stay competitive and even come out as leaders. All of the companies mentioned in this article have proven that it is doable. In some cases, it is a matter of adding product, while other cases it can be making a statement and sticking to it.