What do Jaguar, Bose, Pepsi, Amazon, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and OpenAI all have in common? Each has undergone a rebrand within the last two years. For some, the first in over a decade. Rebranding can range from minor logo tweaks to completely repositioning a company’s strategy. Often it marks a new chapter, accompanied by new product offerings, expanded markets, or a reinvented mission and vision. 

So why have these industry titans decided to shake things up? While on the outside these companies may seem untouchable, behind the scenes they are meticulously curating how they are viewed by consumers. They are heavily investing, spending thousands, if not millions to hire third-party branding agencies. With extensive internal resources it begs the question: why pay for external support? In this article, we will explore what’s brought on this wave of rebranding, how utilizing external partners can create meaningful and innovative growth and reflect on how past rebrands have impacted companies’ success.

Why are the 2020’s the decade of the rebrand? 

In 2023, Pepsi unveiled its first major rebrand in 14 years, coinciding with its 125th anniversary. The new black-font logo and “electric blue” visual language were designed to bring the brand to the forefront on digital platforms. Along with this they announced a new product focus on zero-sugar options, aimed at “connecting future generations with our brand’s heritage”. 

In 2024 luxury car manufacturer, Jaguar, completely revamped its logo and digital presence, backed by the announcement of a fully electric future fleet of vehicles. 

In 2025, Walmart and Amazon also refreshed their logos and digital experiences, with slightly thicker fonts and a focus on streamlining their e-commerce experience. Both leaned on brand history, Walmart referenced its classic trucker hat, and Amazon tweaked its signature “smile”. Amazon claims their redesign “puts greater emphasis not on the arrow, but on a deeper and more emphatic smile.” Walmart called its new branding “relatable, approachable,” nodding to its founder Sam Walton to reinforce the brand’s humble beginnings.

Rebrands offer companies an opportunity to create buzz, showcase storytelling, and re-excite consumers about their product and culture. As consumers spend more time online and in-store shopping declines, brands must adapt. Younger, more value-conscious buyers are gaining power, and brands’ digital presence and ethical transparency have become keystones to success. 

Along with consumer trends, the competition dynamics have shifted as well. Companies like Amazon, and OpenAI, who have experienced exponential growth over the last 5-10 years, now find themselves head-to-head with “old guard” companies like Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM. What’s striking is that both groups are utilizing nearly identical rebranding strategies. Streamlined logos, digital-first storytelling, and a renewed focus on heritage and approachability. In this new landscape, brands are doing anything they can to get a competitive edge, racing to prove who can be the most sustainable and ethical while still pushing the envelope in tech and innovation.

Hiring a third party consultancy

Even giants like Walmart (JKR), OpenAI (Studio Dumbar/Dept), and Amazon (Koto) hire third-party design firms. While internal marketing teams rarely take an outside perspective, remaining focused on acquiring and retaining customers, external agencies specialize in analyzing how a company is perceived. Outside firms deliver fresh, unbiased perspectives, often vital to a major identity overhaul. Using expertise from different industries they can create strategies and products to improve impressions and performance. They expand creative bandwidth during intense periods and fill skill gaps without added full-time overhead.

Koto, Amazon’s rebrand partner, collaborates with digital brands and video games to turn complex systems into intuitive experiences. This makes them the ideal partner to tackle Amazon’s mission, to unify a lack of cohesion between their product offerings, a result of rapid, multi channeled growth. 

Coca-Cola opened their doors to external partners, not for a visual redesign, but for reimagining their drink distribution. Leveraging design firm Frog’s, extensive research capabilities and multi-industry experience they borrowed technology from pharmaceuticals and ink jet printer cartridges. The result? The now iconic Coca-Cola Freestyle. These dispensers offer thousands of flavour combos, real-time consumer data, and a fridge sized brand visibility, transforming Coca Cola’s presence in fast food and event venues.

The good, the lifesaver and the ugly

Redesigning a brand is risky, it can breathe in new life or alienate the customer base. While it may be too soon to say how the most recent rebrands will shape the companies’ success, looking back at past examples can shed some light on how repositioning and redesigning a product can improve, save or significantly damage a brand.

The Good

Consider Google’s first release of the Google Nest thermostat. The product was first acquired by Google in 2014 and sold for $250 per unit, a steep jump from a traditional $50 thermostat. While it was well designed and offered several novel features, it initially struggled to gain traction. In 2017, after a significant redesign, the product was re-released as the Google Nest E for $169 per unit. Even with reduced screen quality and material finishes, sales greatly improved. Google also worked with energy providers across the United States to offer customers savings through energy rebates. In a 2018 California energy rebate report, the Google Nest was significantly more popular than any other smart thermostat, with 87.4% of statewide installs choosing to buy a Nest. By lowering the price and creating rebate opportunities, many customers felt more inclined to try this new product, even with the less impressive design work.

The Lifesaver

In 2008, the foam clog company, Crocs, saw their stocks drop from $69 to $1 per share. The company lost more than $185 million and had to cut 2,000 employees. They were on the verge of bankruptcy. Originally invented as a comfortable boating shoe, widely regarded as the ‘world’s ugliest shoe,’ Crocs saw early success; however, they were soon written off as a fad. At their lowest point, Crocs, scrappily cut overhead reducing store and product skews. They returned focus to their original clog design and what it stood for. Over the next several years they pivoted from being an eco-friendly, functional shoe to a pop culture icon. They leaned into current trends such as Hypebeast culture, creating dozens of limited run collaboration shoes with celebrities like Post Malone and Justin Bieber and luxury design houses like Balenciaga. By rebranding and tapping pop culture trends, Crocs clawed back relevance, selling 700 million shoes over the last decade with some reselling for up to $1000.

The Ugly

In 2009, Tropicana, a market leader, hired a branding agency Arnell for a $35 million packaging and advertising rebrand. The goal was to modernize their “Pure Premium” orange juice, one of their bestsellers. They replaced the Tropicana orange and straw with a modern glass filled with orange juice, a thinner logo, placed vertically on the carton and the cap shaped like an orange. The result was disastrous. Within 2 months, sales had dropped 20%, an estimated 30-million-dollar loss and it was announced they would move back to their original design. Many customers didn’t recognize the new design, were unsure if it was the same product or felt the new design looked cheap and ugly. As the president of Tropicana North America, admitted “We underestimated the deep emotional bond they had with the original packaging”.

Creating Successful Rebrands

Identifying your target market, following consumer trends, and maintaining a strong company vision is crucial when undergoing a rebrand. Understanding why your consumers buy, or don’t, could be the key to drive success or lead to failure. Third-party experts can ease the rebranding process by combining an outsider’s perspective with your team’s product and customer insights. It’s also a flexible way to add specialized skills or bandwidth without permanent hires.

Rebrands don’t have to be a major overhaul. Sometimes even small tweaks and revamps to your product or brand identity can deliver big results. By refining your message and offerings, you maintain relevance and stay ahead of the fast-moving tech curve.

At Brash Product Development, we help companies expand into new markets through in-depth research, specialized engineering, and robust design solutions. If you're rethinking your brand or product, get in touch to see how we can bridge the gap between insight and execution.

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