INSIGHTS / CREATIVE & PHILOSOPHY

The Art of Brand Evolution: What We’ve Learned from High-Awareness Brands Facing Choice & Relevance Issues

DAN RATNER on 24/02/2025

Over the last year or so, my team and I have worked with some of Australia’s most well-known brands. It’s always a privilege—but also a responsibility. The weight of history, the power of recognition, and the challenge of evolving without losing identity make working with high-awareness brands both exciting and complex.

Because here’s the reality: awareness alone isn’t enough.

Some brands are instantly recognisable. They’ve spent decades embedding themselves into culture—their names, logos, and colours feel like they’ve always existed. But what happens when that familiarity no longer translates into preference? When competitors outpace them, audiences evolve, or their story loses relevance? The strongest brands don’t just react to change—they should anticipate it and shape it.

Through our experience and analysis—both from the brands we’ve worked with and others in the market—we’ve observed key principles that can help high-awareness brands stay relevant without losing what makes them iconic.

1. Recognition Is the Starting Point, Not the Goal

A common mistake high-awareness brands make is assuming that being well-known means they’ll always be in the consideration set. But recognition alone isn’t enough—what matters is how that recognition translates into relevance and preference.

Case Study: KFC/Kentucky Fried Chicken

In the ’90s, Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded to KFC to move away from the negative connotations of “fried.” The shift made sense in a market leaning toward healthier options. But in recent years, consumer attitudes toward indulgence have changed again. Rather than hiding from its roots, KFC started bringing back “Kentucky Fried Chicken” to reconnect with its heritage and reinforce the story behind its name.

KFC realised that consumers were no longer deterred by the word “fried”—instead, they were preferring authenticity and nostalgia. By balancing modern relevance with brand heritage, they regained lost ground without losing their identity.

Key Takeaways:

Awareness is an asset, but it needs to be activated to drive preference.
If a brand is well-known but struggling with relevance, it’s time to examine what’s missing for its audience.
Evolution should strengthen what’s working, rather than just modernising for the sake of it.

KFC could pivot back because it never completely abandoned its core identity. But not all brands leave themselves with that option.

2. Knowing What to Keep vs. What to Change

Some elements of a brand should never change because they are core to recognition, while others need to evolve to remain relevant.

Case Study: Clean Up Australia (Our Work)

Clean Up Australia has exceedingly strong brand awareness alongside highly positive associations. But to engage younger audiences and remain just as urgent today as when it launched in 1990, it needed to evolve—without losing what made it iconic.

When we examined what existed and what people most connected to, we found that most of what was memorable lived in the logo. So rather than altering it, we focused on what truly made the brand resonate—its purpose, heritage, and mission—and used this to build a suite of visual cues around it.

We introduced a range of complementary colour palettes, invested in a dynamic “Australia” device to reinforce the logo, considered typefaces, and refined the structure and messaging. Together, these elements authentically connected to its past while making it feel highly contemporary, allowing the brand to assert its authority while engaging younger audiences.

Where This Can Go Wrong: Jaguar

In 2024, Jaguar completely abandoned its traditional luxury identity in favour of an ultra-modern, androgynous, electric-first aesthetic. It erased its heritage cues, design language, and iconic elements, leaving only the name “Jaguar.”

This complete break from its legacy alienated loyal customers while failing to establish a compelling new identity for prospective buyers. Unlike KFC, which had a story it could return to, Jaguar may have gone too far—risking becoming just a name with no identity left from its heritage to refer back to. To me this raises an important question: if the brand was going to abandon everything that made it recognisable, why not start fresh with a new name?

Key Takeaways:

Fixed assets (logos, colours, brand marks) should be handled with care.
Flexible assets (visual language, messaging, campaign identity) can evolve to re-engage audiences.
Change should feel like a natural extension of the brand’s DNA, rather than a forced reinvention.

3. Reinventing While Maintaining Trust

There are times when a brand must completely transform—but even then, continuity is critical to maintaining trust and credibility.

Case Study: Crestone Wealth Management (Our Work)

Crestone Wealth Management was born from UBS Wealth Management. As UBS decided to exit the category, Crestone needed to establish itself as an entirely new brand while retaining the credibility of its origins.

It was important to consider every component of this transformation to ensure we could imply continuity where it mattered. The name “Crestone” was carefully selected to evoke strength and stability. Visually, the brand was designed to feel modern yet premium, subtly carrying forward elements that signaled expertise and trust. Even the language and messaging strategy reinforced Crestone’s standing as a worthy successor to UBS’s legacy while creating a distinct identity.

To further establish credibility, we retained key elements of UBS’s positioning but presented them through a new lens—one that differentiated Crestone as an independent player. By making deliberate choices in branding, Crestone ensured that existing clients felt reassured while still attracting a fresh audience looking for a new, premium alternative.

Key Takeaways:

Even when a brand must completely transform, subtle continuity builds credibility.
Clients and customers need reassurance during major brand transitions—familiar signals help bridge that gap.
A strong strategic foundation ensures a rebrand is not just a name change but a well-executed evolution.

Case Study: LJ Hooker (Our Work)

LJ Hooker has almost 100% brand awareness. But in a shifting real estate landscape with new competitors and digital disruptors, awareness alone wasn’t enough—it needed to reassert why it was the right choice.

We developed “The Difference”—a brand platform that modernised LJ Hooker’s positioning while strengthening its heritage. The question we needed to answer was: **Why LJ Hooker?**

While LJ Hooker had a strong presence, market perception had started to blur. The challenge was to clarify its position—not just as a name people knew, but as the most **trusted, knowledgeable, and results-driven** real estate choice. Rather than just updating its logo, we focused on reinforcing its expertise, longevity, and commitment to clients through brand storytelling, refreshed visuals, and a sharper strategic positioning.

By doing this, LJ Hooker was able to stand out in a crowded marketplace while staying true to what made it iconic in the first place.

Key Takeaways:

The best brand evolutions don’t just look different—they clearly communicate why the brand is still the right choice.
Modernisation works best when it builds on core strengths, not just aesthetics.
A brand must continuously reassert its value rather than rely on past recognition.

Final Thought: The Real Work Is Beyond Recognition

High-awareness brands don’t survive by staying the same—they evolve with intent. The strongest brands understand that recognition is only valuable when it leads to relevance.

Leverage recognition as an asset—but don’t let it make the brand passive.
Keep what’s iconic, but evolve what’s losing relevance.
Align change with consumer needs, not just aesthetic trends.

Move fast when the time comes – don’t stand still.

The best brands don’t just respond to change—they drive it. They shape conversations, build trust, and secure their place in the future while respecting their past.