This is a guest post by Michael Yunat*.

A brand is much more than a name. It creates an identity that consumers can associate feelings with and give attributes to.

A brand can include anything from a choice of font in a logo to a flagship product to even a signature sound. Many companies that have been around for decades still maintain the same values as when they first began.

A brand tells a story. Ideally the story will be positive, and if it isn’t, a company will try to rebrand itself. A brand identifies a company’s ethics, whether it helps give away their products to charity or underpays its workers.

A brand tells the story of a company’s history, whether it was started in a garage or owned by a billionaire. A brand evokes emotion from an audience, which is why we feel connected to our favorite brands. Consumers connect the brand with the experience of using it.

Ultimately, a brand is determined not only by the company but by how the consumers interpret it. A brand meant for a mature audience, certain alcoholic beverages for example, can surprise everyone and be picked up by a hip niche audience.

The same comic book character can be dark and gritty for one audience, and colorful and hopeful for another. Many artists and television shows unintentionally create undertones that certain segments of the population pick up on and magnify.

Consistent branding leads to strong brand equity, but there is always a trade-off when a brand can be stale or even toxic, and it’s time to think about rebranding.

Your brand is precious. How do you determine what you can gain or what you risk losing by re-introducing yourself to consumers?

GetVoIP compiled a nifty infographic highlighting Eight Crucial Laws of Rebranding. Use these rules as a guide to predict whether you will strengthen or weaken your company by rebranding.

When It's Time To Rebrand

Michael Yunat heads content curation and topic development at GetVoIP. Currently residing in Queens, NY, Michael possesses a B.A. in business media backed by an extensive background in digital communications. While constantly at work on several projects by day, Michael is also an avid basketball player and a DJ by night. To contact Michael, you can email him at myunat@getvoip.com