Brand Refresh Checklist: What to Update (And What to Leave Alone)

A brand refresh can be one of the most valuable moves a growing business makes, or one of the most expensive distractions.

The difference isn’t how much you change.

It’s what you change, and what you deliberately protect.

This brand refresh checklist is designed to help leadership teams, founders and marketers make smart, strategic decisions about what actually needs updating, and what’s better left alone.

Because a strong brand refresh isn’t about reinventing your business.

It’s about making sure your brand reflects where you’re going, not who you were three years ago.

What is a brand refresh really?

A brand refresh is a selective, strategic update to how your brand looks, sounds and communicates, without throwing away the equity you’ve already built.

A typical brand refresh focuses on:

Clarifying positioning and messaging
Updating visual identity elements (not necessarily the logo)
Aligning brand expression with business reality

What it doesn’t usually involve:

Renaming the business
Starting from zero
Disrupting customer recognition

If you’re weighing up whether you need a refresh or something more fundamental, it’s worth reading:

👉 Rebrand or brand refresh: how to know what your business really needs

The brand refresh checklist:

What to update in a brand refresh

These are the areas that most often benefit from a refresh, and where the biggest impact tends to come from.

Brand messaging & value proposition

This is almost always the starting point.

As businesses grow, evolve or change focus, their messaging often lags behind. What once felt sharp and differentiated can become vague, generic or misaligned.

A brand refresh should typically update:

Your core value proposition
Positioning statement
Key messages by audience
Proof points and differentiators

If your brand struggles to clearly answer “Why you?” in a single sentence, this is where the work needs to start.

For a deeper look at how messaging should be structured, read this article:

👉Value proposition message houses

Visual Identity (Refine, Don’t Reinvent)

A visual refresh is about evolution, not novelty.

Often refreshed:

Colour palette (simplified or modernised)
Typography
Layout systems / brand framework systems
Graphic devices
Photography or illustration style

Usually left largely intact:

The logo (at most lightly refined / modernised)
Recognisable visual cues

The goal is to look more confident, contemporary and intentional, without becoming unrecognisable.

Website experience & narrative

Your website is where a brand refresh becomes visible to the world.

Common refresh priorities:

Homepage narrative and structure
Page hierarchy and user flow
Tone of voice
Call-to-actions
How case studies and credentials are framed

What to protect:

High-performing pages
Existing SEO equity (URLs, rankings, backlinks)

A refresh should improve clarity and conversion, not reset your digital footprint.

Brand voice & tone

Brand voice often drifts unnoticed, especially in growing teams.

You may need a refresh if:

Your brand sounds generic or interchangeable
Tone doesn’t match your seniority or ambition
Different channels sound like different companies

A brand refresh can bring consistency through:

Clear tone-of-voice principles
Writing guidelines
Messaging examples in context

Sales & marketing assets

Once strategy and messaging are clear, your assets should follow.

Often refreshed as part of a brand update:

Pitch decks
Sales collateral
Social templates
Email templates

The key is alignment, assets should reinforce your positioning, not contradict it.

What to leave alone in a brand refresh

One of the most common brand refresh mistakes is changing things simply because they feel “old”.

Restraint is part of good brand strategy.

Your brand name

Changing a name:

Is expensive
Creates confusion
Resets brand recognition

Unless there are legal, reputational or strategic limitations, a brand refresh should work with the name you already have.

Existing brand equity

If people recognise you for something valuable, protect it.

That might include:

Familiar visual cues
Recognisable language
Trusted brand signals

Remember: a successful refresh should feel like progress and evolution.

What’s already working

If something is performing, think carefully before changing it.

Protect:

High-converting messaging
Strong SEO pages
Well-understood propositions

A refresh isn’t about fixing what isn’t broken. It’s about removing friction where it exists.

When a checklist isn’t enough

A checklist can highlight what might need attention, but it can’t replace strategic clarity.

During our work with Grypp, the most valuable part of the brand refresh wasn’t visual change, but the foundational work underneath it. By defining a clear value proposition and aligning leadership around it, Grypp were able to refresh their brand with confidence, knowing exactly what to change — and what to protect.