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Why rebranding requires a human-centered approach: For B2B health CEOs and CMOs leading change

What does it mean that Orange Square embraces a human-centered approach?

In order to talk about that, I think we need to talk about the opposite of a human-centered approach, which is a corporate-centered approach. This is where a lot of companies operate from. It makes sense. I’m not blaming you. It’s okay. But corporations have a culture, right?

A lot of times you’re setting goals and thinking it’s a financial goal or something you’re trying to reach. So when a company has an initiative, what happens is it goes through a process: initiation, planning, execution, delivery of whatever you’re making, and then measurement and refinement. The problem with corporate-centered goal setting is you aren’t finding out what the audience wants until too late in the process because you didn’t check in with that audience.

I wrote a whole book on this called Shift: Leading Change with Human-Centered Innovation. You can check it out on Amazon.

So what does it mean that Orange Square takes a human-centered approach? It means that we’re centering people in everything we do. It could be your customers, your teams, your partners.

In a rebrand, we’re looking at all aspects of your business and every single kind of audience you have, internal and external.

We are focusing on the real challenges that any of these audiences are facing. We dig into the right problems, which means we have a problem-finding mindset. I think that often what happens in business is everyone’s so anxious to get to producing something that they define something quickly, get excited that it’s defined, and move straight into problem-solving. I would implore you to really take some time and have a problem-finding mindset.

This probably comes from my background as a designer, because what we were taught is if you solve the wrong problem, you get the wrong answer. I know we’ve all had that experience.

So a human-centered approach means defining the right problem clearly.

This is where you understand what it is, then connect ideas to solutions, prototype, and test. You can think about what the possibilities are. It doesn’t mean that business goals are bad, but it means that you’re going to waste time and money if you invest in all those steps before understanding that you haven’t solved the right problem.

That’s what makes our approach to rebranding stand out: In every aspect, we take a human-centered approach.

5 things health leaders need to know about rebranding: Start your brand transformation right

So why is a human-centered approach especially important when you’re working with B2B health-related companies?

This is something we really focus on at Orange Square.

And there are five points:

It helps you mitigate risk. In health, trust is fragile. Placing people’s needs first in business decisions reduces stakeholder distrust and market resistance. It accelerates adoption and market growth.
It shortens your sales cycles and accelerates market entry because you understand and address the real motivations of the key decision-makers and market influencers you work with.
It increases competitive advantage and differentiation. By aligning your offerings around genuine customer needs, your solutions resonate more strongly. It makes it easier for your customers to choose to buy and to support your brand.
It drives internal alignment and productivity. In organizations guided by a human-centered approach, employees see the real human impact of the work. That in turn increases morale, productivity, and retention — all critical for operational efficiency and cost control.
It fosters long-term growth and stability. Because you’re focusing on problem finding, you stay focused on your clients. You’re aligned with the market’s shifting expectations because you’re paying attention. You’re protecting your strategic investments and positioning your business for sustainable, resilient growth.

Why rebranding in B2B health is really a transfer of trust

So why is it that rebranding is high stakes for health-related companies?

Well, because in this sector, rebranding isn’t just a visual refresh — it’s a transfer of trust. I’ve learned over the years that that’s really the business we’re in. We’re in the trust transfer business. In rebranding health organizations, they’re held to a higher standard. You know this. It’s important.

Many leaders assume that trust will carry over, but it doesn’t. I know that inside, you know what the trust is. But in a rebrand where things are changing, you have to be intentional. You have to earn that trust again, and it has to be reinforced.

That’s where we come in. Our human-centered approach at Orange Square is a structured framework that helps ensure that this trust is preserved and strengthened throughout the transition.

How to make rebranding less risky: What health CEOs and CMOs need to know

How does Orange Square make the rebranding process less risky?

Well, we de-risk rebranding by aligning your brand strategy with your business strategy. That means every brand decision supports your larger goals, like funding growth or expansion.

We also help you define your unique position in the markets. We bring clarity and definition from your competitors. We want you to stand out.

We want you to be who you are. With the right architecture, your brand identity structure will be clear, easy to comprehend, and will make sure your company’s strengths are visible both internally and externally.

5 things leaders get wrong about rebranding: What you don’t know until you’ve been through it

If you have never gone through a rebranding process, or maybe only once: What happens and what goes wrong?

You don’t realize until you’ve gone through it. There are five primary things that CEOs and CMOs get wrong until they have gone through a rebranding process.

They underestimate the strategic impact.

They treat rebranding as a superficial marketing or design update, instead of the critical strategic business transformation that redefines their entire organization.

They’re not recognizing the emotional complexity of a rebrand.

They underestimate the emotional challenges that they will face for all stakeholders, internal and external. Rebranding means letting go of your established identity and stepping into uncertainty and change.

They are not allocating sufficient time and resources.

They rush the process, failing to give the rebrand the necessary time, attention and investment for deep alignment and lasting impact.

They miss the opportunity for internal alignment.

They overlook the importance of engaging all and aligning all employees whose buy-in is essential in this new brand direction. They miss the opportunity to strengthen, expand trust and connection both internally and externally.

They have a fear of losing approval instead of owning their own identity.

This new identity. They worry too much about losing stakeholder approval, rather than confidently embracing and communicating their unique value in the marketplace.

So let me tell you a story about a client who had never gone through a rebranding process.

This was a merger-acquisition. There’s always a lot of pressure in merger-acquisitions. Time is always, you know…there’s always a tendency to rush everything. And I think when we started using the framework, there was a lot of misalignment between how they were going to combine services and who the new audiences were.

What did that look like? So this process, as we went through the framework, gave them at each stage more and more clarity for the business decisions they needed to make that they hadn’t. I understand that, especially in a merger-acquisition, you’ve taken so much time to get to this point that you really want to kind of get to this next stage.

But without using a framework and going through these clarity steps, you undermine all of the investments you just made.

Why rebranding is a strategic business decision NOT a design exercise

When I’m referring to rebranding as a strategic business decision as opposed to a design exercise, what am I talking about?

When properly executed, rebranding is strategic because it is the foundation for achieving key business goals over extended period of time. It’s aligning your vision, unifying your team, and driving growth. It redefines how employees understand their roles, motivating them to engage with the company’s mission.

It requires active participation from all departments (not just marketing), ensuring company-wide engagement.

It demands that the CEO actively champions and clearly communicates the brand’s purpose, reinforcing its importance across sales, customer support, IT, marketing and operations. The brand’s strategic vision starts with the CEO, who must authentically embody it to inspire belief and action throughout the organization. We love to work with CEOs who understand this opportunity.

How rebranding drives business growth: Clarity, confidence and exit value

So how exactly does rebranding drive business growth?

Companies that take branding seriously don’t just protect their existing equity. They accelerate market adoption, increase sales velocity, and enhance valuation. A successful rebrand secures stakeholder confidence by maintaining trust in the company’s vision. This enables faster decisions, smoother execution and sustained business momentum.

Let me tell you a story about a CEO that really wasn’t interested in rebranding, at all.

There wasn’t any significant challenge except for the fact that they wanted to really grow market share. And so I think that the CEO felt: Well you know, you guys can do this, sure…sounds great. And so we would go and present all these concepts. And it was interesting because they were scientists. So I totally understand that this wasn’t something they were focused on. They weren’t really into marketing. They they didn’t really understand what the concept of brand was. And we were using our framework and taking them through the process. They loved the clarity that it brought and they loved the framework. But I still think the work they were doing…they weren’t quite getting the importance.

Until one year, after the second rebrand we had done for them, they went to a show. And it was a trade show they had gone to every single year. They were presenting a bunch of posters, they were doing a bunch of talks. And there wasn’t any difference in the talks; they didn’t do any more talks, they didn’t have any more posters. But when we did the second rebrand, we also re-did all their PowerPoints and re-did all their posters. Everyone was coming up to them at the show: “Oh, you guys are everywhere! Look at this!” Then they got it: “Oh! Now we get what you were saying!” Because of everyone’s reaction to everything being cohesive and having an identity. And it was a stronger identity. And they understood their market position; that was reflected in everything they were saying.

And by the way, they didn’t have the opportunity to resell their company. In the end, their exit was selling to a Fortune 25. So in the end, it was a great investment.

This reminds me of something that Max Dupree said. He was a CEO of Herman Miller.

“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.”

External clarity in the rebranding framework: Positioning, competition and strategic objectives

Once we have completed the three internal clarity elements, we explore the three external clarity elements.

Those are positioning, establishing a clear, differentiated market presence that highlights your unique strengths. Competition analyzing competitors to understand your distinctive advantage and effectively communicate your market differentiation and objectives. Clearly defining strategic goals and measurable outcomes. Why is external clarity important? It’s important because it establishes clear objectives, sets measurable goals and guides strategic efforts.

It defines market positioning, clarifies how your brand stands apart and highlights your unique strengths.

It enhances your competitive advantage. Provides deep insights into your competitors and helps you clarify and articulate your distinct value. It improves client engagement by communicating clearly and effectively. You build stronger client relationships. And finally, it drives focused growth. It guides targeted strategic decisions, maximizing resources and market opportunities.

How our framework supports mergers and acquisitions: Creating clarity in complexity

So how does this framework specifically help with merger-acquisitions?

These are always complex situations. And I have to tell you, at Orange Square we love to address complexity in merger-acquisition scenarios. Our framework facilitates the careful integration of different corporate cultures, identities and brand equities.

We always start at the core with services and clients. We begin by studying the services and clients of each company: Should they be combined? Do they expand your existing market offerings? Do they create new ones? What does this mean for your target audiences? How do they relate to the services? Once you’ve defined them and what are your new value propositions?

Next, we focus on organizational clarity. We address the internal clarity by deeply exploring the differences in mission, vision and core beliefs. This helps us identify cultural differences and align internal teams around a unified purpose.

When organizations come together, the importance of external clarity takes on a whole new dimension.

We work with you to update your market positioning to help you better understand your new competitive landscape and redefine your objectives.

Recently, a client hired us to just work on their mission, vision and core beliefs. Our framework can be used as an entry point to a rebrand. This is where you’re at. We can meet you there. We will start working on your internal clarity before we move to your rebrand.

Why new CEOs shouldn’t overlook rebranding: It’s not a design project, it’s a growth strategy

For new CEOs: Why is rebranding something they can’t afford to overlook or treat as a design exercise?

New CEOs typically inherit brands rather than build them. Without emotional attachment, they often see brands simply as tools rather than sentimental assets, which is good but risky. Overlooking the strategic importance of rebranding creates immediate friction and slows growth. It leads to insufficient sales processes, diluted credibility, confusing market positioning; and it weakens investor confidence.

But done right, a strategic rebrand clarifies market position, sharpens messaging, aligns teams, accelerates growth and strengthens valuation—precisely what high-growth leaders such as yourself want, and what investors demand.