Retiring a Brand: The Decisions That Matter
Withdrawing a brand name from the market, whether after consolidation, poor performance or a strategy change.
Priya Raghunathan
Where most projects go wrong
The usual mistakes:
- Silent brand disappearances
- Dead links from old brand pages
- Abandoned social accounts
- Trademark lapses that let others take the name
What good looks like instead
- Communicate the change to customers early
- Redirect web addresses permanently
- Plan sell-through of old packaging
- Decide whether to maintain defensive trademark registrations
- Update every directory and profile
Why it matters
Retired brands leave customers, search results and trademarks behind, and all of them need handling.
The specs that matter
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Trademarks | registrations lapse without continued use and required filings |
| Redirects | web addresses need permanent redirects |
| Customer communication | existing customers need to know what changes |
| Inventory | packaging and stock carry the old brand for a while |
Knowing when to hand it over
Tip: Bring in help when consolidating several brands.
Where this comes from
- United States Patent and Trademark Office — Maintaining your registration
- Google Search Central — Site moves with URL changes
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Brand & Identity Design work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
