There’s a particular kind of embarrassment that hits about six months after a rebrand. You’ve launched the new website. You’ve updated the social media. You’ve celebrated the new look with your team. And then a client hands you back an old business card, or you spot your outdated logo on a leaflet still sitting in a hotel rack, or you realise the branded pen you just gave someone at a networking event is from three brand identities ago.
Rebrands are exciting. But they’re also full of hidden print. And unlike a website — which you can update in an afternoon — printed materials have a physical life that keeps going long after the digital rollout has finished.
If you’re planning a rebrand or in the middle of one, here’s the checklist of print to audit, update, and refresh. Get this right and your new brand rolls out cleanly. Miss things and old brand fragments will haunt you for months.
Start With the Stationery
The obvious place to begin, and the pieces that get used most frequently.
Business cards need reprinting for every member of the team who uses them, and old stock should be recycled rather than “used up” for the sake of thrift. Handing out cards with the old branding after a rebrand quietly undermines the whole point of doing it.
Letterheads need updating both as print stock and as digital templates. Make sure your team knows to switch to the new digital letterhead template immediately for all emails, quotes, and PDFs.
Compliments slips and envelopes complete the core stationery set. If your envelopes are branded, they’ll need reprinting to match.
The Client-Facing Marketing Print
Brochures, leaflets, and flyers need auditing carefully. What’s currently in circulation? What’s sitting in your reception? What’s out in the wild at partner venues, hotels, or referral points? Do a proper sweep and pull anything that’s now out of date.
Rack cards and posters need the same treatment. Any promotional print out in physical locations needs replacing, not just eventually but as soon as possible after launch.
Presentation folders are often forgotten because they last so long. Check what you’re handing out at client meetings.
Vouchers and gift cards need urgent attention if you sell them. Old-brand vouchers in circulation can confuse customers when they come to redeem them.
Signage — Inside and Out
External signage at your premises is one of the most visible pieces of your brand identity. Update it early, ideally coordinated with the rebrand launch itself.
Window graphics and vehicle livery are often overlooked in the initial planning. Both are highly visible and both take time to design and install.
Internal signage — reception boards, wayfinding, meeting room names, notice boards — all need auditing. It’s amazing how many small internal signs still carry old brand elements months into a rebrand.
Roll-up banners and exhibition stands need updating before your next event, or you’ll be presenting the new brand behind old branding.
Operational and Internal Print
Uniforms and workwear if you have them. Invoice pads, delivery notes, and quotation books if you use any physical versions. Business forms, client agreements, and contracts — anything with your logo or letterhead on it.
Branded merchandise and promotional items — pens, notebooks, keyrings, water bottles. These often live for years in drawers before being distributed.
Coordination Is Everything
The single biggest tip for a smooth rebrand rollout is coordinating your print with your launch date. Design and produce everything in advance, so it’s ready to arrive at the same time you go live digitally. A staggered rollout where the website is new but the business cards still aren’t ready looks unprofessional and confuses clients.
Work backwards from your launch date and give yourself proper lead times for design, proofing, printing, and delivery.
Let Us Help
At Podds Print in Whyteleafe, we’ve supported many businesses through rebrand rollouts, coordinating everything from stationery to signage to make sure nothing gets missed.
Talk to our team today — let’s make your new brand launch beautifully.