How Much Does a Brand Refresh, Brand Evolution or Rebrand Cost?
If you’re researching the cost of a brand refresh, brand evolution or full rebrand in Australia, you’ll quickly notice how inconsistent the answers are.
Some sources suggest a rebrand can cost a few thousand dollars. Others quote figures well into six or seven figures. Both claims can be true, but neither is useful without context.
The reason is simple.
Terms like refresh, evolution and rebrand describe the type of change, not the depth, complexity or commercial riskinvolved.
In practice, branding costs are shaped by:
- the maturity and complexity of the business
- the depth of strategic thinking required
- the number of stakeholders and future scenarios that must be aligned
- the level of identity system and governance needed to sustain the brand over time
This guide explains brand costs using a two-layer model:
- What kind of brand change is required (refresh, evolution or rebrand)
- How deep and sophisticated the work needs to be (tiered by business maturity and complexity)
Brand Refresh vs Brand Evolution vs Rebrand
Before cost, it’s important to be precise about definitions.
A brand refresh focuses on updating how a brand looks and presents itself. The underlying positioning and strategic intent of the business remain largely unchanged. Refreshes are usually triggered by visual fatigue, inconsistency, or a need to modernise how the brand shows up.
A brand evolution goes further. It rethinks how the brand is positioned, how it communicates value, and how it differentiates, while retaining the core equity the brand has already built. Evolutions are common when a business is growing, entering new markets, or shifting its offer.
A full rebrand is a fundamental reset. Strategy, positioning, architecture and identity are all reconsidered. Rebrands typically occur when the business itself has materially changed, or when the existing brand has become a constraint rather than an asset.
However, none of these labels tells you how complex the work actually is. That’s where tiers come in.
Why Tiering Matters When Discussing Brand Cost
Two organisations can both say they are “rebranding”, yet one might require a relatively contained strategic exercise, while the other needs a multi-layered programme involving leadership alignment, portfolio architecture, employer branding and long-term governance.
The difference is not semantics.
It is business maturity and commercial complexity.
A useful way to understand branding cost is to think in terms of tiers of sophistication, with each tier applying across strategy, brand identity and brand governance simultaneously.
Tier One: Foundational Brand Work
Tier One branding is designed for organisations that need clarity and momentum more than complexity management.
These are typically founder-led or early-stage businesses, or established businesses with relatively simple structures and decision-making. There are few stakeholders, limited internal friction, and the brand does not yet need to operate across many channels, products or markets.
At a strategy level, Tier One work focuses on establishing the fundamentals. The aim is to clearly articulate who the brand is for, what it stands for, how it is different, and how it should sound and behave. The work is deliberate and commercial, but not exhaustive. It is about setting direction, not solving for scale.
At the identity level, Tier One work delivers a clear, confident visual and verbal expression of that strategy. The identity is designed to work immediately, without needing to anticipate dozens of future scenarios. It is robust, but intentionally simple.
Brand guidelines at this tier focus on essential control. They ensure the brand is applied consistently, but do not attempt to govern complex architectures or internal rollouts.
Typical investment ranges at Tier One
- Brand strategy: approximately $25,000 - $40,000
- Brand identity development: approximately $15,000 - $25,000
- Brand guidelines (essentials): approximately $10,000 - $15,000
Tier One work is most often associated with brand refreshes and simpler brand evolutions, though some small-scale rebrands also sit here.
Tier Two: Brand Work for Growth and Scale
Tier Two branding is designed for businesses that are no longer simple, but not yet fully corporate.
These organisations are often scaling, diversifying, or professionalising. Decision-making involves multiple stakeholders. The brand must work across more channels, more audiences and more use cases. The cost of misalignment is higher, and the brand is expected to support growth rather than merely look credible.
At a strategy level, Tier Two work goes beyond foundational positioning. It addresses how the brand evolves, how it supports different offers or audiences, and how it creates clarity internally as well as externally. Messaging becomes more structured. Strategic choices are made about what the brand will focus on and what it will deliberately not be.
At the identity level, the brand system is designed to scale. Visual and verbal elements are built as a system rather than a single expression, with enough flexibility to work across marketing, digital, internal communication and future extensions.
Brand guidelines at this tier become an enablement tool. They are detailed enough to be used by internal teams and external partners, and they reduce reliance on the original agency for everyday decisions.
Typical investment ranges at Tier Two
- Brand strategy: approximately $50,000 - $80,000
- Brand identity system: approximately $30,000- $70,000
- Brand guidelines (comprehensive): approximately $35,000- $50,000
Most brand evolutions sit at Tier Two, as do many significant refreshes and rebrands for growing businesses.
Tier Three: Corporate and Enterprise Brand Work
Tier Three branding is designed for organisations where brand failure carries real commercial, reputational or operational risk.
These are typically corporate, regulated, or multi-brand organisations. Stakeholder complexity is high. The brand must be understood, adopted and applied by large internal teams, often across regions, business units or portfolios.
At a strategy level, Tier Three work often includes corporate brand strategy, brand architecture, employer branding and experience principles. The focus is not just on what the brand says today, but on how it can evolve over many years without needing reinvention. Strategy at this tier is as much about governance and alignment as it is about differentiation.
At the identity level, the system must be modular and durable. It needs to support sub-brands, endorsements, partnerships and future growth without fragmentation. Design decisions are made with longevity and governance in mind.
Brand guidelines at this tier become a governance framework. They define not just how the brand looks, but how decisions are made, how exceptions are handled, and how consistency is maintained at scale.
Typical investment ranges at Tier Three
- Brand strategy: approximately $90,000 - $170,000+
- Brand identity system: approximately $80,000 - $150,000+
- Brand guidelines and governance: approximately $90,000 - $120,000+
Most full rebrands sit at Tier Three, as do complex brand evolutions within established organisations.
How Refresh, Evolution and Rebrand Sit Across Tiers
This is where many cost discussions go wrong.
A brand refresh, evolution or rebrand can occur at different tiers depending on the organisation behind it. The label does not determine the cost. The tier does.
A refresh for a simple business may sit comfortably at Tier One.
A refresh for a corporate organisation may require Tier Two or Tier Three governance.
Similarly, a rebrand for a small organisation may be relatively contained, while a rebrand for a complex organisation must account for architecture, rollout and internal adoption.
This is why two “rebrands” can differ in cost by hundreds of thousands of dollars and both be entirely justified.
Timelines and What Actually Drives Them
As scope and complexity increase, timelines extend, but not because design takes longer.
Indicative timeframes are:
- Tier One: approximately 6 - 10 weeks
- Tier Two: approximately 10 - 16 weeks
- Tier Three: approximately 18 - 32+ weeks
The primary drivers of time are stakeholder alignment, decision-making and governance design, not creative execution.
A Final Perspective on Brand Investment
Branding is not a cosmetic exercise. It is a strategic investment that shapes how a business is perceived, trusted and chosen.
The most common mistake organisations make is not overspending on branding, but under-scoping the problem they are trying to solve.
The right question is not:
“How much does a brand refresh or rebrand cost?”
It is:
“What level of strategic clarity, system robustness and governance does our business actually need?”
Answer that honestly, and the appropriate tier - and investment - becomes much clearer.
