Communication is key when it comes to changes in branding, marketing campaigns, or even policies, rules and regulations. We’ve all been caught by these changes at one time or another, and get frustrated when we get caught.

A few examples I have are:

• Facebook changes their privacy settings allowing third party applications to access personal information. Facebook did a half decent job letting media outlets know of this change, but they did not directly notify users with a screen message in advance. There was a lot of outrage and some users quit Facebook.
• CIBC (my bank for everyday banking) changed rules regarding getting large certified cheques made at non home branch locations. I have to go back to my home branch to get it done. As well, something about updating my signature profile at my home branch. And there’s no way of changing my home branch aside from closing my account and opening a new one at another branch. Did they notify their customers? No. Am I mad? Yes. I think I’ll switch banks, one which is more convenient.

The segway to this post is, when changing your branding, campaign or other, you need to notify the general public about it. Otherwise, be wary of the backlash!

Did you hear that Subway is changing the way they lay the cheese on their subs? While this is a small change, some people were concerned that they would put less cheese on their subs. They said it wouldn’t. See how easy that was? Tell us of the change in advance and address the questions. Facebook = half fail. CIBC = fail.