When to revisit your brand strategy and messaging (and when to leave well alone)

May 7, 2025

By Ellie Jackson, Chief Client Strategy Officer

In this post, Head of Brand, Insights and Strategy, Ellie Jackson explains how often brand messaging should be reviewed, why it’s essential to keep it relevant, and offers a simple framework for identifying when it’s time for a refresh or full revisit.

Finalising brand strategy, messaging, or a new brand platform can be one of the more intense stages of a marketing team’s work. Even with the help of a supportive external consultant leading the charge, it can require aligning a group of stakeholders who may hold very different views about the business, its direction, or even its audience. So once the dust settles and the document is signed off, it’s no surprise that the appetite to reopen the process is often… low.

And rightly so. These aren’t things to be messed with lightly. Brand platforms need time to settle, embed, and take root across your internal culture and the wider market.

Why brand strategy reviews matter

But all too often, we see businesses coming to us with messaging or a vision/mission that hasn’t been looked at in years. In some cases, five or more. Meanwhile, the business has evolved dramatically:

Products have been launched, repositioned, or retired

The market has shifted – whether through disruption, regulation, or just natural evolution

The leadership team has turned over, sometimes multiple times

New audiences are being targeted

You’ve acquired, merged, pivoted, restructured

Your operating regions or regions of focus have shifted

In short, the brand platform or messaging is out of step with where the business is now and where it’s trying to go.

When is the right time to revisit messaging?

Here’s a rule of thumb we use with our clients:

Messaging frameworks – revisit every 2 years.

Vision, mission, and brand platform – review every 5 years.

It’s not about a complete tear-down every time. In fact, in many cases, you’ll find that what you built still holds strong. But it’s worth checking. Reassessing your messaging doesn’t mean you’re back at square one. It means taking a clear-eyed look at whether it still aligns with the business you’re running today.

How to run an effective messaging review

Keep it simple: bring together a few key people from across the business – marketing, product, sales, leadership. Put the messaging or brand platform on the table and ask:

Does this still reflect who we are and where we’re going?

What’s changed since we wrote this?

What has worked well in practice?

Have we adapted this informally over time – and should we codify that?

Sometimes, all that’s needed is a light refresh. Other times, it’s clear you’ve outgrown the language, structure or assumptions that used to serve you well.

The business value of timely messaging reviews

Strong messaging keeps all your marketing – and increasingly, your sales and customer experience – pulling in the same direction. It ensures every touchpoint reinforces the same strategic story. When messaging is outdated, teams improvise. The story starts to fragment. And brand consistency – an important long-term driver of growth in B2B – starts to erode.

A periodic review process helps avoid that drift. It keeps the work sharp, relevant, and actionable – without redoing everything from scratch.

If you’re unsure whether your current messaging still fits the bill, speak to our brand, insights and strategy team. We can help you pressure-test what you’ve got and make sure you’re not relying on a story that no longer serves you.

Because brand strategy doesn’t stop once it’s signed off. It just starts working.

Key Takeaway Section

Q: How often should brand messaging and platforms be reviewed?
A: Messaging frameworks should be reviewed every 2 years; vision, mission, and brand platforms every 5 years.

Q: What are signs your messaging needs revisiting?
A: Changes in products, market conditions, leadership, target audience, or company structure are key triggers.

Q: Does reviewing messaging mean starting over?
A: Not at all. Reviews help ensure alignment – often, only small tweaks are needed rather than a full overhaul.