On March 27th, we had the pleasure of speaking at the very first edition of How to Brand — a new Czech conference created specifically for the people who shape brands: marketers, founders, creative directors, and brand managers.

Held in Brno at the Reduta Theatre, the one-day event focused entirely on the process of rebranding — why it matters, what makes it successful, and what pitfalls to avoid. The program featured six keynotes, each offering a different lens on identity, transformation and long-term brand building. The day was guided by moderator Lukáš Hejlík, and the event was brought to life by Karel “Mindless” Novotný, Hook & Tell, and Bloomfield Studio.

Our Talk: Why Design Is A Strategic Asset in Rebranding

We opened the conference with a talk rooted in our day-to-day experience as a branding studio:

-> Design is not an afterthought or “nice-to-have,” but a strategic tool for influencing perception

In a world of choice overload and attention scarcity, how your brand looks is how it’s understood.

And yet, design is often treated as a cosmetic layer - rather than the strategic driver it can be.

So we set out to show the opposite: how thoughtful design can reshape perception, shift positioning, and unlock growth.

To make it real, we took the audience behind the scenes of a project that’s especially close to our hearts — the rebranding of Korunní, one of the Czech Republic’s most established mineral water brands.

About Korunní - A Fresh Start for a Classic Brand

Korunní has long been a familiar name in Czech households - but over time, the brand had lost its clarity and emotional relevance. Its visual identity was fragmented, its product portfolio unfocused, and its perception had settled somewhere near “cheap and generic.”

When Kofola, a leading Czech beverage group, acquired the brand, the goal was not just cosmetic change - but meaningful transformation.

We worked together to reposition Korunní with a new sense of purpose:

Not another wellness cliché or performance-enhancing promise - just a brand that understands how people live, and how they want to feel.a modern, refreshing, everyday oasis for city life.

What Stays True No Matter the Brand

We used the keynote to distill the thinking behind the rebrand. The lessons we’ve learned - not just from this project, but from over a decade of helping lifestyle brands evolve.

Some of the key points we shared:

Clarity before creativity

Before designing anything, define who you are, what you offer, and where you’re going.

First impressions are decisions

In a crowded market, people don’t always compare. They choose what feels right.

Trying to be everything leads to nothing

You can’t speak to everyone - and that’s a good thing. Be brave enough to stand for something specific.

Emotions over explanations

People don’t buy what you do. They buy how it makes them feel. Design gives that feeling form.

The best branding work is co-created

Great agencies don’t work for you. They work with you. With Korunní, shared trust and open dialogue were the foundation.

And finally —

Choose your agency like you’d choose a co-founder.

Find someone who gets you. Who challenges you. Who listens more than they pitch. A rebrand is too important to get halfway right.

Two Perspectives, One Story

Right after our keynote, Katarína Pereszlényiová, Senior Brand Manager for Korunní at Kofola ČeskoSlovensko, took the stage to share the client-side perspective.

While we focused on the strategic and creative thinking behind the rebrand, Katarína walked the audience through what happens after the work leaves the agency — from internal buy-in to sales rollout, launch campaigns, and the early market response.

Together, the two talks offered a complete picture of what rebranding really takes: clarity, collaboration, and commitment on both sides of the table.

A Day of Real-World Brand Thinking

The rest of the day brought valuable perspectives from agencies, strategists and in-house teams. Talks covered emotional branding, visual systems, organizational transformation and brand consistency at scale.

Rebranding is never just one thing. It’s a complex, multi-layered process that looks different depending on where you’re standing - from marketing to leadership, design to operations. That’s what made the conference so valuable: a space where all those perspectives could meet, overlap, and challenge one another.

Marketing & Media, the leading Czech marketing publication, covered the event — you can find the article here. Czechdesign also reported on How to Brand - read their article here.

We were honored to help kick off the first edition of How to Brand by showing what’s possible when strategy and design move together. And even more so to do it alongside a client who understood that great brands are never just made - they’re shaped, over time, through brave decisions, clear intentions, and real collaboration.

If you’re considering a rebrand, we’ll leave you with this:

• Don’t rush the creative.
• Don’t skip the prep work.
• And don’t settle for an agency that doesn’t challenge you.

Because when you find the right partner - one who sees what you’re building and knows how to bring it to life - that’s when the real work (and the real magic) begins.