Board Engagement in Branding
How to Approach a Rebrand for an Organization with a Highly Engaged Board
Jul 17, 2026 – by Susannah Ramshaw
Some recent clients have been navigating versions of the same challenge: they’re deep into a rebranding process and have large boards or governing bodies who are invested in the future of their organizations. But when presented with a new-and-exciting brand transformation by the internal client team, the board feels “meh” — or worse — provides feedback that would undo much of the (monthslong) strategic and creative work we’ve already collectively engaged in.
It’s a dynamic we’ve seen at Firebelly before — and one I’m personally familiar with — having dedicated the majority of my career to the nonprofit sector.
Your board members aren’t the final decision-makers, but they also aren’t a rubber-stamp audience.
I recently met with a client to help them strategize around an upcoming board presentation. Their prior board meeting hadn’t been so successful and their delivery of new visual identity options sent us all back to the drawing board — and had us second guessing our strategic direction.
I helped reframe the upcoming conversation with the board around trust and honoring the creative process. (Stakeholders who’ve been on the periphery can feel unmoored when the work is finally in front of them — especially when the organization is undergoing real change.)
I also helped reframe their goal for the board meeting:
The goal isn’t universal comfort. It’s strategic soundness.
A rebrand isn’t going to appease everyone. The consensus should gather around it supporting your organizational strategy for change, growth and sustainability.
Below is a recap of the guidance I shared with this client, generalized a bit to be helpful for anyone navigating a similar challenge.
1. Start by owning the room. Set expectations at the top of the meeting: what you’re there to share, what kind of input you’re looking for, and how long the discussion will last. Without that container, open-ended feedback sessions drift into personal taste debates. Put a time limit on it. Call on voices that may not be the most vocal. If you want written feedback afterward, say so, and tell them what level of detail is actually useful.
2. Remind them they were already part of this. One of the most powerful things you can say to a skeptical stakeholder is: we heard from you. Ideally governing body members have contributed to discovery via a survey or interview. Surface the thread between what they shared early on and what’s being presented now. The brand didn’t emerge from a vacuum; it emerged from the community around the organization, and they’re part of that.
3. Present a recommendation, not a menu. One of the fastest ways to invite committee-style feedback is to lay out multiple directions as equally weighted options and ask a large group to choose. Instead, walk in with a recommendation and own it. If presenting a new visual identity, tie the direction explicitly to the brand strategy that’s already been approved — and demonstrate that it will marry nicely with the positioning, the attributes, the voice and tone. When you can say “this direction aligns with what we agreed on because of X, Y, and Z,” you’re not asking for a vote. You’re sharing a conclusion that the work itself supports.
4. Honor the emotion in the room. For organizations going through a name change or a significant identity shift, the stakes feel personal — not just institutional. Acknowledging that this kind of work is emotional, not just operational, goes a long way.
People don’t push back on change because they’re difficult; they push back because they care.
Meeting that with empathy rather than defensiveness changes the entire dynamic, as does giving them space to share fears and concerns. It’s always important to express gratitude to your stakeholders for being there along the way and supporting the journey with their time and emotional calories.
In each of these situations, the organizations who navigate it well have something in common: they trust their process, present with conviction, and treat their boards as the invested partners they are — not as obstacles to manage. That posture, more than any single tactic, is what brings a room along.
If your organization is heading into a similar moment, we’d love to help you prepare.
Sometimes a conversation before the presentation is the most valuable one you can have.