I worked for many years for a large company whose year ran from October to September. They would re-organise at the start of every year, and this inevitably became known as "The October Revolution". Whole divisions would disappear and others would be created, and department heads would roll, as befits any revolution. The term of course actually refers to the second phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Sometimes political systems are felt to be so inappropriate that overturning them appears the only course. Usually we prefer evolution to revolution in most things.

What about where branding is concerned? Is it ever right to take a dramatic step or always better to tweak? Surely that must depend. If your brand is either so out of tune with your market, because it's changed or you have, or maybe just because you've screwed things up royally, then abandoning it could be the right choice. Accenture is often cited as the best example of this, where rebranding created clear blue water between the consultancy and the disgraced accountants Arthur Andersen, and saved the day.

So, will you evolve your brand? Or maybe you favour an October Revolution!

Nigel Penn-Simkins 0118 951 9450