Most people think a rebrand is about swapping out a logo, picking new colors, or tweaking a tagline. That’s surface-level thinking. The truth is simple but brutal: sometimes the best way to rejuvenate a brand is to burn it down.
That’s what Cracker Barrel, Bud Light, and even Twitter/X have shown us. These weren’t just cosmetic makeovers. They were controlled burns. Painful. Loud. Strategic.
What a Controlled Burn Really Means
In the fire service, a controlled burn is deliberate. Firefighters set a blaze to burn away dry brush before a wildfire arrives. It looks destructive in the moment, but it saves the forest and protects communities. You sacrifice a patch of land to protect the whole.
Brands can use the same approach. Instead of waiting for slow decline or public irrelevance, they strike the match themselves.
Step 1: Set the Fire to Spark Attention
Attention is the lifeblood of modern business. A brand that isn’t talked about is a brand that’s fading.
That’s why controversy often acts as the spark. A logo change, a bold campaign, a cultural clash, suddenly the brand is trending again. Negative attention is still attention, and in the digital marketplace, attention equals relevance.
Silence never trends.
Step 2: Clear Out the Deadwood
When the fire is burning, leaders have cover to cut what’s slowing growth. Underperforming ideas and individuals. Teams not meeting expectations. Processes that no longer work.
In calm times, these cuts look harsh. In turbulent times, they look like survival moves. The backlash becomes a shield for necessary change.
Step 3: Covert Teams Control the Narrative
Firefighters don’t just put out flames; they steer them. The same goes for brands. Behind the scenes, covert teams frame the story as transformation, not collapse.
They push narratives to the press. They seed messages online. They make sure the conversation stays alive long enough for the brand to pivot.
From the outside, it looks like chaos. On the inside, it’s scripted.
Step 4: Reset and Rebuild in Full View
Once the smoke clears, growth begins. For brands, that means:
- New menus, product lines, or services
- Stronger digital platforms
- Sharper partnerships
- A more relevant, modern identity
- Relevance and Attention.
The old image dies in public. The new one rises in front of more eyes than ever before. The opportunity also exist to return to the old or a partial merging on the two brands.
Step 5: Harness the Power of Negative Attention
Negative attention hurts in the short run, but over time, it creates relevance and visibility.
People who never noticed the brand are suddenly debating it. Critics spread the message for free. The outrage cycle builds a platform that the brand can stand on when it’s ready to come back.
When the rebound happens, the company isn’t starting at zero; it’s launching from the spotlight.
Step 6: Dictate the Comeback
The smartest brands don’t just survive controversy. They dictate it. They decide how the loss happens, and they decide how the comeback is staged.
- Bud Light took a major hit but lined up with UFC to reposition itself.
- Elon Musk turned Twitter into a bonfire, then rebuilt X as the center of global conversation.
- Cracker Barrel has stirred outrage, but now has attention regardless of their plan to modernize menus, stores, and digital platforms under the cover of the rebrand.
When you own the ashes, you own the story.
Final Word
A controlled burn isn’t about avoiding pain. It’s about using it. Fire clears out weak fuel so stronger growth can take root.
The same is true for brands. Negative attention feels brutal in the moment, but it drags your name back into the conversation. That attention creates opportunity. Their revenues will decide the correct path. The smart companies don’t run from the fire. Especially national companies struggling to stay relevant in a busy world. They set it, steer it, and come back stronger.
