Hw cn brnds sty cl? Nt by drpping vwls, one in every of Britain’s largest funding companies concluded this week, when it introduced it was including again the “e’s” to its identify 4 years after dropping them.
The 200-year-old firm is now referred to as aberdeen group, successfully reversing a call to rebrand as abrdn in 2021 in a bid to pitch itself as a “fashionable, agile, digitally-enabled model.”
The choice 4 years in the past was broadly ridiculed. Jason Windsor, who took over as chief government final yr, mentioned on Tuesday that it was time to “take away distractions” — lower than two months after saying he had no plans to alter the identify.
Company rebrands may be vital to signifying a technique shift however additionally they include dangers when corporations veer too removed from their objective. Aberdeen’s vowel-dropping rebrand was simply the newest instance of an organization reversing course after a brand new identify did not elevate its efficiency or its status with clients.
The Perils of Chasing Traits
Eradicating vowels from model names or utilizing a reputation with a intentionally misspelled phrase was not unusual within the 2000s, particularly amongst stylish expertise corporations. Companies together with Grindr, Flickr, Tumblr and even twttr, as Twitter (now X) was initially referred to as, embraced the aesthetic. However right this moment, that model can look outdated and embarrassing, mentioned Laura Bailey, a senior lecturer in linguistics on the College of Kent.
Typically, when corporations attempt to seem stylish, “by the point they get to it, it’s been round for too lengthy,” Dr. Bailey mentioned. “It’s like your dad and mom doing it — it doesn’t appear proper.”
On the subject of monetary corporations, she added, one other side to think about is: Do these companies wish to be cool, or ought to they go for a reputation that tasks safety and duty?
A Historical past of Rebranding Misses (and Some Hits)
Through the years, there have been a number of failed rebranding efforts. In 2009, PepsiCo U-turned lower than two months after Tropicana, its juice model on the time, launched new packaging that featured a glass of orange juice as a substitute of its well-known orange with a straw poking out of it. Offended clients described the brand new look as “ugly” and resembling “a generic discount model.”
A yr later, Hole took even much less time to reverse course after unveiling a broadly panned new brand for its shops that dropped the well-known white lettering on a blue background that the model had used for many years. The retailer took a few week to return to its authentic rendering. “OK,” the corporate mentioned in a press release. “We’ve heard loud and clear that you just don’t like the brand new brand.”
Britain’s Submit Workplace in 2001 was broadly mocked when it renamed itself Consignia. The chairman, Neville Bain, mentioned on the time that the brand new identify would replicate that the workplace delivered far more than mail. Consignia lasted for a few yr earlier than the Submit Workplace identify was restored.
Some company rebrands have been efficient. In 2012, Kraft Meals selected Mondelez Worldwide as the brand new identify for its snacking enterprise — which incorporates manufacturers comparable to Oreos and Philadelphia cream cheese — from almost 2,000 names prompt by workers. “Mondelez” was an invented phrase that mixed “monde,” the French phrase for “world,” and “delez,” a made-up phrase meant to recommend “scrumptious.” So, “scrumptious world.”
In 2001, Andersen Consulting turned Accenture after splitting from Arthur Andersen, the accounting agency. The brand new identify was chosen from 5,500 choices, which have been whittled all the way down to 500 after which 10 earlier than the agency ultimately went with Accenture “as a result of it implies accent on the longer term,” The New York Occasions reported on the time. Regardless of some skepticism, the model has endured and the corporate has grown right into a consulting behemoth with a inventory market capitalization of about $215 billion.
Are Lowercase Letters a Good Factor?
Aberdeen has not fully gone again to its authentic identify, selecting to maintain its brand all lowercase. That places it in keeping with a development of youngsters not utilizing capital letters when texting, Dr. Bailey famous.
“It appears extra pleasant, or nicer,” she mentioned, including that corporations typically attempt to change their names to be extra casual to venture a private picture, quite than that of an enormous company. Nonetheless, they threat setting themselves up for an additional situation wherein their identify will look outdated in a yr, she added.