Hw cn brnds sty cl? Nt by drpping vwls, one among Britain’s largest funding corporations concluded this week, when it introduced it was including again the “e’s” to its title 4 years after dropping them.
The 200-year-old firm is now known 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. James Windsor, who took over as chief government final 12 months, mentioned on Tuesday that it was time to “take away distractions” — lower than two months after saying he had no plans to vary the title.
Company rebrands might be essential to signifying a technique shift however additionally they include dangers when firms veer too removed from their goal. Aberdeen’s vowel-dropping rebrand was simply the newest instance of an organization reversing course after a brand new title did not elevate its efficiency or its status with clients.
The Perils of Chasing Tendencies
Eradicating vowels from model names or utilizing a reputation with a intentionally misspelled phrase was not unusual within the 2000s, particularly amongst stylish know-how firms. Companies together with Grindr, Flickr, Tumblr and even twttr, as Twitter (now X) was initially known as, embraced the aesthetic. However right this moment, that fashion can look outdated and embarrassing, mentioned Laura Bailey, a senior lecturer in linguistics on the College of Kent.
Typically, when firms 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.”
In relation to monetary firms, she added, one other facet to contemplate is: Do these companies need 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 an alternative of its well-known orange with a straw poking out of it. Indignant clients described the brand new look as “ugly” and resembling “a generic cut price model.”
A 12 months 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 an announcement. “We’ve heard loud and clear that you simply don’t like the brand new brand.”
Britain’s Publish Workplace in 2001 was broadly mocked when it renamed itself Consignia. The chairman, Neville Bain, mentioned on the time that the brand new title would mirror that the workplace delivered rather more than mail. Consignia lasted for a few 12 months earlier than the Publish Workplace title was restored.
Some company rebrands have been efficient. In 2012, Kraft Meals selected Mondelez Worldwide as the brand new title for its snacking enterprise — which incorporates manufacturers reminiscent of Oreos and Philadelphia cream cheese — from practically 2,000 names urged by workers. “Mondelez” was an invented phrase that mixed “monde,” the French phrase for “world,” and “delez,” a made-up phrase supposed to counsel “scrumptious.” So, “scrumptious world.”
In 2001, Andersen Consulting turned Accenture after splitting from Arthur Andersen, the accounting agency. The brand new title was chosen from 5,500 choices, which have been whittled right down to 500 after which 10 earlier than the agency finally went with Accenture “as a result of it implies accent on the long run,” 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 utterly gone again to its authentic title, selecting to maintain its brand all lowercase. That places it in keeping with a pattern of youngsters not utilizing capital letters when texting, Dr. Bailey famous.
“It appears extra pleasant, or nicer,” she mentioned, including that firms typically attempt to change their names to be extra casual to challenge a private picture, slightly than that of an enormous company. Nonetheless, they threat setting themselves up for an additional situation by which their title will look outdated in a 12 months, she added.
