Company Renaming is a Minefield
It’s a joy to name companies.
It’s an art, an extreme test of creativity and, when done right, results in a bouncing baby brand with visibility, findability, differentiation, relevance – a name that evokes an appropriate emotional response in the target market: hipness or gravitas or whimsy or dignity or aspiration… It’s the beginning of a compelling brand narrative. But when naming is done badly? Well, read our White Paper on the dreaded three-initial company name.
Naming may be fun, but renaming? That’s a horse of a different kettle of fish in a nutshell. As they say.
The first hazard: the existing company name has become inappropriate or faded or failing, and these judgments put storm clouds on the horizon because they are subjective. Second, there are always timid people who believe names shouldn’t change, which adds rumblings of thunder to the clouds. Third, there are fears of losing brand equity/visibility/reputation/whatever if the transition is badly handled. Rainfall.
The process can never be free of risk or conflict, since the cost-to-benefit ratio is always a legitimate concern. Will you lose customers? Good will? Trust? Credibility? Or just the cost of printing new stationery? Will the new name communicate growth, weakness, opportunity, panic, power, instability, confidence?
Before you take the plunge, chew on these:
1. Do your homework. What do your stakeholders (outside and inside) believe and perceive now? Some answers can come from research, such as how much equity is in your current identity. Some answers can only come from within, such as, should we invest in and trust research? What’s our tolerance for risk? What’s cast in concrete?
2. If you’re legally obliged to change, start without delay. The IP lawyers from that other company will not be patient.
3. If you’re not legally obliged to change, start without delay. Why procrastinate? Set a schedule and a budget, then start the ignition.
4. Evolution, not revolution. Customers hate sudden drastic changes. Make sure you do your spadework first, telling them what’s going to happen, then tell them it’s happening, then tell them it happened. Employees first, customers/distributors second, prospects next, the general public eventually. Be aware that sometimes, name changes have to occur in stages.
5. Consider the gestalt of your brand, not just the name alone. Is your tagline up to date? Your mission? Your story? If it’s really a fresh start, don’t slap a coat of paint over rotten boards. Rethink logo, tagline, website, brand story, marcomm, signage, all facets of corporate identity. Are you adhering to – or breaking from – tradition? Will the design sensibility of your new identity speak of sophistication, or stability? Cutting edge, or comfort? (Hint: if your new logo has an orbit around it, many will snicker. We’re just sayin’.)
6. Make sure you won’t have to do it again soon. Did you outgrow your name? Could that happen again next year? Will the new name account for future acquisitions or redirection?
7. Are you supporting multiple brands? Should they be tied together, or kept apart? Can you afford to maintain multiple identities?
8. Focus on your prospects. Company insiders can be easily convinced. Current customers, distributors, vendors and partners are a finite audience, and you can talk to them clearly, directly, and often. But prospects are your lever to growth, so manage their perceptions above almost every other audience.
9. Pay close attention to SEO and social media. SEO for the findability needed to get your new name in front of prospects, social media to make sure that the increased visibility is adding to and improving your reputation. Reputation management is a crucial component of a successful renaming. Don’t be satisfied with good awareness numbers. The game is not over if people know you but don’t care.
10. Final approval should come from the CEO, not a committee. Committees have a lousy track record for writing symphonies, painting paintings, and naming companies.
Last but not least: Outsource the process. Company naming is not your basic business, not your core competency, so a branding agency will bring valuable objectivity, and more experience with processes, budgets, timetables, trademark laws, design and minefields. No, it doesn’t have to be us, but (no offense) it shouldn’t be you. Call us at 312 836 0050.
I’m always annoyed when (after a merger or takeover, usually), company ABC will become ABC-DEF. “Come on, who do you think you’re kidding?” I’ll think. “You know that in a year or so you’ll be calling yourself plain old DEF, so let’s end the charade!” Take MCI-Ameritech, or FedEx Kinko’s (actually that one went in the other direction), or Cougar Mellencamp.
Posted by Neal whitman on May 17, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Even sadder is when very corporate, old-school businesses try to make their firms instantly “cool” with a new name that is meaningless by virtue of being fabricated from some amalgam of computer-generation, faux-Latin roots and word segments. (Accenture? Really? What was so awful about Anderson Consulting? Was this the best they could come up with?) Add in the lame taglines (punctutated. pointlessly. by. periods.) and you have the worst trend in rebranding.
Posted by Deb Budd on Jul 27, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Great! down to earth and lucid. Hope this will circulate
Posted by paolo on Jul 28, 2011 at 8:20 am
Love the article. Funny thing about the #5 orbit. Our logo was created 30+ years ago, while we change a bit of our name, we feel the logo should stay the same whether an oval or orbit or swoosh or whatever is “out of style” sometimes the brand recognition surpasses that.
Posted by brandy on Nov 1, 2011 at 1:36 pm