Transformational rebranding
If the business strategy calls for significant repositioning or transformation, then the rebranding must be bold, sometimes requiring a name change.
When Elon Musk decided to rebrand Twitter as X he certainly broke one of the Golden Rules, possibly both. He clearly didn’t engage all his people in his vision; and whether the brand strategy supports the “everything app” business model, only time will tell. Over a year later, what we do know, according to a July 2024 YouGov poll, is that despite all the media coverage, 69% of Britons and 49% of Americans still refer to X as Twitter. This rises to 79% of daily Twitter users in the UK and 55% In the US, suggesting continuing resistance to this rebrand from loyal users. Meanwhile, Kantar reports "a net 26% of advertisers are planning to cut their spend with X in 2025, due to negative associations with extreme content". Brand Trust has plummeted since the rebrand, they report,
Transformational branding can better conceived. In corporate mergers, where two brands come together, a new brand name is often more culturally acceptable than adopting one of the legacy names, which might suggest a takeover. Awkward compound names rarely work, unless they are snappy, like Astra Zeneca. If a brand-new name is required it’s important to create one that is meaningful and protectable around the world, rather than one that risks ridicule or legal challenge. New brand names are also required when a corporation divests a division, or a geographic operation, but the process is never easy, so expert naming and trade mark advice is vital.
In 2022, Covanta Corporation was acquired and taken private by EQT Capital, who then split out its European Waste-to-Energy business needing a new name for this business in double-quick time. We were able to create Encyclis and acquire the domain in less than a month, with a fresh brand promise, new identity, a ‘safety-first’ Employee Value Proposition and registered trade mark three months later.
Evolutionary rebranding
If the business is well established, but just needs to re-articulate its proposition, maybe a brand refresh is all that’s required to tweak positioning, increase brand appeal, sharpen the message and grow awareness with new audiences. Rules one and two still apply to an evolutionary rebrand and, as always, maximum added value will only be realised if you link rebranding with other strategic change programmes and use the rebranding process internally as a spur to action for corporate renewal.
In 2020, following the acquisition of Mottram Hall, a 5-star hotel and golf course in Cheshire, Champneys needed to adapt their brand architecture to distinguish between their destination health spas and their 5-star hotels with spas, and, at the same time, reinforce the consistent quality of the Champneys experience. We created a new brand architecture, refreshed the brand identity and launched a new website, all of which has reinforced their position as the UK’s #1 spa brand.
Branding new business models
Rapidly transforming markets require new business strategies where incumbents have to rethink their business models. The energy market is a good example, where well-known energy brands are trying to evolve their propositions to offer more sustainable offerings, whilst others are investing in new ‘pure-play’ low-carbon renewables businesses. One of these is Evolo, a brand we created in 2022 for Certas Energy to deliver ‘the evolution of energy’ for UK consumers and businesses looking to transition to solar, batteries, air source heat pumps and EV charging. Delivering a bold new brand promise also relies on realigning the culture with the value proposition, through a refreshed HR/Talent strategy, an EVP and other initiatives to enable becoming an ‘employer of choice’.
Rebranding to reinvent
A good brand strategy can be instrumental in communicating change and realising business goals, and when combined with a bold visual rebranding can create all the right circumstances for success. In 2023 the new owners of a once legendary resort in the Bahamas asked us to help them reimagine their brand, which had been famous in the 1960s and 70’s but had fallen into disrepair since. We researched the history and, based around the new owners’ remarkable restoration, were able to reinvent The Potlatch Club, using stories from the past and present to create a powerful proposition for the future. And, with a carefully considered digital content marketing strategy and a beautiful bespoke website, we were able to relaunch the brand and create global awareness with all the right audiences, without any advertising spend.
Legal or governance-led rebranding
Sometimes global expansion can be complicated by trade mark issues in new geographies, or historical links to names with the unhelpful associations emerge, leading to radical name changes being required. In 2021 the trustees of the Cass Business School in London committed to changing the Business School’s name within a year, due to a benefactor’s link to the slave trade, but they struggled to find an alternative. We were able to help, and the business school was renamed Bayes Business School - after Sir Thomas Bayes, the mathematician and philosopher - while retaining the existing identity for continuity.
The Golden Rules of re-branding always apply
In all these examples, except Mr Musk’s, the 2 Golden Rules of Rebranding have applied: always align brand and business strategies if you want to achieve your goals; and involve your people in the process, because, while most of us don’t like change, if we’re given a glimpse of what the future means “for me”, we’re much more likely to help make it happen.
Peter Matthews, Nucleus founder and CEO
If you found this article interesting you may like to read Brand Trust - Is Twitter losing it? our November 2022 opinion piece or some of our other case studies or get in touch with us for an informal chat about rebranding or repositioning your brand.