Rebranding is more than “naming”
I see lots of stories talking about the rebranding of companies, like AOL spinning off from Time Warner and the need to make a break from the brand’s negative exposure.
Makes sense, I suppose.
What doesn’t make sense is thinking a rebranding effort should start and end with naming. Like Philip Morris changing their name to Altria.
Rebranding is more than renaming. When a company renames, and doesn’t reorient what they offer the marketplace, there’s a chance it’ll will hurt more than help.
Ideally, the thought process should be, “We’re changing our name to X, and changing our Positioning to Y”. (Notice how Positioning is always at the core when branding is done right?)
This way, it’s a more complete vision for rebranding, where the market can recognize a philosophic strategy behind the change.
Otherwise, it just seems like the company is running away from something.