“What’s in a name? A rose by another name would smell as sweet,” argued Shakespeare.
But is it true of company names? Do monikers matter in the world of business?
One corporate Rose – Alison, the new boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland – thinks so. She’s hoping that rebranding the RBS parent group as NatWest – one of its subsidiaries – will refresh the odour of the bank in the nostrils of the public.
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Many will roll their eyes of course.
It’ll still be the same bank, even if the brass plate changes on its lavish Gogarburn headquarters. Changing the name won’t restore to taxpayers those billions of pounds of losses incurred since RBS was bailed out in 2008. It won’t help those families whose small companies were mistreated by RBS’s infamous Global Restructuring Group. It won’t erase the memories of distress of those millions of customers caught up in the bank’s 2012 IT meltdown.
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1/50 13 February 2020
Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years
EPA
2/50 12 February 2020
Hill farmer Tommy Aitchison from North Shortcleugh farm feeds his sheep in Elvanfoot, Scotland. A yellow warning for snow and ice remains in place across most of Scotland, police have reported a number of crashes across the region with many routes affected by snow and ice
Getty
3/50 11 February 2020
Robyn Peoples, left, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, at the Loughshore Hotel, in Carrickfergus, after they became the first couple to have a same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
PA
4/50 10 February 2020
Waves crash over a lorry on Blackpool waterfront as weather warnings for wind, snow and ice have been issued across large parts of the country. A day after the UK is trying to recover from the battering from Storm Ciara
PA
5/50 9 February 2020
Residents attempt to remove water from their property as the streets flood in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
6/50 8 February 2020
England’s Ellis Genge celebrates scoring the first try of their Six Nations match against Scotland with teammates. The weather at Murrayfield Stadium hampered the playing conditions, with winds and rain from Storm Ciara approaching the UK. The away side won the match late on, with the scoreline ending 6-13
Reuters
7/50 7 February 2020
Activists surround a wooden trojan horse in the courtyard of the British Museum in London. The horse, which is 4 metres tall and can seat 10 people inside, was pulled in by a group of supporters with flags reading “BP Must Fall”
BP or not BP/PA
8/50 6 February 2020
Members of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme team examine a dead whale that died after becoming stranded in the Thames estuary at Medway over the weekend
PA
9/50 5 February 2020
Children from Oaklands Secondary School in Bethnal Green and Families Belong Together campaigners in Westminster before handing a petition in to the Home Office, as they call on the government to amend the UK’s refugee family reunion laws
PA
10/50 4 February 2020
Rasputin the polar bear, shakes off water as he is unveiled at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster
PA
11/50 3 February 2020
Police activity inside a cordon where a man was shot by armed police in a terrorist-related incident in Streatham, London
EPA
12/50 2 February 2020
Micheal Ward with his Rising Star Award alongside Daniel Kaluuya Baftas
Reuters
13/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP/Getty
14/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
15/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
16/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
17/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
18/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
19/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
20/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
21/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
22/50 23 January 2020
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe stands next to her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and his mother Barbara, as they address the media in Downing Street following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
23/50 22 January 2020
Rosa Connolly takes a close look during a preview of the Tyrannosaurs exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
24/50 21 January 2020
The sun sets behind tower cranes and the London skyline in the city financial district
PA
25/50 20 January 2020
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. Johnson is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UKs economic partnership with African nations
Getty
26/50 19 January 2020
Joe Root celebrates with his England team mates after taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen during day four of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. He took a career-best four wickets during the day’s play, which saw the home side follow on in their second innings. They trail England by 188 runs going into day five
Getty
27/50 18 January 2020
Drag queens pose on the pink carpet as they participate in the “Queen’s Walk” during RuPaul’s DragCon UK at Kensington Olympia
AFP via Getty
28/50 17 January 2020
Kitty Ross, curator of social history, is pictured reflected in a display cabinet while holding a skeleton violin from the 1880s that forms part of the Sounds of our City exhibition at the Abbey House Museum in Leeds
PA
29/50 16 January 2020
Britain’s Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, 16 Ja​nuary 2020. The Duke, who is expected to step back from senior Royal duties, spoke with Ruby League ambassadors and children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in London
EPA
30/50 15 January 2020
Vehicles negotiate the flooded B4069 road at Christian Malford in Wiltshire after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
31/50 14 January 2020
Huge waves hit the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, as gales of up to 80mph from Storm Brendan caused disruption around the UK
PA
32/50 13 January 2020
Puppeteers from Vision Mechanic rehearsing with Scotland’s largest puppet, a ten-metre tall sea goddess called Storm, in the grounds of the Museum of Flight, East Lothian. Made entirely from recycled materials, it was unveiled ahead of its debut at the Celtic Connections Costal Day celebrations in Glasgow this weekend
PA
33/50 12 January 2020
A windsurfer jumps in the air after hitting a wave in the sea off of West Wittering beach in West Sussex
PA
34/50 11 January 2020
Mikuru Suzuki celebrates winning the women’s championship of the BDO World Professional Darts Championships 2020 in London
PA
35/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
36/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
PA
37/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer’s 73rd birthday
PA
38/50 7 January 2020
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
39/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
40/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran’s general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport
PA
41/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
42/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force and Iran’s top general
PA
43/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo’s keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
44/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
45/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
46/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
47/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
48/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
49/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
50/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
1/50 13 February 2020
Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years
EPA
2/50 12 February 2020
Hill farmer Tommy Aitchison from North Shortcleugh farm feeds his sheep in Elvanfoot, Scotland. A yellow warning for snow and ice remains in place across most of Scotland, police have reported a number of crashes across the region with many routes affected by snow and ice
Getty
3/50 11 February 2020
Robyn Peoples, left, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, at the Loughshore Hotel, in Carrickfergus, after they became the first couple to have a same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
PA
4/50 10 February 2020
Waves crash over a lorry on Blackpool waterfront as weather warnings for wind, snow and ice have been issued across large parts of the country. A day after the UK is trying to recover from the battering from Storm Ciara
PA
5/50 9 February 2020
Residents attempt to remove water from their property as the streets flood in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
6/50 8 February 2020
England’s Ellis Genge celebrates scoring the first try of their Six Nations match against Scotland with teammates. The weather at Murrayfield Stadium hampered the playing conditions, with winds and rain from Storm Ciara approaching the UK. The away side won the match late on, with the scoreline ending 6-13
Reuters
7/50 7 February 2020
Activists surround a wooden trojan horse in the courtyard of the British Museum in London. The horse, which is 4 metres tall and can seat 10 people inside, was pulled in by a group of supporters with flags reading “BP Must Fall”
BP or not BP/PA
8/50 6 February 2020
Members of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme team examine a dead whale that died after becoming stranded in the Thames estuary at Medway over the weekend
PA
9/50 5 February 2020
Children from Oaklands Secondary School in Bethnal Green and Families Belong Together campaigners in Westminster before handing a petition in to the Home Office, as they call on the government to amend the UK’s refugee family reunion laws
PA
10/50 4 February 2020
Rasputin the polar bear, shakes off water as he is unveiled at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster
PA
11/50 3 February 2020
Police activity inside a cordon where a man was shot by armed police in a terrorist-related incident in Streatham, London
EPA
12/50 2 February 2020
Micheal Ward with his Rising Star Award alongside Daniel Kaluuya Baftas
Reuters
13/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP/Getty
14/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
15/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
16/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
17/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
18/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
19/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
20/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
21/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
22/50 23 January 2020
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe stands next to her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and his mother Barbara, as they address the media in Downing Street following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
23/50 22 January 2020
Rosa Connolly takes a close look during a preview of the Tyrannosaurs exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
24/50 21 January 2020
The sun sets behind tower cranes and the London skyline in the city financial district
PA
25/50 20 January 2020
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. Johnson is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UKs economic partnership with African nations
Getty
26/50 19 January 2020
Joe Root celebrates with his England team mates after taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen during day four of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. He took a career-best four wickets during the day’s play, which saw the home side follow on in their second innings. They trail England by 188 runs going into day five
Getty
27/50 18 January 2020
Drag queens pose on the pink carpet as they participate in the “Queen’s Walk” during RuPaul’s DragCon UK at Kensington Olympia
AFP via Getty
28/50 17 January 2020
Kitty Ross, curator of social history, is pictured reflected in a display cabinet while holding a skeleton violin from the 1880s that forms part of the Sounds of our City exhibition at the Abbey House Museum in Leeds
PA
29/50 16 January 2020
Britain’s Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, 16 Ja​nuary 2020. The Duke, who is expected to step back from senior Royal duties, spoke with Ruby League ambassadors and children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in London
EPA
30/50 15 January 2020
Vehicles negotiate the flooded B4069 road at Christian Malford in Wiltshire after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
31/50 14 January 2020
Huge waves hit the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, as gales of up to 80mph from Storm Brendan caused disruption around the UK
PA
32/50 13 January 2020
Puppeteers from Vision Mechanic rehearsing with Scotland’s largest puppet, a ten-metre tall sea goddess called Storm, in the grounds of the Museum of Flight, East Lothian. Made entirely from recycled materials, it was unveiled ahead of its debut at the Celtic Connections Costal Day celebrations in Glasgow this weekend
PA
33/50 12 January 2020
A windsurfer jumps in the air after hitting a wave in the sea off of West Wittering beach in West Sussex
PA
34/50 11 January 2020
Mikuru Suzuki celebrates winning the women’s championship of the BDO World Professional Darts Championships 2020 in London
PA
35/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
36/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
PA
37/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer’s 73rd birthday
PA
38/50 7 January 2020
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
39/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
40/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran’s general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport
PA
41/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
42/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force and Iran’s top general
PA
43/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo’s keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
44/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
45/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
46/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
47/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
48/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
49/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
50/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
Some will dismiss the move as a resurgence of the nonsense, peddled by overpaid consultants, about the transformative power of a renaming or rebranding. The failures stick in the mind more than the successes, with the Royal Mail’s 2001 rechristening as Consignia (soon dropped) the nadir.
Yet names do matter in business.
In 1985 Martin Sorrell bought a shopping basket manufacturer called Wire and Plastic Products (WPP). Sorrell wasn’t interested in shopping baskets of course. He just wanted a stock market listed company from which – for technical financial reasons – he could rapidly roll out his new advertising venture. The company he built became the world’s largest advertising group. The name? WPP. Sorrell never initially bothered to change it. Then those three letters became something of an asset in their own right. Sorrell has now left the company, but the WPP name lives on.
This illustrates the key point.
A company name is an asset not because of anything to do with the name itself but because of what that name comes to represent in people’s minds, whether that’s the minds of those who run other supplier firms or ordinary customers. It’s about reputation, something generally built over many years.
Think of venerable retail names like John Lewis or Marks & Spencer. They signify certain things – value for money, reliability, respect for workers. No matter how much these firms might be struggling at the moment in the high street’s financial headwinds only a fool would suggest a renaming exercise as a way out.
The Chinese car manufacturer Zhejiang Geely bought Volvo in 2010 because, although the Swedish car maker was losing money, it saw value in its historic reputation for safety.
The Zhejiang executives calculated that Europeans, and perhaps even the Chinese, would be more likely to buy a Volvo than a Geely.
But names and underlying reputations must be mutually reinforcing. If Chinese-made Volvos started veering off the roads because of poor engineering the name asset would not survive for long.
When the Weinstein Company – co-founded by Harvey Weinstein – auctioned off its assets in 2018, including the rights to some Quentin Tarantino films, the buyers, unsurprisingly, did not purchase anything with the Weinstein name on it.
Royal Bank of Scotland’s own history shows this effect too. It took less than a decade for its centuries-old banking name to become mud.
Alison Rose’s name change gambit for RBS might succeed, but only if she also succeeds in fundamentally overhauling the performance of the business – and not just its financial performance, but its treatment of its ordinary customers.
Rose’s decision, also confirmed today, to retreat from investment banking – a sector of finance that has a history of enriching employees while loading losses onto shareholders and the general public – is likely to be more significant in this regard than the renaming.
Corporate names do matter. But the underlying reality matters more. As the Bard also noted: “Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.”