The worst business rebrands – from Abrdn to Royal Mail’s Consignia

Finance group Abrdn is bringing vowels back to its name after a calamitous rebrand at the company sparked a wildfire of criticism and derision.

The investment company said in future it will return the missing vowels that vanished in the redesign five years ago and call itself aberdeen group immediately.

Jason Windsor, chief executive, said the switch was a “a pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation, as we focus on delivering for our customers, people and shareholders”.

Mr Windsor said: “Talking about the name was a distraction. The name is there to enhance the reputation and how the group is perceived by customers and shareholders, and make it easier for us to get out and be proud about what we are and why we do it.

“We made a very small change in one respect and a big change in another.

“Now is the right time for us to do that so we can get out with confidence and talk about our business. I’ve asked our marketing team now to go out and make the most of it.”

Mr Windsor, who faces the challenge of reviving the finance firm’s fortunes after several difficult years, said it would now start to use ‘aberdeen’ as its principal trading name.

The vowel about-face comes just months after he defended the name and insisted there were no plans to change it.

It changed its name from Aberdeen Standard Life in 2021 to ‘abrdn’, which led to widespread criticism, adding to its problems.

The extent of the mockery the company received prompted its chief investment officer Peter Branner to claim the criticism amounted to a “corporate bullying” that would not be acceptable if the business was a person.

Mr Branner said: “I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it’s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name.

“Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day-in, day-out? It’s probably not ethical to do it, but apparently with companies it is different.”

The company said its latest rebrand had been carried out in-house and did not cost a great deal of money.

At the time, the investment group described Abrdn as “a highly-differentiated brand that will create unity across the business”.

According to Stephen Bird, the former chief executive, the new name reflected the “clarity of focus that the leadership team are bringing to the business” in the pursuit of sustainable growth.

Contrary to the Mr Bird’s hopes, critics panned it, with brand expert Jonathan Gabay describing it as “ill thought-out” and suggesting it would be pronounced ‘a burden’.

Rebrands are expensive, can be complex, time-consuming and prone to failure, as scores of companies, including successful multinationals who blundered into a rebrand and fallen foul of their customers, have discovered.

Other rebrand fails

The Post Office, Britain’s national postal service before Royal Mail separated from it, decided in 2001 it no longer wanted customers to associate its name with letters and parcel deliveries.

It had its eye on international markets and global expansion. The hallowed Royal Mail brand simply did not capture the full flavour of this new world.

The process of creating the new identity lasted for two years, after which a completely new name was unveiled – Consignia – chosen because, according to management, “the name, unlike Royal Mail, describes their whole range of activities”.

The company logo got a new modern design at a total cost of £2m but rapidly became a business school study of how not to rebrand.

The company’s customers did not believe it should move away from its 500-year British heritage and they had trouble pronouncing, remembering, and associating it with delivering letters and parcels. It lasted a little over a year before reverting back to the well-worn but loved Royal Mail.

Which was longer than the six days it took clothing retailer Gap to change back from its loved and trusted brand after a customer outcry. The estimated cost of the entire rebrand was later put at £100m.

Fruit drink retailer suffered a similar outcry when it modernised its logo and packaging in 2009. Designers removed the orange and straw from the original packaging, replacing it with a large clear glass of juice. They also removed a “no pulp” inscription, which proved the uniqueness of the product. The rebranding cost Tropicana $35m.

Within days of the launch, consumers started criticizing the new design claiming it resembled cheaper products. Two months later, sales dropped by 20 per cent and Tropicana suffered a $30m loss.

Branding experts predict social media company X, previously known as Twitter, will be the next candidate for a corporate change of name. “When people hear about the X app, they’ll think of Elon Musk,” Paul Stollery, co-founder and creative director of advertising and marketing agency Hard Numbers says. “And nowadays, when you think of Elon Musk, you don’t think of Tony Stark like you used to.”