Name changes and rebrands are closely related to choosing a brand name.
Sometimes, because of changes in the way a company does business, mergers and acquisitions or because of negative associations with an existing brand name, it may become necessary to change that name or, less drastically, engage in a rebranding exercise to create a new brand image. However such a decision must be made with caution since significant time and effort is required and many efforts in the past have been unsuccessful.
When a decision is made the matters to be considered include those associated with choosing a new brand name and introducing it to the marketplace. Unlike evaluating a new idea or concept, in this context long term business objectives will be more important. The market opportunities for differentiation and strategic naming objectives must be used to evaluate proposed brand names.
A well planned and well executed communications campaign will be required to implement the change. The campaign must extend to communicating the strategic vision behind the new name or rebrand to employees and other internal audiences who must be inspired to accept and live with it. Internal communications must effectively generate excitement about the new concept as well as generating acceptance and sustaining commitment.
A recent example of a successful rebrand is the BURBERRY brand. It seems that a few years ago the famous BURBERRY check design was banned in pubs in the UK because it was associated with hooliganism. Today the brand has been transformed into a high fashion icon.
If a brand name is discontinued the brand owner must also consider the potential market responses which may result. If competitors feel there is still value in the brand name they may try to attempt to obtain any abandoned brand for their own use. As a result it is frequently prudent to include as part of the plan relating to introducing the new name a plan about how to maintain use of the old brand in a way sufficient to support any applicable trademark registrations.
John McKeown
Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP
480 University Avenue, Suite 1600
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1V2
Direct Line: (416) 597-3371
Fax: (416) 597-3370
Email: mckeown@gsnh.com
These comments are of a general nature and not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with a lawyer.