of CQ Researcher contacted me recently to ask for my opinion on rebranding: Will a rebranding change a company’s reputation? CQ publishes a pro/con debate written by outside experts, and I took the “con” side. Here’s what I had to say.
When a company has reputation problems, it’s tempting to think that changing the name will somehow erase bad behavior: a new name, a new identity, a fresh start. But rebranding isn’t like the Witness Protection Program.
Past bad behavior doesn’t disappear when the name is changed, especially in the 21st century, when the internet never forgets.
The classic case of company rebranding failure is Altria. In 2003, Philip Morris executives thought a name change would insulate the larger corporation and its other operating companies from the political pressures around tobacco harm. Working with professional branding consultants, the company chose the name Altria because of its abstractness and subtle associations with concepts like aspiration and excellence; alta is the Latin word for “high.” It especially recalled the word altruism, an overt attempt to remake Philips Morris’s image into that of a selfless supporter of the public good.
Unfortunately, the change didn’t work. Instead of making customers forget Philip Morris, Altria’s new name reminded them that the company wanted to avoid being blamed for the adverse health effects caused by its tobacco products. The attempt to rebrand in such an obviously self-serving way further cemented its reputation as a company that specialized in denying the truth.
The 2021 launch of Meta as the parent name of Facebook companies was seen in much the same light. Facebook has come in for a slew of deserved criticism for promotion of misinformation on its platforms, content moderation failures, violation of users’ privacy and revelations about the negative effect its products have on users’ mental health. The reveal of the name Meta came just as a whistleblower leaked a series of internal documents that showed Facebook execs knew about the harm caused by its products but chose to ignore it for the sake of profit. The unfortunate timing positioned the name change as an attempt to whitewash Facebook’s bad behavior.
Contrast this with the movement to rename schools and public places to stop glorifying defeated Confederate traitors. This type of rebranding shows a willingness to accept the mistakes of the past and shift the focus to people deserving of recognition, e.g., renaming Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Va., to John R. Lewis High School to honor the civil rights hero.
Instead of looking to a name change to improve public perception of a company, leaders should spend their time, money and energy rehabilitating their ethics and business decisions to effect real change. Only then will they regain the public’s trust.
Download the Pro and Con here.