The Reasoning Behind Corporate Name Changes
In the past few weeks, you may have seen headlines about Facebook changing its corporate name to Meta as a nod to the “Metaverse.” In an 80-minute long video justifying the name change, Zuckerburg, along with some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce and some sunscreen (more on that here), stated that Meta would be dedicated to bringing the metaverse to life. While there may be some truth to Facebook’s interests in creating a Metaverse, the name change occurs with the backdrop of growing accusations of internal ethical problems, election meddling, and spreading misinformation within Facebook which experts believe may be the real reason for the name change. The accusation stems from the fact that name changes have been tried and tested as a legitimate marketing strategy that is deployed in a variety of situations. This blog post will not only dive into the Facebook name change but also the variety of instances in which name changes would help a brand grow or, in some cases, recover.
A common instance in which you may find well-known companies rebranding is to distance themselves from negative associations with their previous name. One famous example of this instance is from the brand Philip Morris. Most consumers still associate the name heavily with the detrimental effects of smoking and Tabacco and the associated lawsuits against the company. In 2001, Phillip Morris rebranded to become the Altria Group. Of course, they did not escape the lawsuits, however, the name change allowed them to escape public scrutiny. Consumers may be hesitant to buy Phillip Morris products, however, they are likely to not have the same hesitation about Altria Group products. This is likely to also be one of the leading causes of Facebook’s sudden rebranding. There have many leaked documents about the inner workings of Facebook which have revealed concerning information about content moderation, advertising practices, and problematic ethical decisions about their user base. This comes after nearly two years of issues of Covid/Vaccine misinformation, its detrimental effects on the 2016/2020 elections, and its role in organizing violent protests. In changing its name to Meta, Facebook and the broad range of companies under its umbrella such as Instagram can start to shift away from the negativity surrounding Facebook. Moreover, the name change is better described as a change in corporate structure as opposed to product rebranding. Google underwent a similar change in 2019 in which the parent company was renamed Alphabet and Google became a company under the Alphabet umbrella. Similarly, Facebook, as a social media platform, will still be called Facebook, however, it will operate under the newly named parent company Meta.
Another reason for brand name changes is evolving social conditions. Over time, brand names may become problematic and companies may rebrand to avoid social backlash against their products. One instance of this scenario was the Aunt Jemima rebrand into the Pearl Milling Company. Aunt Jemima became symbolic of slavery and the history of racial injustice against African Americans which resulted in a spew of debates on social media. Some called the logo and name derogatory against African Americans while some defended its legacy and success. Aunt Jemima’s rebrand was spurred by the debate that had already begun but other brands will often rebrand preemptively to become more accepting of their customer base. One instance of the latter case is Weight Watchers, which rebranded to simply WW, in effort to introduce body positivity into its brand identity.
Ultimately, brands changing their names can happen for a variety of reasons, however, in nearly all cases, when done correctly, it has proven itself to be a very useful marketing strategy. When the day does finally come where you step into the Metaverse, take a look around, and see how the brand names have evolved over time to create the recognizable names to will inevitably see in the metaverse ads.
