Rustam K. Lead Designer

Change your name while remaining yourself: how to rename your company?

A negative reputation is just one of the many reasons a business may need a new name. And it's just about the only case where it's necessary for a company's past to fade into oblivion. If, however, the name is changed, for example, due to geographic expansion, changes in business direction, administrative and legal regulations, it is important to maintain a connection with the old name. Otherwise, it will require a huge investment in marketing to reach the same level of sales.

You need to know ways to communicate the new company name to the old audience. Applying them is not difficult.

Renaming

This method may seem trivial, but many companies choose to change their name quietly. This is a disruptive approach. In this case, customers suddenly start receiving emails from a company they don't know and see their promotional materials. Managers and consultants have to spend a lot of time to gain the trust of the target audience again.

If possible, it is better to shoot a commercial or make a press release that tells about the upcoming changes in the name of the company. Information can be disseminated through company information resources, partners and contractors.

Choose a related name

Radical name changes do not always make sense. Sometimes it is enough to simplify the existing naming, get rid of unnecessary words. This method is often used by companies named after the names of their founders. For example, recently the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mathers began to be called simply Ogilvy, as this surname is one of the most famous in the field of marketing and advertising.

For names that consist of made-up or existing words, choose the most recognizable part. For example, find out what your business is abbreviated by colleagues, partners, clients? You can also take the root of a word and build a new naming strategy around it

Step-by-step renaming

If the company is not fleeing from its past name, it may well exist alongside the old one. They can be used together for a while. For example, if the company used to be called "Alpha", but it was decided to change its name to "Omega", signs and promotional materials can use both of these words in some combination.

This solution is particularly effective in situations where renaming is carried out when purchasing one well-known brand by another. In this case, the name of the new owner is initially mentioned as secondary, but gradually replaces the main one.

What else do I need to know about renaming?

Having made the decision to rebrand, you should not rush into action. It's a complicated and important process, the quality of the result of which affects the total amount of losses in the first stage. A decrease in sales and profits is a normal practice. It happens to 96% of companies that change their name. However, if renaming was done by professionals, the results will decrease slightly and normalize within a few months, and then, with proper marketing support, will only increase.