Firm’s new name facing ridicule as drop in Standard
INVESTMENT giant Standard Life Aberdeen has been questioned over a plan to change its name to Abrdn.
Bosses say the proposed name, which contains no vowels, is more worthy of a “modern, agile, digitally-enabled brand”.
But experts questioned the move. Stephen Cheliotis, Chief Executive of the Centre for Brand Analysis, commented:
“It comes across as try-hard – desperately trying to sound modern and cool. It does not feel authentic in the slightest.”
Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell, said the name would leave investors “dazed and confused”.
The asset manager, which was sold to life insurer Phoenix earlier this year, even stated that its minimalistic new name Abrdn is “pronounced Aberdeen”.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Stephen Bird called Abrdn “bold and distinctive”.
Edinburgh-based former mutual Standard Life merged with Aberdeenheadquartered Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 in a £3.8billion deal – but in March the firm slashed its dividend by a third after customers carried on pulling money out of its funds.
Standard Life Aberdeen refused to say how much the rebranding – led by industry firm Wolff Olins – cost, but Mr Bird insisted it would save money by bringing five existing brands together.
One social media user responded to the name announcement by posting: “This can only be a joke.”
Others compared Abrdn to Royal Mail’s ill-judged rebranding as Consignia in 2011, which lasted just 16 months.
Meanwhile, Mr Bird said he believes business is on the mend, telling Sky News the company’s 2021 mission to “inflect to growth [is] proving to be successful”.