A Facebook rebrand could turn out to be a huge risk
Facebook Inc. may be preparing a fresh coat of paint for itself. A report in technology news site The Verge says that the company is planning to change its name next week to reflect its new focus on building the metaverse
— a new digital network for connecting to others through augmented reality and virtual reality.
Facebook has not commented on the story, but if it’s true, it would be the kind of pivot that public relations managers dream about. Rebranding after a series of missteps or bad press can be a Hail Mary attempt to change public perceptions.
You do this as a last resort. Cigarette-maker Philip Morris Companies Inc. rebranded as Altria Group in 2003 and private military company Blackwater USA renamed itself as Xe Services and then Academi Training Center Inc. Both firms engaged in unhealthy things, and both attempted to use anodyne names to shift attention from their darker pasts.
A rebranding could work in Facebook’s favor if it involves some kind of structural change. That would make it look like Google’s move to rename itself as Alphabet Inc. in 2015, which turned Google into a wholly-owned subsidiary along with several other businesses.
If a makeover is indeed in the offing, Facebook will likely have started preparing much earlier than July. Rebranding a conglomerate the size of Facebook can’t sensibly be done in a couple of weeks. A vast array of legal and logistical factors need to be taken into consideration.
It would also have to investigate what any new name might imply in a variety of languages. To create a new, fully-fledged brand — and not simply a new legal entity — it has to explore typefaces, colors, logos, sounds and taglines. Companies much smaller than Facebook take many months and spend millions of dollars defining these features before anything is seen by the public.
Even then, and with the finest design minds at work, there is no guarantee the final result won’t be a car crash. Just ask Gap Inc., Tropicana Products Inc., and the U.K.’s Royal Mail service. Gap and Tropicana were muchloved brands that went for bold, “clean” rebrands that were instantly panned by the public, and then reversed. In 2001, Royal Mail became “Consignia” at a cost of 2 million pounds ($2.8 million) — abandoning 500 years of history, which then took 16 months to reverse.
If Facebook does unveil a new name next week, it’s bound to initially spark a firestorm of outrage and mockery. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of the company’s senior team will expect this as a riteof-passage. The Verge’s report suggested Facebook would make the metaverse integral to its new branding. That would be a shrewd move. If people are reminded of the metaverse every time the company is mentioned, that would be a step toward owning the space — and maybe even forgetting the past.