When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, in 2004, it was a mere directory of students at Harvard: The Face Book. Two decades, 90 acquisitions, and billions of dollars later, Facebook has become a household name. Now it wants a new one.

Zuckerberg is expected to announce a new name for the company next week at Facebook Connect, the company’s annual conference, as first reported by The Verge. This new name—meant to encompass Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and the rest of the family—will clarify the company as a conglomerate, with ambitions beyond social media. The Facebook app might be the cornerstone of the company, but Zuckerberg has been very clear that the future of the company belongs to the metaverse.

But what’s in a name? In Facebook’s case, it comes with strong associations, some reputational damage, scrutiny from Congress, and disapproval from the general public. The Facebook name has led to a “trust deficit” in some of its recent endeavors, including its expansion into cryptocurrency. By renaming the parent company, Facebook might give itself a chance to overcome that. It wouldn’t be the first corporate behemoth to seek some goodwill with a new moniker: Cable companies do it all the time.

Still, branding experts—and branding amateurs on Twitter—aren’t convinced that renaming the company will do much to correct reputational problems or distance itself from recent scandals.

“Everyone knows what Facebook is,” says Jim Heininger, founder of Rebranding Experts, a firm that focuses solely on rebranding organizations. “The most effective way for Facebook to address the challenges that have tainted its brand recently is through corrective actions, not trying to change its name or installing a new brand architecture.”

Facebook’s decision to rename itself comes just after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked thousands of pages of internal documents to The Wall Street Journal, exposing a company without much regard for public good. The documents spurred a hearing on Capitol Hill, where already Congress has, for years, been discussing the possibility of regulating Facebook or breaking up its conglomerate.

A new name might give the company a facelift. But “a name change is not a rebrand,” says Anaezi Modu, the founder and CEO of Rebrand, which advises companies on brand transformations. Branding comes from a company’s mission, culture, and capabilities, more than just its name, logo, or marketing. “Unless Facebook has serious plans to address at least some of its many issues, just changing a name is pointless. In fact, it can worsen matters.” Renaming a company can create more mistrust if it comes off as distancing itself from its reputation.

Modu says renaming does make sense to clarify a company’s organization, the way other conglomerates have. When Google restructured in 2015, it named its parent company Alphabet, to reflect its growth beyond just a search engine (Google) to now include a number of endeavors (DeepMind, Waymo, Fitbit, and Google X, among others). Most people still think of the company as Google, but the name Alphabet is a signal for how the company fits together.

Source: Facebook’s Name Change Won’t Fix Anything

Facebook’s Name Change Won’t Fix Anything - Click To Share

Other recent press releases

*This is a free press release. All upgraded press releases are ad-free!

Pop Culture Expo NEXUS FAN FAIR Coming to Manila Sept.

MANILA, Philippines, Sept. 14, 2023 — A new pop culture expo is launching in Manila with the inaugural NEXUS FAN FAIR from September 19 to 21 at the MGBX Convention Hall in Newport World Resorts’ Marriott Grand Ballroom. Organized by Philippine Blockchain Week 2023 (PBW) and presented by Tier One Entertainment, NEXUS FAN FAIR will

Bob Dylanâs Scottish Highland Estate

Photo Credit: Knight FrankThe winner of ten Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Bob Dylan has owned a stately mansion known as Aultmore House in Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorm National Park in Scotland for 17 years. According to TopTenRealestateDeals.com, Dylan has listed the property for sale, accepting

Top 10 Amazon PPC Courses to Level Up Your Marketing Game

With great popularity comes great competition. This is the case with selling on Amazon. You’ll need to bring your A game if you want your ads campaigns on this platform to work. However, pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Amazon can be confusing. If you’ve used PPC marketing before on channels like Facebook and Google, you’ll already