Can Rebranding Save a Troubled Brand?
As I checked out Brand New's Best and Worst Identities of 2009 this morning, some of which I somewhat resonate with, I saw their #1 pick for "Best" is AOL's new brand. I try not to hold a ton of opinion on the effectiveness or aesthetic pleasantries of major rebrands, largely because I'm unaffected by them.
Not for a bad reason; I just am not sold on a brand strictly based on presentation. Brand New's reasons for picking them as #1 are sound and by no means am I numb to advertising (although I'm getting there), sometimes I just try to think a little deeper on what a company is trying to accomplish.
From what I understand, AOL is rebranding themselves to promote their many channels of original content and moving away from being viewed only as an internet access business, which is what I always will remember them as. And not only as an ISP, but one that tried to tell my mom she couldn't connect to the internet without AOL and then tried to charge her for cancelling her (non-contractual) account after she challenged them on it.
This may be my small, opinionated view of a very large communications company but it makes me wonder if a brand like AOL that carries a certain stigmata with me and probably many others of this earth and beyond (not aliens, dead people) can repair it's image by rebranding as something else entirely.
I suppose it all comes down to a new target audience coming from a different school than the old days of dial up and through the content brands and valuable web real estate which they acquire (Engadget, TMZ, et al).
Will they ever have the clear vision of an audience and extremely high standards of, say, the BBC? I doubt it. It'll be fun to see the attempt, though.
