Mar 15, 2010
Name Change: Last Resort to Rebranding
UPDATE: March 23, 2010 - Community activist group ACORN announced it is folding amid falling revenues — six months after video footage showed some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute. Several of its largest affiliates broke away this year and changed their names in a bid to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization and restore revenue that ran dry in the wake of the video scandal.
ORIGINAL POST: March 15, 2010 – Local offices of the controversial ACORN group are changing their name to disassociate themselves from the brand beating the Chicago-based organization has taken in recent months. ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has 1,200 offices here and abroad, which means a lot of new business cards and letterhead are hitting the presses as we speak.
ACORN isn’t the first to undergo a name change. Remember Philip Morris? To distance itself from the bad image of cigarettes, the holding company is now called Altria. How about Anderson Consulting? It’s now Accenture as its initial name became synonymous with accounting scandal. Remember going to Kentucky Fried Chicken? Now we go to KFC to avoid saying the word “fried” and to give ourselves the illusion we’re eating healthier fare, a few of the same reasons the restaurant’s name was changed.
For most businesses, name changes are a last resort to stay afloat after a downward spiral in reputation. However, the company’s leadership, operations, policies, attitudes and marketing dollars are some of the things that also help a company right its wrongs. The same thing applies to ACORN chapters. If the parent organization”s name isn’t changing, if senior management remains the same, if operations remain inconsistent and if the group continues to make the headlines, then a change on the front door sign won’t help. It’s kinda like blaming the sinking of the Titanic on an iceburg when in fact, it was the decisions that led up to that moment that resulted in disaster.
What do you think? Will these locally renamed chapters of ACORN continue to fall too close to their parental tree?
Susan, thanks for sharing this.
Changing your name is not re-branding. A brand is more than just a name, it is the total relationship people have with the company. Prince changed his name to a symbol, but he was still the same guy. Re-branding means a change in purpose, a change in the promise you deliver. A change in something more than the name.
I couldn't agree more, which is the point of the post. I think local ACORN chapters think it's rebranding when, in fact, the parent organization has changed little. You're absolutely right – a brand represents an organization's reputation in its totality. Maybe the chapters should rename themselves *@*%!$ formerly known as ACORN, a la Prince. Thanks for commenting!
A farmer has five chickens and a duck. If he calls the duck a chicken, how many chickens does he now have?
Exactly! Thanks Don!