Suzy Hutchinson / 28 November 2024 / Categories: Product and Brands, Brands, Corporate Brands, Opinions

British Telecom Name Changer Game Changer

I discovered yesterday British Telecom BT, yes the name that conjures up ideas like” the speaking clock” and the inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell is changing its name.

You may not already know this in 2022 BT acquired mobile phone provider EE and the powers that be obviously believe a rebrand is required. Not sure when and how but British Telecom is set to disappear to make way for a newer fresher EE encompassing the whole of British Telecom.

So even with the first female CEO, Allison Kirby, appointed 2023 at the top, the brand name could not be saved?

It got me thinking why a long established brand name like British Telecom would want to change it’s name, reinvent itself and the only reason I could think of was consumers have a bad opinion of the company.

If everyone loved you and you were doing a smashing job, building your reputation and customer base, the last thing you’d want to do is change your name, your brand is everything.

It reminded me when Norwich Union had to do it amidst a pension scandal where loads of consumers lost their shirt and the investment company suddenly became Aviva overnight, in the hope of shaking off the negative PR and bad karma left behind.

It clearly happens across all sectors, it’s not that long ago Hermes, the shipping parcel delivery service in the UK changed to Evri, after becoming a laugh stock and water cooler talking point about how bad their service was.

I think is shows us all the thinking behind and inside big companies where the bottom line drives every decision and when they get to the point they have upset their customers so badly, the only thing left to do is change the company name and come back as something “different”

They must think we are all daft.