The Myth of Rebranding

Telstra and New Limited announced intentions to change the way their brands were perceived by changing their images – one via advertising and the other via naming.

Telstra was the first cab off the rank with its high profile announcement of a new advertising and image roll-out that according to chief marketing officer Mark Buckman is designed to “send a clear signal that Telstra has changed…this new strategy will put an end to that and ensure there is a consistent look and tone to Telstra ads.”

I might be alone, but I am pretty certain that a change to colours in its ads is not going to do much about addressing the perception issues facing Telstra.

As I have said before – perception doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

Until Telstra starts to seriously tackle operational issues such as billing – which is one issue at the heart of customer unhappiness and bad experiences – its brand will stay right where it is, because no advertising campaign on earth can overcome those kinds of deficits.

And while we are talking about companies that don’t keep their promises, the other high profile announcement of a brand shift to address perception issues came from News Limited.

Reasons for the “Project Darwin” suggested change of name to News Australia were stated as “News’ public image needs rehabilitation because its ‘culture and values’ have never been properly aired. The News Limited brand was ‘largely invisible’ to consumers and customers.”

Again the company is missing the point. Its brand is on display with every story it publishes.

Its values and culture are on display in how it gathers and positions stories.

Just because people don’t necessarily know your name doesn’t mean they don’t know who you are.

It’s not marketing, it’s not about visual image or naming taxonomy. It’s about what you do and what you don’t do.

When your parent company is embroiled in a phone hacking scandal reported around the world suggesting a name change to offset collateral damage is a bit like suggesting BP could have buffed up its brand by changing its name after the US gulf oil spill.

Here’s a suggestion for both companies and anyone else thinking that a bit of makeover is what it takes to evolve or rehabilitate a brand – don’t place the phone call to your agency, instead start with what’s inside.

Fix your billing so people don’t have to call you every month to figure out what is going on.

Treat news as something to report, not something to shape or create.

Restructure your operations to deliver positive outcomes for customers.

Make promises you can keep and keep them.

It might not be the whole answer but it will get you a lot closer than the alternative.

See you next week.

Michel is an independent Brand adviser and advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States she helps organisations make promises they can keep and keep the promises they make, with a strong sustainable brand as the result. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment. You can follow Michel on Twitter @michelhogan.