Facebook’s Rebrand Has a Fundamental Problem
by Denise Lee Yohn
Summary .
Facebook’s decision to rebrand is an ill-timed move but not for the reason you might think. The author argues that the real problem is that Facebook is re-branding before its vision is a reality. Right now, social media remains the core of the company’s operations and revenues. By adopting a brand name that is based on future potential capabilities and a platform and products that, by Zuckerberg’s own admission, may not be offered for a decade, the company sets itself up to confuse people at best; at worst, it will disappoint people and further degrade their trust in the company. Today’s customers demand authenticity from the brands they do business with, and they expect companies to be on the inside what they say they are on the outside.
Last week Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his company is changing its name to Meta. The rebrand has been panned for many reasons: it’s a foolish attempt to distract from the criticism the company has recently faced; the metaverse that the new name refers to is not well-known or understood, so it’s confusing; Meta is a stupid company name, etc. But the most critical issue with this rebranding is that the new brand has been introduced without any substantive change at the company.
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