Opinion-in-brief: Zuckerberg’s rebrand could give Facebook a new lease of life
It’s easy to see why Zuckerberg would be keen to introduce a new name to the Facebook group given that the social platform is only the tip of the iceberg. It’s the storefront money maker that finances an entire ecosystem of projects. At present, Facebook sees itself as a tech company, yet consumers don’t really agree.
We only see the visible, mainstream products. However, they’re investing heavily in tech such as AR and VR so “Making the world better connected” doesn’t start and stop with Instagram and WhatsApp. Things like Portal, Oculus and Facebook’s future investment in Horizon – that’s where they’re really inventing the future.
But doing this doesn’t come cheap. A rebrand could ensure that these ventures thrive and save them from being collateral damage in the PR crisis the Facebook platform is facing. It’s looking to stop the infection before it spreads.
But only changing the name might not do very much to serve this need. A brand is a proposition – it’s how it expresses the business’ offering to customers and the world. It informs the name, look and feel but there is a big difference between name and brand.
For Facebook to truly rebrand, it needs to reconsider the role it plays in society. If Facebook intends on coming out with a new name and nothing else, it’s a badging exercise with no meaning whatsoever.