One of the things we love to look at in our design and digital marketing blog is the occasional big company rebrand. Back in 2021 it was the turn of Aberdeen Asset Management or Standard Life Aberdeen as it was called after the merger with Standard Life. In April of that year the financial management company was rebranded as… Abrdn.
Yes, they removed all the vowels in an “edgy” modern rebrand which the head of the company at the time said was a strategic decision to modernise its identity and unify its operations under one brand.
Of course, the severe name change and loss of vowels led to some derision with accusations of “irritable vowel syndrome” amongst many other fun memes.
Even last year the mockery continued when the company’s Chief Investment Officer was quoted in Financial News as saying the unceasing attention was tantamount to “corporate bullying” and that persistent micky-taking was “childish” over the issue of missing vowels in the business’ name.
That interview statement didn’t stop the comedy and The FInancial Times ran a headline entitled Lv Abrdn aln!, dropping most of the vowels from “Leave Aberdeen Alone” whilst another financial publication City AM responded with “Abrdn: an apology – sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls”.
Well now it seems that the jibes have taken their toll and Abrdn has added the vowels back into the brand name.
Capitals at Risk
So with the continued negative publicity Abrdn is from now on to be referred to as…
aberdeen group
No, that’s not a mistake, the new brand has no capital letters.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s statement “Capital at risk” has certainly came true, at least for Abrdn’s brand name.
Well actually, the new CEO said it was to be Aberdeen Group plc but we’ve seen read that aberdeen group is to be the display name.
We think that an all lower case brand name is also not the solution. Without any emphasis on the letters, they can easily be overlooked in written documents. We can talk because we called our brand 22i design for many years. We struggled with that lower case d for design, and we still use it, even in our 22i digital identity. So we have some sympathy.
But Aberdeen is strong and cannot be misconstrued, especially seeing as its the 1983 remnant of a business (Standard Life) that was 200 years old. 22i design is a baby by comparison, dating back just 25 years to 2000 AD.
Will calling the brand aberdeen work? We’re not sure. Our own spell checker hasn’t picked it up yet…
Branding
From time to time we do some branding ourselves, so if you have a business that needs a little refresh or, as is more common, a bit of unification, give us a call on 01252 692 765 to chat about design, your website, or any digital marketing. Alternatively fill in the contact form with your enquiry.
