Hearts & Minds: Easy to criticise, but Aberdeen deserves credit for brand U-turn

It took a long time coming but abrdn is to change its name, back to Aberdeen. Removing the vowels was said to give a different identity, snazzier than the mouthful of Standard Life Aberdeen, following the merger with Standard Life, and, hence the lower case, reflecting an increasingly tech focus.

That was four years ago and what should have taken four seconds or four minutes, take your pick, to scrap, has finally occurred. Rebrands are always difficult – no one likes change – and often they provoke criticism. Usually though they settle down and after a while they are accepted. This one was different, however, in that the degree of opposition and ridicule was total and never stopped.

Tech-speak does see the shortening of names, as do airport departure boards and travel tickets, but that’s because they don’t have the space for the full name and they are pursuing speed. No one pronounces a destination like LHR because it is unpronounceable. It’s not meant to be spoken.

Likewise, nobody ever said ‘abrdn’. It was always ‘Aberdeen’. Writing and saying should wherever possible be one and the same, but that was impossible. Confusion and ridicule were instant and unceasing.

If people struggle with change, neither do they relish making mistakes. So, the company dug in. Partly it was a question of pride but there was a cost issue. Rebranding a business that size is expensive and time-consuming. Although, starting with a capital letter and putting the e’s back was not the most pricey of switches. There was no staff and stakeholder instruction required, since as they themselves admitted in reverting to Aberdeen, no one said it anyway. At every presentation, any mention, it was ‘Aberdeen’.

Nevertheless, they’ve done it and for that they deserve praise. Some corporates would have chosen to plough on, regardless. It’s as if they become consumed by a collective feeling of indignation and the constant self-assurance that they are right and everybody else is wrong. The world is simply blind and incapable of seeing what they’re seeing.

A tin ear can give way to permanent deafness. Fortunately, in this case, that has not happened. So well done Aberdeen.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.