Changing Your Company Name: Pros, Cons, and Campbell’s

With Campbell’s recent name change, you might be thinking about rebranding your own company. Many business owners hesitate to do so due to concerns about the filing process, disconnecting from customers, or the feeling of starting over. Despite these challenges, many companies have reinvented themselves and come out stronger. Let’s explore the pros, cons, and lessons to be learned from Campbell’s and other major company’s rebrands.

Pros of changing your company name

If you’re nervous about the idea of a business name change, that’s a valid feeling. That being said, there are a lot of potential benefits to consider. From fixing an outdated name, to strengthening your brand by moving away from a less-than-catchy one, sometimes fortune favors the brave.

Updating your identity

Campbell’s Co. decided to change their name because Campbell’s Soup Co. no longer reflected who they were as a company, and what they had to offer to customers. The chicken noodle soup giant has acquired brands like V8 (arguably, V8 might still be considered soup) and Pepperidge Farm over the years, producing well-known products like Milano cookies and Goldfish crackers in the background.

Now, think about your business. If your current name no longer reflects who you are, it might be time to consider a change. When Google created their parent company, Alphabet, in 2015, the motivation behind it was to allow the company to explore more avenues than the search engine space they dominated. Google remains a big part of Alphabet, but the restructure allowed them to break into industries like autonomous vehicles and healthcare.

Considering a name change? Northwest can make the process simple. We’re pros when it comes to amendment filings, as well as many other state and federal filings, and we can help you register a new business domain name if yours no longer suits your brand. Give us a call or shoot us an email today!

Strengthening brand recognition

Reflecting new directions and offerings is a fine reason to change your company name. Sometimes, however, the reason behind rebranding is as simple as leaning into a more catchy nickname. Federal Express Corporation felt their name was quite a mouthful (rightly so), and decided to lean into a moniker they’d used on marketing materials for years prior. Thus, FedEx was born, and most customers don’t even remember its original identity

If your company name feels sluggish or doesn’t work in a jingle, consider moving toward something more marketable and memorable.

Cons of Changing Your Company Name

There are definitely benefits to be gained from rebranding your company, but there are also some reasons to exercise caution. Some companies have moved forward with a name change only to face backlash and a disconnect from their community. While it’s not a reason to abandon the idea, it’s important to weigh the potential downsides.

Confusion for customers

When The Sci-Fi Channel rebranded as SyFy, they wanted to reflect their unique entertainment offerings rather than being the definitive space for the science fiction (sci-fi) genre. Despite these good intentions, the new name was widely mispronounced and became a target for parody on talk shows. Die-hard fans were confused by the change and struggled to understand the vision behind it. Similarly, when Facebook shifted to Meta, many people found the change unnecessary, and the new name didn’t resonate with users.

While it’s not always the case, companies with strong brand recognition risk weakening customer relationships when they change their name. Radioshack, already struggling in a shrinking market, lost even more momentum when it rebranded as The Shack to appeal to younger consumers. Keep your history in mind if your company is well established and you’re considering a name change.

Upfront and hidden costs of rebranding

Building a new identity for a company isn’t free. Typically completed through an amendment filing submitted to the Secretary of State where your business is registered, the costs to file a name change can stack up, especially if the business is registered in multiple states or has subsidiary companies. Established companies with widespread branding will also need to update marketing materials. Weight Watchers rebranded as WW to focus on general wellness, but decades of branding weren’t undone overnight, and the cost of creating new materials was probably mind-boggling.

Lessons to be learned from new brand identities

Considering the pros and cons, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from major rebrands across history. Campbell’s rebrand proves that long-standing companies can benefit from an update. Snapchat, on the other hand, rebranded to Snap Inc. to reflect its expansion into physical products like Spectacles, showing how younger companies can rebrand quickly when the time is right. While you don’t want to rush into a major rebrand, doing so at the right time can reinvigorate a brand, push your company back into public consciousness, and signal a change towards bigger things.