When Philip Morris changed its name to Altria in January 2003 it was widely understood that the parent of Kraft and Nabisco was trying to distance itself from its less beloved
tobacco holdings. Likewise when Worldcom changed its name to MCI in April, it did so presumably to rejuvenate its ailing reputation after the company became the poster child for
corporate chicanery.
What role does PR play in a name change -- not just when it is a face-saving measure? PR should always be involved in the name-changing process, and PR practitioners say they
have found important ways in which their skills can push the goals of a corporate name change. More than anyone else in the corporate pantheon, they say, PR executives are ideally
suited to the vital task of telling the story that lies behind a name change.
Sarah Martin is the director of corporate communications at the former KPMG Consulting, now known as BearingPoint. To find a new name the firm held a naming contest among
employees, and also asked two branding firms to offer suggestions. While Martin had a say in deciding among the more than 500 possible names, hers was by no means the definitive
voice. Rather, her work began once the name was chosen.
"We wanted a story to tell around the name. We didn't want to have to force-fit the name around the story," she says. But the real story was not exactly a thrill ride: At the
time the consulting arm spun away from the better-known accounting firm, it had only won the use of the KPMG name from its former parent company for a limited time, and that time
was running out.
Martin found a more uplifting theme, however, by using the BearingPoint name as a way to talk about steering customers in the direction of desired goals. In this effort she had
an advantage, in so far as BearingPoint consists of two actual words drawn from the English language. By comparison, critics decry the HP spin-off Agilent, and especially the
uber-ambiguous Altria. "It's hard to imaging that PR could have been involved in making that choice," says Samantha Ettus of Ettus Media, a PR and branding firm.
The nonsense-name phenomenon shows just why PR should be involved early on in the naming process. "Why spend money on a naming company that comes up with nonsensical syllables
that are random generated by a computer?" asks Rob Gelphman of Gelphman Associates. "In-house PR staff [is] much closer to the company and its objectives and customers. Naming and
corporate identity are part of positioning, which is now the province of PR. Doesn't it make sense for PR to be responsible for the name?"
Yet PR pros do get to play that role, and savvy communications professionals will bring to bear all available tools in their arsenals to find a name that matches corporate
sensibility. Susan A. Noonan, president of Euro RSCG Life NRP, a PR consultancy specializing in the healthcare industry, has helped rename several firms. "We test market the new
name suggestions and looks," she says. "We make sure the name will work for many diverse audiences: For instance, companies need to be careful that their name does not translate
into something terrible in international markets. We also build a story around the new name and why it best describes a company."
Noonan's team will roll out the new name with a press release and, typically, a news event. They will follow up with e-mail blasts, brochures, Web postings and so on, aimed at
both employees and customers.
Underlying all this is the story of the new name, the meaning for the name change and what it represents. To ensure that the story comes together, "PR starts at the very
beginning, at a branding and positioning meeting where we decide, with the client, who they are and who are they becoming," Noonan says.
If a name change happens for no reason, or because some VP didn't like the sound of the old one, money is being wasted. The best name changes convey corporate growth, change or
redirection. That's why the related PR campaign has to be substantial. "This should be more than just a simple press release - 'Oh by the way, we changed our name,'" Gelphman
says. "If there are significant reasons why you are doing this, you should be doing a press tour," he says. "Get your top people out there to talk about why you are changing your
name. Speak strategically to critical issues, talk about your product and get some positive press out of it. If used right, this can be a great PR opportunity."
For that to happen the story about the name change must first be told internally. "Your employees are the front-line people, the group who will be talking to people about this
name change," says Ettus. "Getting their buy-in from the beginning is important."
Heath Shackleford stressed employee buy-in when he helped the consulting arm of accounting firm Arthur Andersen to drop the 'Arthur' from its name -- not because of the firm's
accounting scandals but in order to help Andersen garner media attention for its largely unrecognized consulting practice. "You have to have your audience sequence correct," says
Shackleford, who now serves as director of client services at Seigenthaler PR. "There is a temptation to want to get out there and tell the world as soon as you know something.
But you don't want your employees to read The New York Times and see that the company has a new name."
Not everyone agrees. In some cases, PR practitioners have kept employees in the dark in order to make a name change with maximum impact both internally and externally. In the
BearingPoint re-naming effort, for instance, Martin didn't want to release the name to anyone before the full formal launch so it was kept secret even from employees. On launch
day she came out with a full branding blitz: Color scheme, logo, office celebrations, direct mail to clients.
Although the employees did not learn about the name change until the same day as the media they still were "very much a part of the celebration," she says. And by keeping the
name under wraps she was able to position the new moniker with all the attendant bells and whistles. Without such secrecy beforehand, she says, "people would have been allowed to
take pot shots at it, without seeing the visuals, without having anything to associate it with."
However one decides to play the timing issue, the PR fundamentals of a name change remain the same. "Don't change it if works," Gelphman says. "Don't change it out of ego.
Don't change the name just because you don't like it. Don't change it unless it is really representative of a new direction, in which case it should be part of a full-on
campaign."
What's in a Name?
How to handle a corporate name change? PR pros offer these tips...
"Most companies make the mistake of involving PR too late in the process. The conduit through which people will hear about a name change is the media, so that [PR] person
should be involved from the very beginning."
-- Samantha Ettus, Ettus Media
Don't be cute: "Contrived names sound contrived. Don't be afraid to use as a name a word that is already in existence. Then keep it simple. Make it melodious. Make it
pleasant."
-- Rob Gelphman, Gelphman Associates
Sell it internally first: "If your employees don't understand it or if they have concerns, you are going to have a lot of potential pitfalls there."
-- Wilson Camelo, account supervisor, Mason & Madison Public Relations
Full-court press: "While a press release announcing the new name is necessary, it should be only the first step in a more full-fledged communications effort. "Don't count on
the brand being communicated just by that one announcement."
-- Heath Shackleford, director of client services, Seigenthaler PR
Contacts: Wilson Camelo, 203.393.1101 x156; [email protected]; Samantha Ettus, 212.808.4747, [email protected]; Rob Gelphman, 408.451.8420, [email protected]; Sarah Martin,
703.747.5900, [email protected]; Susan A. Noonan, 212.845.4252, susan.noonan@nrp-
euro.com; Heath Shackleford, 615.327.7999, [email protected]