Why the Facebook rebrand isn’t as bad as people say
Facebook, the company, have announced their latest rebrand, changing their company logo to an all caps version of the word ‘Facebook’. Facebook, the app, will keep the iconic blue logo.
The transformation of Facebook from a single social media website into a global conglomerate has been extremely impressive, with the company now estimated to be worth over US$500 Billion according to macrotrends. This incredible growth and success have come from both the original Facebook website and Facebook’s acquisition of a number of competing social media brands, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Oculus over the past few years. The company’s success has not come without its fair share of controversy however, with Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg making news headlines after countless scandals in recent times.
One of the most prominent scandals the American online social media and social networking service company have faced was the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Throughout the early parts of 2018, British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica Ltd combined data mining, data brokerage and data analysis with strategic communication during the electoral processes. It was revealed that Cambridge Analytica Ltd had harvested the personal data of millions of Facebook profiles without their consent and used it for political advertising purposes. The scandal led to more than US$100 billion being knocked off Facebook’s market capitalisation in a matter of days. It was reported just last month that Facebook will pay a fine of £500,000 following an investigation into the scandal, however despite agreeing to pay the fine they made no admission of liability.
Scandals like the aforementioned Cambridge Analytica data breach have prompted to attempt to differentiate Facebook, the company, from Facebook, the app. Facebook Chief Marketing Officer Antonio Lucio had this to say in the company’s statement; "We’re introducing a new company logo and further distinguishing the Facebook company from the Facebook app, which will keep its own branding,"
The change in logo may seem pointless for some, however in my opinion, it offers the perfect opportunity for Facebook to move past the recent controversies. Seeing the new Facebook logo on popular apps like Instagram and WhatsApp will make people view the company itself in a much more positive light. It also offers Facebook the chance to start being clearer about the products and services that Facebook do own, with a surprisingly large number of people still unaware that both Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by the company.
“People should know which companies make the products they use.” Antonio Lucio wrote, “Our main services include the Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Workplace, Portal and Calibra. These apps and technologies have shared infrastructure for years and the teams behind them frequently work together.”
“We started being clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook years ago, adding a company endorsement to products like Oculus, Workplace and Portal. And in June we began including “from Facebook” within all our apps. Over the coming weeks, we will start using the new brand within our products and marketing materials, including a new company website.”
“This brand change is a way to better communicate our ownership structure to the people and businesses who use our services to connect, share, build community and grow their audiences.”
It is yet to be seen whether or not the Facebook rebrand can save the toxic brand, but I think it is a step in the right direction. Even just this small differentiation from the app’s iconic branding shows a willingness to change, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first step in a complete rebrand of the company completely – including a name change, but we shall see.
