INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightFacebookFacebook is introducing new branding for its products and services in an attempt to distinguish the company from its
familiar app and website.Instagram and WhatsApp are among the services that will carry the new FACEBOOK brand in the next few weeks.The main
Facebook app and website will retain its familiar blue branding.The new logo, which is in capital letters, uses "custom typography" and
"rounded corners" so the company's other products and app look different
The branding also appears in different colours depending on which product it represents
So, for example, it will be green for WhatsApp.Image copyrightFacebook"We wanted the brand to connect thoughtfully with the world and the
people in it," Facebook said
"The dynamic colour system does this by taking on the colour of its environment."Facebook's chief marketing officer Antonio Lucio said:
"People should know which companies make the products they use
We started being clearer about the products and services that are part of Facebook years ago."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."US Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she wants to break up the big tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Google and put
them under tougher regulation.This plan may be seen as Facebook's way of hitting back, although Ms Warren - posting on Facebook - said:
"Facebook can rebrand all they want, but they can't hide the fact that they are too big and powerful
It's time to break up Big Tech."Distancing the Facebook brand - the blue app that's home to just about everyone, including your parents -
from the trendier Instagram, a place for you and your friends, has always made good business sense for Facebook.And it apparently worked:
when Pew researchers asked study participants whether or not Facebook owned Instagram or WhatsApp, 49% of American adults were "not sure".So
why would Facebook make this change?It brings several benefits
Front of mind: the firm is covering itself from accusations it hides how powerful it really is by not making it absolutely clear they are
behind most of the biggest apps in social media.And Facebook also wants to fend off efforts to break it up, by making the case that the
company isn't simply a conglomerate of separate, distinct apps which could be easily broken up by regulators
Instead, this rebranding argues the firm is one big connected organism, called Facebook
Facebook has come under criticism recently over a variety of issues.Its boss Mark Zuckerberg had to face US lawmakers last month to explain
the company's policy on not fact-checking political adverts.He also had to defend plans for a digital currency, talk about the social
network's failure to stop child exploitation on the network, and was quizzed over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.Earlier in the year,
Mr Zuckerberg said the firm was going to make changes to its social platforms to enhance privacy.These included messages sent via Messenger
being end-to-end encrypted, and hiding the number of likes an Instagram post receives from everyone but the person who shared it.Does
rebranding always work?Several other big companies have tried rebranding in the past:In 2001, British Airways turned tail on its plans to
remove the red, white and blue Union flag from its aircraft and replace it with "world images"In the same year, Royal Mail rebranded as
Consignia, only to swap back again a year laterDunkin' Donuts dropped the "Donuts" from its name last year to try to move more into the
coffee industry and its share price has continued to riseThe parent company of Paddy Power and Betfair started trading under the new name
Flutter Entertainment in May this year
It said the new name "better reflected the diversity of the group".'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'Manfred Abraham, chief executive of
consultancy Brandcap, told the TheIndianSubcontinent: "I'm sure this will be a successful move for Facebook
After all, the parent brand remains strong, despite recent troubles, and reminding consumers that Instagram etc are all Facebook companies
will assist with cross-membership."The rebrand is unsurprising as it is following a trend - that of simplification
Many organisations are choosing a strong, but pared-back visual identify and are shrugging off 'flair' in favour of plain."However, Mr
Abraham thought Facebook was correct to leave the logo on its flagship social media platform as it is."Facebook's main site doesn't need a
The old adage is true: if it ain't broke don't fix it."
