Facebook’s name change to Meta Platforms is just the latest in a string of high-profile rebrands aimed at giving a company an image makeover.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the October 2021 rebranding showed how the company is expanding beyond its social media roots to being “metaverse first.”
The name change also helps Meta distance itself from controversy surrounding its business model that has sent its stock price down more than 10% in recent months.
$382
Sept. 1, 2021
$341
Nov. 5, 2021
Facebook [FB] stock price
The most common reasons why companies change their names are:
Signal a new strategic direction
Distance from negative publicity
Reflect a merger or acquisition
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Facebook’s rebranding echoes Google’s in 2015, when it created parent company Alphabet to oversee its various brands including Google, YouTube, Nest Labs, Waymo and various “moonshot” projects.
Alphabet stock rose more than 20% in the year after its rebranding and the company is now worth around $2 trillion.
$663
Name change Aug. 10, 2015
$808
Aug. 10, 2016
Alphabet / GOOG stock price
Priceline changed its name to Booking Holdings in 2018 to reflect its merger more than a decade earlier that helped it rebound after crashing during the dotcom bust.
$284
Dec. 31, 1999
$2,619
Nov. 5, 2021
Booking / BKNG stock price
Merger Jul. 24, 2005
Name change Feb 27, 2018
Likewise, cigarette giant Phillip Morris changed its name to Altria in 2003 in a move widely considered an attempt to separate its corporate image from its cigarette brands.
The name change worked out for Altria, which saw its stock price rise more than 30% in the following year.
$10
Name change Jan. 27, 2003
$13
Jan. 26, 2004
Altria Group / MO stock price
Not all rebrands help companies rebound. Research In Motion’s name change to its hit product, BlackBerry, in 2013 came too late, after its U.S. market share for handheld devices had already sunk to less than 5%.
BlackBerry’s stock price took a beating in the year following the announcement as well.
$15
Name change Feb. 4, 2013
$10
Feb. 4, 2014
BlackBerry / BB stock price
Story Malak Saleh DATA SourceS Harvard Business School, FactSet PHOTOS Getty Images (2); Bloomberg (3); Dreamstime (3), Meta (1) PHOTO EDITING Sarina Finkelstein Design Nick Hallam