Experts say renaming Facebook won’t stop lawmaker, regulatory scrutiny

Tech publication The Verge reported Tuesday that the California-based firm plans to change its corporate branding to reflect that it has become a global household name as well as owning a social media platform, which now includes Instagram. Other thriving businesses like WhatsApp are also included. and Oculus.

The company declined to comment about reports on a possible rebranding. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Facebook is battling intense scrutiny after a whistleblower leaked thousands of internal documents showing it contributed to online polarization when it made changes to its content algorithms, failing to take steps to reduce vaccine hesitation Raha, and knew that the popular social media app Instagram had caused mental harm. Adolescent girls’ health.

The US Senate held a hearing on Instagram’s impact on young users earlier this month.

“Legislators and politicians are smart enough not to be fooled by the rebranding,” said James Cordwell, an internet analyst at Atlantic Equities.

Naming can be an effective strategy to allow subsidiary brands to maintain their reputations, said Marissa Mulvihill, head of brand and activation at Prophet, a branding and marketing consultancy. But the media and regulators aren’t going to stop investigating or correcting just because you’ve rebranded.

The name of the new parent company may reflect Facebook’s focus on building a ‘metaverse’, The Verge reported, referring to a proposed digital world where people can use a variety of devices to move and communicate in virtual environments. can.

Experts said this could prevent potentially negative perceptions about Facebook’s name from affecting WhatsApp, the messaging app used by nearly 2 billion people worldwide, and its virtual reality brand Oculus.

Mulvihill said Facebook’s brand relevance to American consumers has fallen “sharply” over the past several years, according to Prophet’s annual rankings.

“What you don’t want is for it to grow and negatively impact other parts of your business,” said Deborah Stafford-Watson, head of strategy at brand consultancy firm Elmwood.

Other large companies have also taken similar steps. Google reorganized in 2015 under a holding company called Alphabet, as the company best known for Internet searches rapidly pursued ambitions such as autonomous driving technology.

In 2003, cigarette vendor Philip Morris rebranded itself as Altria, at a time when the company was owned by Kraft Foods. Later it separated the food department.

Mulvihill said the move to rebrand as Altria did not remove the negative connotations of tobacco from cigarette brands, but it did help limit the impact on Kraft.

Experts said Facebook will continue to face the same pressure even after the rebrand.

“I don’t think it will help Facebook reduce regulatory scrutiny or the general public’s suspicion, if not mistrust,” said Natasha Jane, partner at Pentagram, a design studio that does advertising and communications work. “Trust is something you need to earn.”

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.