What’s in a name? A rose by any other name will smell just as sweet?

? NBC Universal

That’s what the brand SciFi is counting on when they switch to their new name SyFy in July. Will this switch truly be beneficial to a channel built on fantastical programming or will they alienate their core base?

From the New York Times:

?We couldn?t own Sci Fi; it?s a genre,? said Bonnie Hammer, the former president of Sci Fi who became the president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions. ?But we can own Syfy.? Ms. Hammer and her successor as Sci Fi president, Dave Howe, said they had sat through many meetings over the years at which a name change was debated.

A brand is not built over night

The crucial aspect here is that SciFi acknowledged that their demographic & reach was changing and they needed to change with it. Listening to your target audience and responding accordingly is what makes a great brand. One that embraces an infinite feedback loop effect when addressing concerns is one that is able to change directions when vital to its future survival.

It’s very important to note that a name change was not decided over night. It was debated through many meetings over years. What this tells me is that it took a consensus of people weighing the pros and cons over a long period of time through a series of set appointments whereby they were able to reflect upon the points made at the last get-together. Ultimately they came to a consensus that a rebranding was necessary to grow with their audience.

A brand keeps an open dialogue

SciFi realized that their name- shortened from Sci-ence Fi-ction- was limiting to where their audience told them they wanted to go. From Mr. Howe in the SyFy Press Release:

By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider and more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment including fantasy, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure, as well as science fiction.

The key here is that the new name sounds the same. It isn’t a complete name rebranding & refocusing like CourtTV becoming TruTV. This move is one of the best refocusing moves that comes to mind. SciFi is moving away from being about a specific genre, which limits them. This moves SyFy towards being about an idea that is core to their being, imagination:

Syfy allows us to build on our 16 year heritage of success with a new brand built on the power that fuels our genre: the Imagination. Syfy ushers in a new era of unlimited imagination, exceptional experiences and greater entertainment that paves the way for us to truly become a global lifestyle brand.”

A brand is built in stages

Their new brand message and tagline, Imagine Greater, is built upon a former tagline of theirs, If. SciFi used a visual device to drop out the SC & last I to leave “iF”. This was coupled with fantastical “what if” situations in commercials that ran frequently on their channel in between programs. This brand positioning geared their viewing audience up for the changes to come.

With the IF campaign, SciFi took away the focus from their name and put it on the idea hidden in their name. This brilliant move subtlely let the viewers know that even though their given name traditionally means one thing, them as a brand means something much more- dreams & possibilities. Hindsight is definitely 20/20.

? NBC Universal

As you can see from the above examples that their logo has gone through some key visual changes in stages as well. They are true to their brand colors, keeping the white and purple prominent throughout (there is ample amount of purple used currently on SyFy.com). Their letterforms go from a more rounded thinner san-serif font (SciFi) to a blockier bolder san-serif font (SciFi Wire). Eventually they end up at a hybrid of the two- a san-serif font that is round blocky bold and modern all at the same time (SyFy). It is important to note that they never once changed their font to a serif based one, which tends to connote more of a traditional feel as opposed to a modern one.

A brand stays true to its message

SciFi and now SyFy stands for imagination as I have delineated above. Their visual brand conveys a feeling of modernity and looking to the future, as seen in their decision to keep a san-serif typeface all throughout the various stages of their rebranding. A brand may change many things about them but the one thing that they don’t change without great trepidation is their core viewpoint- traditional or modern. Tropicana recently went through making this rash change with their logo only much to the public’s dismay and outrage.

From Perez-Fox.com

If it?s a question of branding, dear friends, go back to the basics. Reexamine your core values… (from Perez-Fox.com)

Tropicana’s rebranding ultimately failed because it was based on aesthetic values and not core values. Essentially their original (and now once again current) logo conveys a heartiness from the their use of bold. Modernity is conveyed with their use of a mostly san-serif font, yet it still lets you know that it’s traditional by a slight flare of a serif. Forward moving yet based in tradition. Some other devices used are a gradient, an orange drop shadow and the letters are slightly width distorted, as seen mainly in the “o” and the “p”. By not taking all of these elements into consideration when making a major change a brand sets itself up for failure.

Change can be instituted if you introduce those changes in stages, as clearly seen with SciFi/SyFy. Tropicana failed to ease their consumers into the change. No one likes a sudden shock to their system. Even Pepsi’s logo change was minor compared to Tropicana.

Via http://yaprak-gultay.com

Pepsi’s new logo exemplifies their tagline Refresh Everything, which they basically did. Someone once conveyed to me that while Coca Cola is timeless, Pepsi is timely. While there was initial outrage towards Pepsi’s change- for they didn’t do it gradually- people are slowly accepting that this logo is here to stay. The general public realizes that while their image is refreshed it still conveys its brand positioning loud and clear. Pepsi may have changed their look abruptly but by doing so they never changed their message.

A brand is conscious

A brand is many things but most of all it is conscious. It is conscious of each and every decision that is made, for everything done by the brand reflects upon its image. It is conscious of all of the imagery used in representing itself, from marketing to advertising to logos to business cards. It is conscious of the partners it takes on, for everyone it associates with will be mentally tied to them by the viewer. It is conscious to plan all of its communications strategically, in stages and over much conversing with the proper groups of people.

Branding is not just about changing your brand’s design. Branding is about changing things to refocus elements to reflect your core message and values. Your customers are the bottom line. They keep you in business by patronizing you so don’t patronize them by thinking they know less than you do. They will tell you exactly who you are if you ask.

We were given two ears and one mouth for a reason- so we can listen twice as much as we talk. Do this and you put yourself ahead of the game.