指名する game: how to make rebranding a success story

By Sam Fleming for MailOnline
Updated: 22:33 BST, 27 May 2009

溝へはまらせる／不時着するing a 指名する with a 65-year pedigree takes courage - 特に when the 認識／意識性 of that 指名する has been 養育するd with millions of 続けざまに猛撃するs of advertising.?

But by the end of next ye ar, the 指名する Abbey - still, in the minds of many people, Abbey 国家の - will have disappeared from the High Street.

Instead, its 支店s will be under the 指名する Santander, the Spanish bank that has owned Abbey since 2004.

Brand new model: Santander will hope its rebranding will be as successful as Aviva's

Also brought under the umbrella - and those with a memory of Abbey's old logo will 解任する how appropriate an umbrella is - will be 同盟 & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, mopped up by Santander when they were on their 膝s last year.

By the end of 2010, all three companies, once stalwarts of the British building society movement, will be have the 選び出す／独身 指名する Santander over the door.

Yes, some of the best-known brands on the High Street will disappear. But for Santander, it boils 負かす／撃墜する to a 冷淡な, hard 商売／仕事 決定／判定勝ち（する）.

Knitting together its three UK banks under one umbrella will creates a goliath with 1,300 支店s - second only to the ますます 戦闘の準備を整えた Lloyds Banking Group.

Abbey 長，指導者 (n)役員／(a)執行力のある Antonio Horta-Osorio explained: 'It's a big advantage for our 顧客s. If you're with Bradford & Bingley, you can go to four times as many 支店s as you can 現在／一般に go.'

But is rebranding really such a smart idea? Arguably, the Abbey, A&L and B&B 命令（する） いっそう少なく 忠義 than they did when they were building societies. (Abbey was the first UK society, in 1989, to float on the London 在庫／株 交流.)

にもかかわらず, Santander needs to tread carefully. Graham Hales, managing director of consultancy Interbrand, said: 'They must move at the 権利 pace, listening to their 顧客s and talking to their 顧客s. But in this 事例／患者, it seems tomake sense.

'With 同盟 and Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, these brands have chequered histories, so to bring all the brands under one 指名する seems sensible.

Aviva used Elle McPherson to help familiarise 顧客s with their 指名する change from Norwich Union

'Santander is strong and continues to show strength. 特に after the experiences of the last year, the more 安全な・保証する you feel in your banking organisation, the happier you will feel.'

Certainly, Spanish banks have 現れるd from the 経済的な maelstrom of the past 12 months in much better 形態／調整 than their European and U.S. 競争相手s. Santander wants to 運動 this point home with British 消費者s.

In the five years since Abbey was bought by the Spaniards, Santander has 軽く押す／注意を引くd the UK 操作／手術's 顧客s に向かって the idea that their bank is Spanish-owned.?

Only one in five Abbey 顧客s were aware of the Santander brand at the time of the 2004 引き継ぎ／買収.

Roll 今後 five years and that has risen to four from five, （許可，名誉などを）与えるing Horta-Osario.

Of course, organisations - and individual 製品s - can be 首尾よく rebranded. No one goes into a newsagent and looks for a マラソン 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 any longer - it has become Snickers.

The same is true for Starburst (以前は Opal Fruits). When Unilever's Jif cleaner became Cif, it did no 害（を与える） to sales.

And in 財政上の services, the British public have shown no aversion to banking with an 会・原則 with an overseas 指名する over the door.?

Who remembers that their account with HSBC used to be with the Midland?

Norwich Union is gently 軽く押す／注意を引くing its 顧客s に向かって the notion that their 保険会社 is called Aviva.

Interbrand's Hales said: 'They did the 権利 thing by starting off by creating a visual symmetry betwee n the two brands. And Abbey has already gone with the symbol and colours of Santander.'

Spreading the word is also cheap at the moment, with 率s for television 宣伝s at 激しく揺する-底（に届く） levels.

Aviva is running TV 広告s featuring personalities such as Ringo Starr, Elle Macpherson and Bruce Willis to get across its change of 指名する.

Of course, rebranding can go unpleasantly wrong. Who 悔いるs the passing of the 完全に silly Consignia, the 指名する under which the 安全な and 尊敬（する）・点d 地位，任命する Office spent an unhappy year or so?

But for 多国籍のs like Santander, rebranding can work. It makes 商業の sense to create a uniform 法人組織の／企業の 身元.

When 吊りくさび Hamilton appears on television, he doesn't have Bradford & Bingley on his 全体にわたるs. His sponsor is （疑いを）晴らす: Santander.