Abrdn provides again vowels after extensively mocked rebrand

Funding agency Abrdn will add the vowels again into its title after dropping them in a rebrand that was extensively mocked.

The agency mentioned it’s going to now be known as aberdeen group, with no capital letter at the beginning. Prior to now it has been Aberdeen Customary Life and Aberdeen Asset Administration.

Its rebrand to Abrdn in 2021 was largely derided, with some saying it appeared like a typo, and others joking the agency had “irritable vowel syndrome”. The corporate mentioned the mockery amounted to “company bullying”.

Chief government Jason Windsor mentioned the most recent title change would take away “distractions”.

“It is a pragmatic determination marking a brand new part for the organisation,” mentioned chief government Jason Windsor, as he revealed a technique revamp.

Nevertheless, some individuals commented that whereas the corporate had discovered its vowels, it nonetheless hadn’t discovered its capital letters.

The agency has confronted a barrage of mockery during the last 4 years since rebranding to Abrdn underneath earlier boss Stephen Hen.

It attracted response on social media with one consumer posting a mock-up of phrase recreation Countdown. The letters ABRDN are proven on the letter board behind presenter Rachel Riley, with the phrases “one other consonant please Rachel…”

A brand new model of the picture was posted on Tuesday with one consumer joking that reinstating the vowels was accountable for the agency’s share worth rising.

When a senior government mentioned in 2024 that mockery round its title was company bullying, the Monetary Instances responded by publishing a put up that learn “Lv Abrdn aln” (Go away Abrdn alone), whereas Metropolis AM ran with a entrance web page that learn “Abrdn: an apology – sry we kp tkng th pss ot of yr mssng vwls”.

Rebrands for giant corporations have previously confirmed difficult to navigate. Royal Mail, for instance, induced a public outcry after it urged a reputation change to “Consignia” in 2002.

A couple of years in the past, Volkswagen was greeted with derision after an April Idiot’s joke misfired. The German automobile big was compelled to disclaim that it was altering its title to “Voltswagen” within the US, regardless of having mentioned in a press launch that it will.

Tuesday’s announcement from aberdeen group got here because it revealed a return to revenue in 2024 with pre-tax income of £251m.

As a part of Mr Windsor’s new technique, he mentioned he was beginning the seek for a brand new chairman and growing targets for revenue development.

The corporate mentioned it anticipated prices related to the title change to be “negligible”.