Abrdn provides again vowels after extensively mocked rebrand

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

The agency stated it’ll now be referred to as aberdeen group, with no capital letter initially. Up to now it has been Aberdeen Commonplace 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 stated the mockery amounted to “company bullying”.

Chief govt Jason Windsor stated the most recent identify change would take away “distractions”.

“This can be a pragmatic resolution marking a brand new section for the organisation,” stated chief govt Jason Windsor, as he revealed a method revamp.

Nonetheless, some folks 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 beneath earlier boss Stephen Fowl.

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 chargeable for the agency’s share value rising.

When a senior govt stated in 2024 that mockery round its identify was company bullying, the Monetary Instances responded by publishing a publish 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 prior to now confirmed difficult to navigate. Royal Mail, for instance, prompted 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 automotive large was compelled to disclaim that it was altering its identify to “Voltswagen” within the US, regardless of having stated 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 earnings of £251m.

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

The corporate stated it anticipated prices related to the identify change to be “negligible”.