The November 14, 2011 issue of Advertising Age has a front page story about another company who opted for a corporate name change only to abandon it just six months later. This one, like others before it, is likely to go down in the annals for corporate rebranding as a colossal failure.
The company in question is Overstock.com. For some odd reason, the brilliant minds in the marketing department successfully convinced executive management to rename the company O.co.
What?!!
Someone pronounce that for me please. Is it “oh dot ko” (long case o)? What the heck does that mean? How do you brand O.co?
Good grief. What were they thinking?
Could it be they got caught up in what looked cool and sounded hip?
Not according to the company’s January 20, 2011 press release:
The introduction of O.CO highlights Overstock.com's growth into a globally recognized brand that is synonymous with the 'O' and is a natural transition of the company's brand to a universally understandable and relevant domain.
This was all about a domain? Seriously? That’s ridiculous. This seems a clear indication of executive management’s lack of understanding of their own company, the value of its brand. It’s also smacks of a company without a clear vision of its future.
To verify my suspicion, I decided to take a look at their Vision Statement:
Our Vision
Overstock.com, shortcut O.co, provides online shoppers the best value and a superior customer experience. We are honest, helpful, efficient, accountable and trustworthy, and we are committed to profitability and service. We want our colleagues and customers to feel At Home with the "O".
Wow, they can’t even craft a vision statement. To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what it is. Each sentence reads like it was written by a different individual. The first sentence was probably authored by someone from marketing. The second sentence sounds like it was contributed by a former Boy Scout who obtained a Master’s degree in finance. The third sentence feels like it came from a sex counselor.
"Over the eleven years we've been in business we've evolved into a savings engine for shoppers. We have become O.CO," said Overstock.com Chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne.
What O.co also known as Overstock.com has become is a shoe-in to make every Top Ten Major Rebranding Disasters list to be authored in the coming decade. O.no
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