Even giants such as British Airways and Coca Cola have experienced a backlash when they have attempted to re-brand.
Andrew Turnbull, a senior lecturer in marketing at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said it was crucial for brand owners to consider what people will relate to, rather than making a change just for the sake of it.
He said there were three obvious examples of re-branding gone wrong in the last 20-30 years.
“British Airways tried to brand their fleet with a series of ethnic tail fins, and very quickly found out the public didn’t like it at all,” he said. “They had to re-brand with more British flag colours.
“The Post Office changed to Consigna, and people quickly questioned that. They quickly changed to the General Post Office, and then to the Post Office.
“Years ago, Coca Cola re-branded and changed the formula. Despite having done numerous tests to make sure they had a wonderful product and all the rest of it, it actually went horribly wrong.”
However, Mr Turnbull said there were plenty of manufacturers and groups who had managed to make successful changes, such as Jif to Cif, and sweeties Marathon to Snickers and Opal Fruits to Starburst.
He added: “You’ve also got the Earl Haig Foundation Scotland. 98% of the population understand the significance of the poppy, so it’s now called Poppyscotland.
“It needs to be levelled entirely in line with public understanding.
“That’s the key thing. Are the public, or the target audience, going to understand what the new brand signifies and means?”
The lecturer suggested Legion Scotland’s name change would create a “degree of consistency” with Poppyscotland, and that the timing of it, so close to Remembrance Day, would maximise attention.
