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Abrdn (ABDN.L) will reintroduce vowels to its name after a disastrous rebrand at the investment company backfired and triggered a wave of mockery.
On Tuesday, the financial giant said it would rebrand as Aberdeen Group immediately – ending a five-year period where it was widely ridiculed for getting rid of the vowels.
Jason Windsor, the chief executive, admitted the decision had been made to remove “distractions” from the company, which manages £78bn of pensions and wealth savings for millions of customers.
Aberdeen’s management had been frequently quizzed on the bizarre “abrdn” name, which was made by Stephen Bird, the former chief executive, to reflect its increasing tech focus.
Mr Windsor said: “Talking about the name was a distraction. The name is there to enhance the reputation and how the group is perceived by customers and shareholders, and make it easier for us to get out and be proud about what we are and why we do it.
“We made a very small change in one respect and a big change in another.
“Now is the right time for us to do that so we can get out with confidence and talk about our business. I’ve asked our marketing team now to go out and make the most of it.”
The company will change its trademark and registration at Companies House immediately to reflect the shift.
While many rebrands cost millions of pounds, Mr Windsor said the business “had not spent any more at all on it” and the redesign had been done internally by marketing managers at the company.
It marks a change of tone by senior management at the FTSE 250 fund, who previously accused critics of unfairly attacking its name.
Peter Branner, the company’s chief investment officer, said last year the backlash had amounted to “corporate bullying” and accused the media of being “childish” for ridiculing the name.
The company was rebranded as abrdn in 2021 from Standard Life Aberdeen, which was created out of a 2017 mega merger between Aberdeen Asset Management and insurer Standard Life. It means the change to Aberdeen Group will be the third renaming in five years.
Mr Windsor downplayed the significance of the multiple brand names, saying that the name had remained the same when spoken.
He said: “I joined the group that I’ve always pronounced Aberdeen. Everybody else calls [it] Aberdeen and we’re not changing it.
“The name in my mind as a verbal expression is not changing. This is a good name for the company. We are just trying to change the way we spell it out so it’s not a distraction.
“The brand has real relevance across various markets. It’s been around for 40 years. It actually transmits really well. When you turn up in Singapore, Beijing and New York, actually it works.”