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When your brand is getting in the way of your business, it’s time for a change.

Andrew Carrier

Mar 09, 2025

Read on to learn why:

① Brands need to listen to their customers and respond accordingly.

② Sacrificing clarity for contemporariness is a fool’s errand.

③ High fees and lack of distributions are taking the shine off private equity.

④ Not being American or Chinese may now be a competitive differentiator.

⑤ Large companies continue to prioritise top communications talent.

⑥ “Masculine energy” is alive and well in banking and tech.

⑦ Activities that are ingrained into the business are complex to dismantle.

📸 But first, flashback to International Women’s Day 2024 when I told you it was time to drop the platitudes and take meaningful action. We celebrated IWD again yesterday, but sadly it seems little has changed. Sharon O’Dea is documenting the corporate hypocrisy, The Economist says the pay gap between men and women won’t go away (see Wildcard below), and Liz Lumley has some broader thoughts so I’ve given her the Last Word.

What's new

Abrdn changed its name back to Aberdeen this week, CityAM reports.

In short:

“Abrdn has rounded out a bumper year with a return to profit and a total revamp of its brand. Group chief executive Jason Windsor said: ‘We are changing our name to Aberdeen group plc. This is a pragmatic decision marking a new phase for the organisation, as we focus on delivering for our customers, people and shareholders.”
“This marks the second rebrand for the firm, after former boss Stephen Bird, who stepped down in May 2024, led the change to Abrdn in 2021. After removing its vowels, the company became a target for mockery, and the firm made accusations of ‘corporate bullying’.”
“Windsor said the firm does not intend to change its stock exchange ticker, which will remain ‘ABDN’. However, the company will begin to use ‘Aberdeen’ as its principal trading identity.”

Why it matters

Okay, I’ll whisper it: I never hated the Abrdn rebrand. That’s not to say it wasn’t a mistake. It was. But there was certainly something courageous about it. And, in financial services, an industry so dominated by conformists, I have a lot of respect for any firm willing to take a chance to stand out. The problem is that - as they acknowledged this week - the name had became a distraction, a headache, something that needed constant explanation, if not justification. And when your brand is getting in the way of your business, it’s time for a change. Another change.

① So this story matters because it’s an example of a phenomenon we see all too rarely: a brand willing to hear the voice of their customers, acknowledge their mistake and fix it. Sure, it helps that a new CEO is now at the helm - it’s always easier to reverse someone else’s decision - but that doesn’t diminish the significance of the move. I salute Jason Windsor for biting the bullet and making a U-turn. It won’t be plain sailing - indeed, the adviser platform’s chief distribution officer Verona Kenny is already struggling to explain it to customers - but it is the right decision.

② The original rebrand was ill-considered from the start. The justification for modernising the brand for digital, by using an abbreviated version of the name had no merit. Sacrificing clarity for contemporariness is a fool’s errand.

What to do about it

Take action

Talk to your head of marketing this week to check that they’re:

Taking stock: It’s valuable to audit your marketing on a regular basis. A proper audit describes the commercial landscape, how it’s evolving, and examines both where you are and where you should be. Most importantly, it identifies the specific areas that need focus in order to get you there. Everything from your brand to your positioning to your collateral are worth considering. Are they all still working hard for your business?
Questioning the status quo: The most dangerous phrase in business is ‘because we’ve always done it that way’. Don’t be afraid to challenge received wisdom.
Biting the bullet: When you make changes that have external visibility, it’s natural to be concerned about the way they’ll be received. Don’t be. The best way to rip off a plaster is fast and decisively. Plus, you’ll be surprised how little people actually notice. Or remember. Make the change that best serves your business.

Get help

Two ways I can help you: 1) hire me as a full-time member of your team; or 2) use InMarketing, an advisory service for senior leadership teams in finance and tech.

🔎 Audit 🧭 Strategy 🖋️ Positioning ✅ Planning 🤷🏻 Problem-solving ☎️ Counsel

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Top stories

The other articles that are worthy of your time.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Private equity industry shrinks for the first time in decades

③ High fees and lack of distributions are taking the shine off private equity.

Source: The Financial Times, 5 March 2025

“Private equity assets under management fell last year for the first time in decades as investors confronting a $3tn backlog of ageing and unsold deals pulled back from committing new funds to the sector. Buyout firms managed $4.7tn in assets as of June last year — down about 2 per cent from 2023. Even during the 2008 financial crisis, the private equity industry recorded modest asset growth, underscoring the magnitude of the challenges currently facing buyout groups.”
“The proportion of a fund’s net asset value that buyout managers return to their investors as cash has fallen to about half the historical average in recent years. Investors have responded by resisting new fund commitments. Private equity fundraising dropped 23 per cent in 2024, with the industry drawing in $401bn in new assets — the weakest tally since 2020. New cash coming into buyout groups was not enough to replace the $468bn in assets the industry sold last year as dealmaking and equity capital markets started to recover.”
“The industry’s traditional ‘2 per cent’ management fee is being eroded by so-called co-investments where sovereign wealth funds and pensions invest directly in deals without paying fees, while the rise of lower fee evergreen funds raised by giants including Blackstone and Apollo Global may further weigh on fees.”

TECHNOLOGY

Mistral, Europe’s biggest AI startup, is blowing hot

④ Not being American or Chinese may now be a competitive differentiator.

“Until recently Mistral looked likely to become collateral damage in the battle between America and China to dominate AI. With American executives arguing that users faced a choice between ‘democratic’ or ‘autocratic’ AI and Chinese models offering cheap performance to the geopolitically unbothered, the French firm was squeezed. But in February things started to turn round. Mistral released Le Chat, a paid-for ChatGPT-style assistant. The service is distinguished by its speed: it responds blazingly fast compared with the competition. Its app racked up 1m downloads in the first ten days.”
“It has something else in its favour: geography. ‘Le Chat est français’, reads one five-star review of the French version of the app, arguing that it is worth putting up with a slightly less efficient service to avoid the American and Chinese offerings. ‘The Americans have gone bonkers,’ declared another (British) five-star review. Mistral’s list of clients suggests that better-known, if less demonstrative, users are also open to a spot of flag-waving. It is dominated by French giants like BNP Paribas, a bank, and Orange, a telecoms firm.”
“However, national pride alone pays no bills. Mistral’s annual recurring revenue is just €30m, only around 0.5% of its giddy valuation, according to Sifted, a tech publication. But as the number of AI models grows, and the difference between the best shrinks ever further, a spot of patriotism might be enough to keep the money coming in and the models humming.”

MEDIA & MARKETING

How the CCO became the most dynamic role in management

⑤ Large companies continue to prioritise top communications talent.

“The Chief Communication Officer (CCO) position in large organisations is evolving faster than any other corporate function, making it one of the most dynamic roles besides the CEO.”
“Political change, risk and innovation are the main transformation drivers in the CCO role. These factors are increasing the complexity of stakeholder management and all forms of organisational communication.”
“When companies make leadership changes prior experience carries significant weight. Among external hires, 71% had previously served as CCOs, highlighting the premium on proven leadership in this increasingly strategic function. Three in five CCO positions (62%) have communications-only titles. The remainder have broader responsibilities, including corporate affairs, public affairs, sustainability and investor relations.”

WILDCARD

The pay gap between men and women won’t go away

⑥ “Masculine energy” is alive and well in banking and tech.

“On most measures, including representation on boards and in parliaments, countries improve each year. But across the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, the median wag gap is stuck at 11.4%, up from a low of 11.1% in 2020 despite policies designed to narrow it.”
“One reason is that the pandemic disproportionately affected women, who were likelier to be laid off or to quit to look after their children. This tallies with the still sizeable ‘motherhood penalty’ hurting the careers of women who start families. It is particularly true in countries with costly childcare such as Britain and America.”
“A recent book argues that women continue to be muscled out of the highest-paid sectors such as banking and tech. In ‘Fair Shake’, Naomi Cahn, June Carbone and Nancy Levit, three American law professors, say that a ‘winner takes all’ model of competition and excessive working hours discourages women from entering certain fields and holds down those who do. At many firms, a ‘tournament-like’ culture where workers battle for bonuses favours men, who tend to form alliances and may behave badly to get ahead.”

Off cuts

The stories that almost made this week’s newsletter.

The last word

⑦ Elizabeth Lumley, Innovate Finance, on the loss of DEI programmes:

Elizabeth Lumley. Source: LinkedIn, 8 March 2025

“The rate in which Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programmes are being scrapped tells me that these programmes were bullshit from the start - just a powder pink cloud of diversity-washing crap.”

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Wishing you a productive week,

P.S. Simplicity is the highest goal.