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In the rapidly changing world of media and entertainment, brands are constantly adapting and evolving to survive, often accelerated by cycles of mergers and acquisitions. As brands consolidate, spin-off verticals, or split apart, it’s inevitable that some of them completely rebrand or change elements of their branding to better suit the new media landscape. The core challenge for a rebrand is always retaining the strengths of a brand’s old identity while creating new aspects that make the brand more competitive.
It can be a task as herculean as keeping track of the mergers and acquisitions themselves, but a crucial task nonetheless. Even for the world’s most successful media brands, rebrands are not without consequences, and SEO often slips through the cracks. So, how did some of the most significant recent rebrands size up?
Facebook/Meta: Expanding Reach into the Metaverse
Social media giant Facebook announced its holding company rebrand as Meta in October 2021. With holdings including Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger, Meta touted itself as a “social technology company” and emphasized an increased focus on the “metaverse,” including investments in augmented reality, AI, and virtual reality. The goal? Drive user engagement and thus revenue through immersion in virtual reality, particularly Meta’s VR headsets.
However, the rebrand was criticized as a shield from a negative press cycle detailing Facebook’s aggressive pursuit of profits, no matter the costs to mental health or data security. It was also openly mocked online for placing all its eggs in the VR basket, which had repeatedly shown that it could not yet meaningfully connect with people and turn a profit.
At the very least, the rebrand soothed the discomfort of having multiple social media apps under the same roof. With Facebook as one of the company’s several platforms, having a neutral name for the holding company makes much more sense.
As for SEO, Meta’s neutral-if-futuristic-sounding name dominates the SERP and makes highly ranked appearances for searches related to VR, AI, and mixed reality. The rebrand also succeeded in taking some of the heat off founder Mark Zuckerberg, with the help of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
Twitter/X: Rebranding Resistance
Elon Musk’s highly controversial acquisition of Twitter for roughly $44 billion occurred in October 2022, but the platform remained mostly unchanged until July 2023, in which Musk announced he was moving away from the Twitter name and branding to rename the platform X. However, the full rebrand was not finalized until May 2024, when the URL officially changed from twitter.com to x.com. The move toward X stripped Twitter of its original color palette, iconic bird logo, and all bird-related imagery, changing “Tweets” and “Retweets” on the platform to “Posts” and “Reposts” respectively.
Musk previously stated the move was related to his desire to turn Twitter/X into a super-app, incorporating text, audio, video, and even banking. However, the move has been widely criticized within the industry – expert analysts say Musk wiped out anywhere from $4 billion to $20 billion in brand equity by rebranding to X.
Even further, a Google search of “X” yields complicated results. While the platform remains the first result, the SERP’s Knowledge Panel still refers to the platform as Twitter, and the remaining results include a band called X, the moonshot company X (a subsidiary of Google and Alphabet), and the Xbox Series X. Video results are dominated by news stories of users moving away from X, many of which have joined the mass exodus to Bluesky, a near-clone by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Aside from yielding more diverse search engine results, the rebrand to X has unfortunately forged new brand associations with increased bigotry, bots, and what Forbes describes as “meaningless ChatGPT drivel.”
In a Forbes contribution, marketer Dr. Marcus Collins wrote that to many, the name X signifies the death of Twitter. Whether this is the end remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the platform took a major hit by rebranding to X.
HBO Max/Max: Attempting to Appeal to All
In May 2023, HBO Max abandoned its prestigious name, purple colors, and original app in favor of Max, the product of Warner Bros. and Discovery’s merger. The new platform featured more than double the content of HBO Max, most acquired from Discovery+ streaming.
However, many saw the change as a downgrade, stripping away the quality associations of the HBO name in favor of a streaming service with a name so generic it couldn’t even acquire its own name as a Twitter or Instagram username. While some in the industry criticized the “deeply unoriginal blue” and “almost-too-ridiculous-to-believe tagline,” Warner Bros. Discovery quickly explained the decision.
JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery, explained the growth potential in animation and family-friendly categories following the rebrand. In an interview with Variety, Perrette elaborated on HBO’s brand standing for “edgy, groundbreaking entertainment for adults” – gritty prestige watches like “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Succession” are all closely tied to the HBO name. However, with the integration of Discovery+ content, Warner Bros. Discovery saw significant potential to make its streaming platform more family-friendly and signal the broader catalog of content to stream.
Initially, the numbers looked concerning – Max reportedly lost 1.8 million subscribers in the first three months. However, by February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery reported Max as the first Hollywood conglomerate to net profits from its streaming service. Brand consultants say this success can be attributed to the Max catalog engaging with every household member, combining the male-skewed HBO content with female-skewed Discovery.
In terms of brand SEO, Max's results are surprisingly good. A quick Google search immediately yields Max as the first result, with multiple Featured Snippet links for easier navigation and an accurate and robust Knowledge Panel. Only two results on the SERP are entirely unrelated to Max as a platform.
While it certainly has its haters, Max’s shaky start turned out to be a highly successful rebrand.
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