Facebook’s reported move to change its name is a smart PR move, says Kara Alaimo, but won’t get to the root of the problem — the company’s bankrupt reputation — or magically create a brand in which consumers will place blind faith. Replacing Mark Zuckerberg as CEO is a different story, she contends.
Now, amid this firestorm of criticism, the company has reportedly come up with a new public relations strategy: changing its name. According to a report by The Verge, Facebook will soon announce a new name that reflects chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s stated focus on being part of a future so-called “ metaverse “ — an online world where our avatars interact in astonishingly lifelike ways. There’s a glaring reason Facebook’s name change is such a smart move from a branding perspective, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the company may want to create a single umbrella brand for the three major platforms it owns — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — or that it wants to focus on the metaverse. It’s because the public has lost faith in Facebook. And rightly so. For all the family photos shared or funny videos consumed that the company has made possible, „Facebook“ is now also a name associated in recent years with misinformation, privacy violations, the spread of hate and autocracy. But a new name won’t get to the root of the problem: Facebook’s bankrupt reputation. Going by a different name won’t magically create a brand in which consumers will place their blind faith. The only way for Facebook to restore that trust is to change its leadership and address the actual issues that have justifiably prompted so much concern. Facebook has pushed back hard against many of the allegations against it, calling some „misleading,“ saying they have cracked down on anti-vaccine content and misinformation.
