Changing brands

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

The Daily Mail City team looks at how Spanish bank, Santander has started rebranding two of its three High Street names, Abbey and Bradford & Bingley.

Russell Brand canned?

Nope, nothing to do with the extravagantly-maned gag man. It's all about image makeovers.

Think Trinny and Susannah, except with the big corporations, rather than frumpy fortysomethings.

Eh?

Companies often feel the need to spice up their appearance. They do this either by overhauling or killing off their brand entirely.

Spanish bank Santander, for example, has started eradicating two of its three High Street names, Abbey and Bradford & Bingley.

By the end of the month its 1,300-branch network will have been re-branded as Santander.

Why?

The Madrid giant hopes to save stacks of cash. By promoting just one marque around the world, Santander will get more bang from the hundreds of millions of bucks it spends on marketing.

Having emerged unscathed from the financial crisis, Santander also wants to exploit its image as a global banking powerhouse.

Will it work?

The history of corporate makeovers is littered with failures. Remember the Royal Mail's attempts to reinvent itself as Consignia? However, Aviva appears to have successfully jettisoned the Norwich Union name.

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