Abrdn boss cries ‘corporate bullying’ over name mocking
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Abrdn’s chief investment officer has complained that the company is facing “corporate bullying” by the media due to its name.
In an interview with Financial News, Peter Branner said that the British press mocking the company’s disemvowelled name was taking it a step too far.
“I understand that corporate bullying to some extent is part of the game with the press, even though it’s a little childish to keep hammering the missing vowels in our name,” he said.
“Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day in day out? It’s probably not ethical to do it. But apparently with companies it is different.”
When Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management merged in 2017, the company soon became known as ‘Staberdeen‘ in the City, much to the company’s dismay.
Therefore, it seemed clear that Standard Life Aberdeen was due for a rebrand, and having sold the Standard Life name to Phoenix in February 2021, the name ‘abrdn’ was revealed in April.
Chief executive Stephen Bird said at the time that the new name would “create unity across the business”, uniting the various acquisitions within the firm.
Developed by branding agency Wolff Olins, the new name is written in lower case and pronounced as ‘Aberdeen’.
However, it faced a string of ridicule from the public and press alike, with AJ Bell’s Laith Khalaf saying at the time that it would be leaving investors “dazed and confused”.
Others compared it to the disastrous rebranding of Royal Mail as Consignia, or to asking Countdown host Rachel Riley for consonants.
As the company has suffered years of less-than-stellar investment performance, with its share price halved since the name was announced, many have argued that the name change has not helped the business recover.
All we can say is: Srry fr th bllyng Abrdn.