Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking closely at the areas that need to be considered when carrying out a company rebrand in our ‘Access All Areas’ Series. We’ll also be giving you top tips from some of the key professionals who helped transform Namesco to names.co.uk.

So, if you’re considering a company rebrand, read on to find out how we’ve successfully evolved to names.co.uk and gain some insight from Stephen Ewart, names.co.uk Marketing Manager and brand producer extraordinaire.

Q) Why did Namesco decide to rebrand to names.co.uk?

A) We were presented with an opportunity to make a change during the redevelopment of our website. With all the time and effort we put in to the project, it was the perfect time to make the change and take advantage of what we think is a brilliant domain name, names.co.uk.

Our company name Namesco has always been a bit of a mouthful, we’ve heard some hilarious pronunciations of it over the years and we wanted it to be easier to remember.  As our primary web address has always been names.co.uk we decided to officially update branding and become names.co.uk.

Q) What is the thought behind the new logo?

A) The names.co.uk logo is part of a wider Dada branding project and the concept is shared with all domain and web hosting companies in our group across Europe. It’s all about connecting people! The concept behind the brackets is a little conceptual, but it’s supposed to represent a ‘Gateway’ to the Internet because that’s how a domain and hosting provider like names.co.uk operates for our customers I guess. The icon within the brackets is the logo that’s been with us for over 15 years. We’re proud of our history and wanted to retain a sense of familiarity and recognition.

Q) How did you know it was time to refresh?

A) Over the past twelve months we’ve run a number of internal workshops with our colleagues across Europe to find out what other teams expect from us. What came out of this was the need for a refresh. It was perfect timing with the new website and with the increasing pace at which we launch new products, the rebrand just felt right.

Q) What are the things you need to consider first when rebranding?

A) If you’re primarily an online business, it’s so important to use analytics to measure how customers search for your company. If a rebrand requires a new domain name you will need to consider very carefully the impact it may have on SEO rankings. We were fortunate in that we didn’t need to change our primary domain name and through analytics we discovered names.co.uk was unsurprisingly a popular search.

We also conducted research to better understand how our customers’ company name and own branding fits their business. The best bit of advice I can give to customers considering a rebrand is if you think its right for your business and for your customers, then go for it, regardless of the headache involved in updating all the relevant information that contains your brand name. It’s worth it in the end!

Q) What are the challenges you faced?

A) As our change is quite a subtle one, we were very lucky in that most of our material is online and not printed, we didn’t have high costs to print letterheads etc. Our biggest challenge is ensuring our existing customer base understands we are the same reliable company. Don’t underestimate how much work there is in a single change. Be clear from the beginning about the reason you are rebranding and keep it in mind at all times.

Q) How will the changes benefit names.co.uk?

A) The main benefit is our brand name, it’s easier to remember. Many customers only have a few domain products and perhaps some hosting, and as services run smoothly they have very little need to contact us. By changing our name, we hope customers who don’t need to talk to us very often, will remember us and we will remain at the forefront of their minds.

Q) What was your favourite part of the entire rebranding project?

A) I absolutely loved making our names.co.uk video, it was great getting team members to share their personal stories about the important names in their lives… it made me laugh! I’d recommend the out-takes, you can really tell we’re not professional actors.

Find out more about the changes we’ve made at names.co.uk.