Great rebrands of 2010 – Fiat 500

 

We’ve been looking back over 2010 for the most memorable re-brands. The one that sticks in our mind is the new Fiat 500. Two of our funky friends rushed out to purchase the all-new-singing-and-dancing Fiat 500 last summer – exactly 50 years after the first Fiat 500 was born – and they were not disappointed. A great brand always delivers on brand promise.

The new Fiat 500 car has kept the Cinquecento-silhouette features, fused with a distinctive retro-look just like the Volkswagen New Beetle and Mini but is more competitively priced.

Now, we’re not trying to steal Jeremy Clarkson’s job here …  Instead, we are simply using this re-brand as an excellent case study. If you think back a few years, the Fiat Cinquecento was just another small, economical city car. It didn’t really stand out from the crowd, plus the brand name ‘Cinquecento’ is not only difficult to spell. It is also impossible to pronounce unless you have some knowledge of the Italian language.

The book, Do A Madonna focuses on company names and slogans, and the importance of choosing a name for your business or product which is easy to pronounce and spell. Could you imagine having to spell ‘Cinquecento’ every time someone wanted to visit your website? Sometimes, being too clever can defeat the point of the object. The original name, ‘Fiat 500’ rolls nicely off the tongue.

We think the Fiat 500 rebrand is a massive success. What is your favourite rebrand of 2010?

Is 2011 the year when you should think about re-branding your business or products? We help businesses of all sizes to re-brand. If your business has reached the magic five year mile-stone, why not give it another push in the right direction? It may simply need a tweak. If you look at the history of the Shell logo – it has remained a shell in 100 years – the fonts and colours have simply been modified to keep up with trends.

Give us a call on 01903 824229 for an informal discuss about where you want your business to head in 2011.

Happy new year from The Brand Surgery – the number one branding agency in Sussex.