I ran across this article on Friday: [William B. May Ramps Up for New Era as Top New York Firm [RISMedia]](http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/14177/1/1/) and it dawned on me that this is the umpteenth (ok, 4th) rebranding effort I have run across specific to Manhattan real estate brokers this year.

* [William B. May [RISMedia]](http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/14177/1/1/)
* [Halstead [NYSun]](http://www.nysun.com/article/28471)
* [Corcoran](http://www.corcoran.com/aboutus/index.aspx?page=Article&pub_id=3643)
* [Prudential Douglas Elliman [Curbed]](http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/02/17/ellimans_new_web_presence_white_noise.php)

These firms are all in the process of rebranding all or varying pieces of their corporate identities.

What is rebranding? [Rebranding is about realignment [Buyer2Brand]](http://buyer2brand.typepad.com/buyer2brand/2006/01/rebranding_is_a.html).

Is it coincidence that these efforts seemed to occur after the market started to cool? With all the excitement and energy that went into keeping their sanity during the housing boom, were these efforts delayed simply because there was too much going on back then?

There was a lot of consolidation. The big firms bought smaller firms and marketing companies. Public breakups.

Brands collided, so consumer confusion was a looming concern. Images could get stale and no one wants to be complacent.

Is this a good thing? Sure it is. Its merely an effort for a company to better connect with the clients they serve. Can it confuse the consumer further? Sure it can, but given the marketing savvy of these firms, I doubt they will have much trouble.

[Here’s a real estate broker that, in an unusual move, debranded [Inman]](http://www.inman.com/blogger/2006/02/re-branding-and-de-branding-cutler.aspx#links).[Here’s a real estate firm that had to change its name after scandal [REJ]](http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/agentsandbrokers/20060224-buckman.html?refresh=on).


4 Comments

  1. ABC April 17, 2006 at 3:31 pm

    I would like more information on the free samples of Tide. Could you blog on that for a bit?

  2. Jonathan J. Miller April 17, 2006 at 8:19 pm

    Doesn’t BHS have a washing machine?

  3. Chris A. Randolph April 18, 2006 at 1:42 pm

    Everything is marketing and marketing is everything. Myself, I have De-Branded, moved from a large to a smaller company. At the larger company there were cases of corporate collision after their consolidation and some consumer confusion to boot. Now I need to Re-Brand myself since my realignment and watch that my new company keeps up with its branding.

    A slick ad campaign is nice and a well-branded corporate image does lend credibility but ultimately we are our own product and need to brand, and sell ourselves.

  4. pcampbell April 18, 2006 at 3:57 pm

    I don’t care – I only use non-animal tested, environmentally safe products made by indigenous peoples of poor countries where a % of the companies profits are returned to those communities helping them to have a better life so they do not become terrorists and bomb the heck out of my hood. Also, their workers must hug a tree at least once a week.

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