Don't Change The Name

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I shared a (semi) viral post about the WHSmith rebrand a few weeks back.

WHSmith, a two-century-old British retailer, was sold.

As part of the sale, the name had to change.

WHSmith would become TGJones.

For non-Brits, this name change is a big deal.

WHSmith has been on British high streets for over two centuries.

And there are 3 behavioural science reasons why I think this rebrand will fail.

1. Habits

In Jan 2009, Tropicana rebranded.

Their new sleek design was supposed to attract new customers.

It did the opposite. Sales dropped by 20%.

In his book Decoded, Phil Barden¹ explains why.

We're creatures of habit; most purchases are based on system one unconscious thought.

Disrupting that habit with a significant rebrand will therefore reduce sales.

2. Mere exposure

Psychologist Robert Zajonc² (1968) found that students rated unfamiliar Turkish words more favorably when they had seen them more often.

Termed the "mere exposure effect", the study proved that repeated exposure to a name, idea, or brand increases likability and perceived truthfulness.

He found the same effect with strange hooded men appearing in his lectures.

I've seen the name WHSmith probably 5,000 times.

That repeat exposure makes me trust the brand and like it (a bit).

It makes me more likely to buy.

Remove the name, and you remove all that value.

3. Input bias

The more effort that goes into something, the more we value it.

WHSmith has been around for 200 years. Even with its dwindling sales, that counts for something.

I studied the input bias on my listeners a few months back.

Simply telling them "I've spent three weeks on this video" boosted enjoyment by 35%³.

Removing the name WHSmith removes the input bias.

TGJones has been around for 0 years, and that lack of history could harm sales.

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I don't want to claim that TGJones won't be a success.

Or that WHSmith shouldn't have sold.

But behavioural science reveals the pitfalls of rebrands.

And most of the evidence suggests this will fail.

What do you think? — Phill​