Five of the most impressive rebrands of 2022

Didi: Hey, Hey, Hey!

Terver: Because one ‘hey’ wasn’t enough? 

Didi: Actually 8 ‘hey’s’ are best, one for every month we’ve been MIA 

Terver: Eisshhh, I thought we were gonna skim past that. You know, toxic ex boyfriend style. 

Didi: I just want to say this is all Terver’s fault 

Terver: Awww i’ve missed this. Didi telling lies, me staying gracious in the midst of it all. 

Didi: Wow! The real ones know the truth, so I wouldn’t say much. It’s good to be back though!  

Terver: We would have come back sooner if people were taking out billboards and banners on helicopter rides to ask for our return, but apparently only influencers in love and Big Brother people deserve that sort of treatment. Anyway, what are we talking about today Pinkie?

Didi: Taking over the worldddd… or more accurately, speaking about the most impressive rebrands of 2022. 

Terver: Taking over the world would have been a much more exciting topic, but fair. This topic is important for a few reasons.First is that rebrands in general are a huge communications challenge– one that very few brands are able to successfully crack, and next is that we’ve seen some rather interesting rebrands already in the past year. So, geeking out about them should be fun. 

Didi: My favorite definition of branding is that it’s a mental shortcut that helps people make decisions quicker. So rebranding can really be a way to fix something that’s broken (or breaking) and steer people in the direction of your brand. 

Terver: Ahahhhnnn…that’s that good behavioral science talk! When Burna said “my problem is I too sabi” he was talking about people like Didi. But, I agree. My favorite rebrand by a mile this year isn’t from a brand. It’s the systematic rebrand of the influencer space into the “Creator Economy” 

I’m living for it! 

Didi: Right!! We’re always looking for a reason to drag influencers but this rebrand is pretty solid. Who would you credit for the shifting dynamics? 

Terver: Hmmmm… now that I think about it, I’d credit TikTok massively for the shift. It’s built such that any one with an idea (or even the lack of it) can achieve popularity through content creation so it’s shifted the focus heavily from influencing, which is a pressure activity where you’re actively trying to shape other people’s opinions and ultimately influence purchase behavior to simply creationism where the intention is just to create content that adds value on some level– whether it’s to entertain, educate or simply inform. 

Didi: I also appreciate how creating cuts across social strata. Influencing requires a certain amount of social equity. In the creator economy, you only need a camera phone and data connection and as long as people find what you create interesting, you’re all good. Props to TikTok and the changing algorithms in favor of reels even on Instagram – it’s less of a popularity contest, and more prioritizing content on the basis of its engagement. That is giving everyone the space they need to create, although I hear creating can take hours. Goodluck to you Gen Zs. Do you have a TikTok Terv?

Terver: LOL! Not you asking questions to put the girl on blast.  I have a lurker account, if that counts for something. One last note on the creator economy. I really like that there are more opportunities for creators to monetize the platforms outside of brand promotions like the Creator Fund on TikTok and selling merchandise. Also, I see how this shift is starting to boost creator confidence in their offerings, democratizing access to the industry and setting a more positive tone for how marketers can approach potential collaborations in a way that optimizes for authentic engagement. I love it! Also, (let’s face it), it’s much snazzier to be called a creator than an influencer. Maybe African parents can even get behind it! 

Didi: Lemaooooo! Until they ask you what you’re creating and you say it’s videos of you holding the door for strangers in random locations. Speaking of, the next big rebrand of 2022 is again not a ‘brand.’ It’s Newsletters and how they’ve made the biggest comeback since Drake brought the BackStreet boys on stage 

Terver: Didn’t that just happen two weeks ago? 

Didi: You need to learn to focus on the important things. I’d say the resurgence of the Newsletter is somewhat tied to the creator economy as well. Where people want to share knowledge in written form within their individual circles.I know a few people that are even doing this as their full time job – subscribe to read and all that.  Terv, what would you say is influencing this?

Terver: Hmmm, I’d lean towards this being as a result of more creators realizing that email newsletters are one of the best ways to reach their audience without having to play nice with social media algorithms that are quite frankly increasingly problematic. Quick segway – what’s this new thing IG is doing cluttering our feeds with random people we don’t follow.

Didi: Fammmm, Twitter is doing this as well. While I appreciate that they want to give creators more visibility, please, leave my feed out of it, Jack. Or is it Elon? Or Parag? One of you pleaseeeee. That aside, For marketers, I love how email marketing expands our possible distribution channels – it’s a lot more to manage, but at least you know you’re speaking to an active audience.

Terver: Next brand on the list is a personal brand, every Nigerian mother’s favorite buga crooner; ?Kizz Daniel 

Didi: Kiss?

Terver: Kizz ?. I think he was forced to rebrand after a fallout with his original record label. I remember thinking that was a clever tweak. 

Didi: Ah, better than BXNXBXNX then 

Terver: Please leave Buju Benson out of this. But yeah, Kizz Daniel has had an incredible run in the past year, particularly this year! This is a guy who had darn near become an industry villain, having a project (King of Love) that was admittedly better than average, go largely ignored by the industry. He’s spent the last year moving with a level of personal rebranding intention that even very few business brands can brag about. 

Didi: I’m honestly still stuck on why his name is Kizz, but carry on

Terver: Didi Focusssss pleaseeeeee. The point I’m trying to make is he’s back on top! Solid new project, looks like he’s made peace with the industry, he’s showing different sides to himself by choosing to engage with fans across his socials, create fun content, and show off more layers to himself- his partner, his kids, his personal battles, his style, even his musical process in the studio. It’s been impressive to watch! And these actions have changed the face of his career. What’s more is that Kizz has absolutely hacked a formula to deliver bangers! You know you’re winning when everyone from young to middle aged and even elderly politicians (I’m looking at you APC presidential aspirants) are boogieing (or buga-ing) to your song. 

Didi: Celebrity/artist branding is something we should dedicate some time to Terv. Always interesting to see how people build and transform their brands. Adekunle Gold is a top one for me. I hear the ladies call him AG Baby now. Interesting how it all follows the rules of marketing – positioning for a certain audience and designing the product for that audience; in how you dress, how the pictures are taken, the songs, the collaborations and all. 

Terver: Fair! We should do that soon. Add that to the list of scams, right up there with “We’ll do lunch soon” and “Let me call you back” 

Didi: You would know! Let’s not talk about the number of times you’ve “i’ll call you right back” me into nothingness

Terver: Wow! Not you airing our dirty laundry out in public.Tbh, “I’ll call you back” does not have an expiry date. Moving on swiftly to number 4, it’s how the credit industry has successfully rebranded what are essentially loans, to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Didi this is very much your space, so speak on it girl! 

Didi: Fammmm… this is what makes me believe that the renewable energy space has a branding problem. Folks really gave a fancy acronym to lending and now everyone is fawning over it. For those who don’t know, BNPL involves all kinds of credit where you can complete an online purchase without making any payment or very little payment. 

The back story is even more interesting; there was a growing trend of younger people taking fewer loans, so the credit industry thought to attack it at the point of purchase instead of asking people to get credit cards. 

More than anything, the ease of its use is what has made BNPL successful. Instead of filling multiple forms, BNPL allows you to quickly sign up at the very end of your purchase cycle, leveraging the behavioral science phenomenon – loss aversion, where people do not want to lose what potentially could be theirs. 

Terver: Totally agree! One of my favorite things to say is that “words mean things” and names are powerful in shaping how we think. In this case, BNPL has successfully flipped public perception from the idea of credit or loaning- take money that’s not yours and  pay back with interest to Buy Now, Pay Later, i.e  access short-term finance, get the products you love and pay in the future – (often) interest free. It’s brilliant! Legitimately one of the strongest rebrands since we started to describe confrontations as “adult conversations.” 

Didi: Speaking of adult conversations, we left Facebook for our parents and Zukerberg said “Yeah! Time to change the name.” That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Terver: Lemaooooo! I’d back you on that one. Even though, I think our parents are now more Whatsapp champs than anything else. It’s a bit early to tell how successful this rebrand will be, but what’s already clear is that Meta signals a very futuristic shift in the business’s future. 

Didi: Certainly. It was also very important at the company’s stage that they find a name for their parent brand that would encompass all the very many ventures they have, but I’d say it’s interesting to see the difference between how quickly the Meta brand has caught on compared to Google’s Alphabet. Different strategies I suppose.

Terver: Different strategies, yes. But a big differentiator is Meta throwing proper funds behind their rebrand. It was a whole roll out, complete with loads of PR, influencer support and brand ads. I like it, for a few reasons: 1) It gives the mother brand a chance to move away from its least popular platform, Facebook 2) It signals a solid positioning towards the future- VR, the metaverse, web3 3) it’s a 4 letter word that’s punchy, short and memorable, and I think there’s something there that makes it even more attractive for top talent 

Didi: Meta, can you hear me? I’m very attracted to you right now. I love how intentional the different rebrands we’ve spoken about have been – From Kiss Daniel, to BNPL, Newsletters, the Creator Economy and Meta. It’s all about deliberately defining how you want to be perceived and consistently doing the work. 

Terver: That Meta quip is not a shameless “call me” at all! Also, Kizzzzzzzz, how hard is it? The Kiss is so good it zzzz’s. 

Didi: LOL! You’re clearly a lot more invested that I am on this one

Terver: Anyway, it’s been fun! Impolite banter is back babyyyyyy. Curious to hear from everyone in the comments, did we miss out on any rebrands you think have been spectacular in the past year? Which of the rebrands is your favorite? Let us know. 

Didi: Bye Bantus!