Companies have rebranded in the last one-year or so to boost business and reinvigorate presence amid an economic impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is usual for companies to develop new logos, marketing materials as well as names to rejuvenate interest from consumers, employees and investors, as well as stay ahead of competitors.
Recent rebrands in Kenya that have followed mergers and acquisitions include Barclays Kenya to Absa Kenya, KenolKobil/Gulf Energy to Rubis Énergie, Jamii Bora to Kingdom Bank, Transnational to Access Bank Kenya and NIC/CBA to NCBA.
In January 2021, Rubis Energy Kenya managing director Jean-Christian Bergeron said their rebrand was informed by a study that showed that their customers preferred the companies shift to Rubis as it had an international appeal.
Initially, the firm had indicated that it was willing to retain the KenolKobil brand name in the Kenya market.
“They responded that Rubis-as an international brand-would match their expectations and requirements,” said Mr Bergeron.
Below is a glimpse of a couple of firms that rebranded last year:
KenolKobil rebrands to Rubis
Rubis Énergie acquired Gulf through KenolKobil – its first subsidiary in the Kenyan market — which it had bought earlier at a cost of $353 million (Sh38.3 billion).
“We are also introducing Good African Coffee, a company which supports independent coffee farmers, thus ensuring that coffee is bought at a sustainable price,” he adds.
“We are about to introduce many other offers and services, such as making sunglasses and reading glasses available in our service stations through a partnership with Essilor.”Brand Extreme Kenya lead creative Samuel Gitau earlier said that businesses and organisations may want to rebrand to create a fresh appeal to the market as well as target new audiences in order to avoid being left behind in a fast evolving market where new investors are coming into every sector every year. Jubilee eyes global market In September 2020, Jubilee Holdings sold a stake in its regional general insurance subsidiaries to German conglomerate Allianz SE for a total of Sh10.8 billion that incorporated the Allianz brand in the name of the units.The deal saw the new unit in which Allianz is buying a stake operate as Jubilee Allianz General Insurance company, signalling that the two firms will leverage on each other’s existing strengths.“We also want our current products to catch up with what is offered in markets such as Europe and North America. We think Allianz will give us the support,” […]
