These are the biggest rebrands we have seen in 2023

Trends and consumer preferences come and go quickly especially in this digital age. One way that many brands can continue to stay relevant is through rebranding efforts to reposition themselves within their current markets, expand into new ones and broaden their appeal. 

Across 2023, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has tracked some pretty impressive rebranding efforts by major brands such as Pepsi, AirAsia, Fanta, Sentosa and more. Below are some of the biggest and most interesting ones that we have seen.

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1. Airasia Digital rebrands to MOVE Digital

Airasia Digital, the digital arm of Capital A, rebranded itself this year to MOVE Digital (MOVE) in a bid to emphasise its commitment towards travel.  MOVE’s travel platform business, airasia Superapp, also underwent a brand refresh and saw a name change to “airasia move” as part of the transformation. 

Founder of airasia and CEO of Capital A, Tony Fernandes said that the name “MOVE” is a better representation of the digital arm of Capital A and reiterates its commitment to move people, ideas and innovation forward in the travel space.

“Imagine seamless access to travel and financial services on one single platform, with integrated financial features such as balance display, top-up and payments from BigPay and further strengthening the value proposition of airasia move as the travel app of choice,” he added.

2. HBO Max rebrands to MAX

Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded its streaming service, HBO Max, to Max this year in an effort to bolster its programming lineup and attract more subscribers.

Alongside the rebrand, HBO introduced new titles such as a new Harry Potter series, a comedy series derived from The Big Bang Theory, a Game of Thrones prequel, a drama series based off The Conjuring films and more.

The rebrand came as Warner Bros.' CEO, David Zaslav noted that HBO's subscriber count has been struggling due to its association with high pricing, according to media reports. He added that the rebrand was done in hopes to help alter this, putting the streaming platform on a level playing field with its competitors.

Following the rebrand, Warner Bros. Discovery shed 1.8 million subscribers over three months across all of its services including its Max streaming service, according to an earnings report seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. The company reported having 95.8 million global subscribers which was a decrease from 97.6 million at the end of the first quarter of this year.

3. Pepsi launches a new brand visual

This year, Pepsi unveiled a new logo and visual identity which makes it the first update of the Pepsi globe logo in 14 years. Paying homage to the brand’s heritage while being forward looking in terms of sustainability, the brand’s new logo largely encapsulates what Pepsi stands for today. It is bolder and more confident as compared to the logo's predecessor.

The previous logo had a lower-case ‘pepsi’ sitting shyly next to a globe and pasted on a pastel background. The new one, on the other hand, is more vivid and prominent. With a capitalised ‘PEPSI’, the logo is placed on a bolder globe comprised of greatly contrasted colours. The differences between the two logos are hard to miss but has clearly become more modern and forward-looking. 

Oddly reminiscent of the 1990s version of Pepsi’s logo, Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, said at the time that that was the logo that somehow stuck with consumers and that it was high time to return to it. He added that Pepsi is a “bold and confident brand” that stands for “unapologetic enjoyment”, which was unfortunately not being delivered by the brand’s previous logo.

3. Sentosa moves away from the "State of Fun"

Sentosa moved away from its “State of Fun” tagline to its current one, “Where discovery never ends” this year to much fanfare. In addition to the tagline, Sentosa’s logo has been redesigned to bring out the promise of making fulfilling moments on the island.

According to the GOVT, the new brand tagline, ‘Where discovery never ends’ draws inspiration from the island’s many unexpected sights, sounds, and experiences at every turn.

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) first launched the State of Fun in 2014, and the concept was to position Sentosa is a place where all visitors become “citizens” with the “freedom and the right” to have fun.

5. Twitter's massive rebrand

On 23 July, billionaire Elon Musk announced the biggest changes to Twitter that we have seen in years. He said that he would "bid adieu" to the Twitter brand and, gradually "all the birds". 

Twitter has now changed to ‘X’ and has had its iconic blue bird logo removed. Twitter CEO, Linda Yaccarino said at the time that it is an "exceptionally rare thing" in life or in business to get a second chance to make another big impression.

The significant redirection of Twitter received heightened scrutiny and attention as Musk aimed to lure advertisers and consumers back to the platform.

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