Like a Virgin

REBRANDING

This question was perfectly timed as I had just spent three amazing days travelling around the UK to mark the launch of Virgin Money, our new bank. Northern Rock is a British bank that was nationalised in 2008 and we acquired it from the government in 2012.

We plan to rebrand Northern Rock’s seventy-five branches and in the process this will provide us with a distinctive platform for shaking up the moribund British banking industry. There will be new signs, new furniture and a more welcoming feel – our staff will not be working behind glass barricades. Those will be the first steps, but the new brand must go deeper, into the very culture of the business, providing leadership, inspiration and a spirit of empowerment to the two thousand people of Northern Rock who have just joined Virgin Money and the Virgin family of companies.

That said, we were concerned about changing the Northern Rock name, mostly because the bank is very well known, especially in the north-east of England – we worried that this might create animosity among longtime customers and long-term employees, who were rightfully proud of their company. But to our delight we found nothing but genuine enthusiasm and excitement at the launch events, and the Virgin team was made very welcome.

While the decision about if and when to rebrand a company we acquire depends on many factors, we have found that, far from hindering our growth, branding Virgin businesses with our name has helped them to punch well above their weight while creating a very distinctive culture that ties our group of companies together, across its variety of sectors. Virgin Money is now set to leverage Virgin’s brand equity as the cornerstone for a marketing campaign for the rebranded Northern Rock – the ads will show how we have challenged many diverse industries to make things better.

Our approach to branding has been successful because we have built the Virgin Group on a simple mission: to do things differently for our customers, improving their experiences and perhaps their lives. It should not matter whether you are on one of our planes or trains, a member of one of our health clubs or talking to a friend using one of our mobile phone services: the experience should stand out as distinctly Virgin.

Customers asked to describe the Virgin experience might point to our staff’s cheery helpfulness; our focus on thoughtful, simple design; the way we add a human touch wherever possible; and our humour as well. The whole package should make customers feel good about our brand and want to return for more.

Maintaining customer confidence is key to any brand, and so, whenever we consider rebranding an existing company, we take a close look at the business proposition, the service and the quality and training of the people before planting our distinctive logo and splash of red.

When we were preparing to launch Virgin Trains in the late nineties, industry executives laughed at our plans to build a new fleet of tilting trains, and to provide better food and service – along with our goal of doubling passenger numbers. This was impossible, we were told. And since we couldn’t get our hands on new trains for several years (they are not a stock item!), we had no option but to repaint the ‘well used’ railway carriages we’d inherited from British Rail.

One of our first steps was training our new team to change the way they dealt with customers, and this proved to be the best rebranding effort possible; our terrific staff helped our customers through the difficult period of delays and repair work. In the years that followed, our new fleet of trains, modernised track and faster journeys helped our employees to deliver better than ever, and we achieved among the highest customer service ratings in the industry. Customer numbers have more than doubled since 2006 – from 14 million to over 30 million.

When we were preparing to launch Virgin Media in 2006, which was intended to offer cable, Internet, mobile phone and landline services, we took a more cautious approach. Rather than rebranding the company right away, we ensured that the two companies that merged to create NTL:Telewest got their new product and customer service levels about right and had completed their merger with Virgin Mobile – before we embarked on the major rebrand to Virgin Media. We did this in part because we were worried that NTL:Telewest could not yet achieve the level of service expected of a Virgin business. The company provided broadband, cable and phone service to more than five million homes: any disruption or poor service delivered under the Virgin name would have affected our other businesses.

After more than a year, we rebranded NTL:Telewest as Virgin Media and, four years later, the company had trained the staff, refocused its business proposition and improved its products. It is now investing heavily in its ‘Virgin-ness’, including an advertising campaign with Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest sprinter, pretending to be me.

Finally, if you are considering whether to put your brand on a business your company has recently acquired, remember to share your message with your new employees about your purpose and culture. Meet with them, take notes on their suggestions and follow through. With their support and enthusiasm, you will win over customers, build your company’s expertise, expand what your business has to offer and derive maximum value from this rebranding.