Razor Branding Blog

Will AOL be better as Aol?

AOL is going through a re-branding process and changing everything from it’s business model all the way down to it’s name and brand identity.  This corporate make-over brings up so many questions:

In this time of Free, how does Aol overcome it’s roots as a pay to play service?

As consumers use social media to engage with one another where will Aol fit in - content creators? another social media network?  Google copy?

Most important question though was posed to me via Twitter from @rotkapchenAnd in lower case it is now subjected to pronunciation. How would YOU pronounce aol? : )

As Fast Company observed, “Aol. A Shrunken New Logo for a Shrunken Company.” these changes do not bode well for their future.

AOL will be spun off from Time Warner on December 9 and to celebrate, the Internet pioneers have sprung for a new look. Several, in fact–the logo will be plastered upon a number of elements ranging from a goldfish to what looks like clip art purchased from 1987. Oh, and by the way? The name? It’s now “Aol.” (the period is theirs). The new little lowercase letters seem appropriate for a company that announced it would thin its ranks–voluntarily or otherwise–by 2,500 people (a third of its workforce), just in time for the holidays.

The graphic choices reminiscent of Google and yet seem more forced and less cool.

aol

What do you think? Where will Aol. fit in to the online landscape?