Facebook's Rebranding Could Faceplant
August 08 2019 - 4:25AM
Dow Jones News
By WSJ City
Facebook said it would rebrand its Instagram and WhatsApp
platforms to include the Facebook name. It is a bit ironic that in
the year the social giant declared itself to be privacy-focused it
would suddenly want its name plastered on everything it owns,
writes Laura Forman for Heard on the Street.
KEY POINTS
--- A survey last year showed a majority of Instagram and
WhatsApp users didn't know the apps were owned by Facebook.
--- A spokeswoman said last week the move was made to "be
clearer" about the products and services it owns.
---- It could help Facebook to build a case against a mounting
antitrust investigation.
---- Or at least dispel the notion that users aren't aware of
who owns their favourite apps.
--- But marketing research that included the "from Facebook"
branding change revealed it wasn't universally "liked."
Why This Matters
The Wall Street Journal reported that when people were told
Instagram was owned by Facebook, they rated the platform lower than
when the connection wasn't pointed out. That makes the move appear
quite risky.
A Pew Research survey last year found more than 40% of Americans
were taking a break from checking Facebook's original app and more
than one-quarter deleted the Facebook app from their phones in the
wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Another #deletefacebook
movement could inflict wider damage across Facebook's platforms.
Leaning in is fine until you fall face first.
A fuller story is available on WSJ.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 08, 2019 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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