AOL ponders turning over a new leaf with rebrand to shift from legacy nostalgia
Nearly a year on from its takeover by Verizon, AOL has reached a crossroads where it can cast away its brand name to dissociate it from its early web progenitor or it can continue to benefit from the exposure as a recognisable, if misunderstood entity.
This is the problem facing Allie Kline, AOL chief marketing officer at the moment as the brand carries with it a long and complicated history, being founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, rebranded in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services and then rebranded again as the more recognisable America Online in 1991.
The web giant now operates broadly in the digital content and advertising realm, using its expertise to strengthen Verizon’s media brands such as Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Engadget, after its $4.4bn takeover of AOL in 2015.
Kline told Business Insider that she’s considering the brand’s future, hinting at a potential shift away from AOL: “I actually don't think there's a bad choice, but we have to make the choice.”
She said: "Are we going to keep the AOL brand or are we going to bring a new brand to market?"
Admitting she’s divided on a change, she added: "If you ask me today, I could say, 'I feel very strongly about the AOL brand. It has a lot of legacy and meaning, and we shouldn’t move away from it!' But if we met tomorrow, I could be like, ‘Yes! We need a new name!’ It’s a very hard needle to thread for us."
Either way, Kline promised 2016 will be an “aggressive year” for AOL regardless of whether it carries that name.