Why a good business name can make all the difference

When famous companies and brands undergo a name change, it can sometimes do wonders for business, or it can end in disaster. Katrina Haggarty of Business Name Generator looks at important business name changes.

HBO’s online streaming service HBO Max is officially changing its name to Max. The rebrand follows the March 2022 merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery to establish Warners Bros. Discovery. However, fans of HBO have been left confused as to why the iconic HBO brand has been dropped from the name.

JB Perrette, CEO at Warner Bros Discovery has defended the name change.

He told The Hollywood Reporter that “HBO is a brand that’s been built over five decades to be the edgy, ground-breaking trend-setter for entertainment for adults, but it’s not exactly where parents would drop off their kids. Not surprisingly, the category hasn’t met its true potential on HBO Max”.

Here are some other memorable corporate name changes, and how they worked out.

Pepsi / Brad’s Drink
“Is Brad’s Drink okay?” might not have been such a welcome question in your local bar or restaurant.

When Caleb Bradham re-branded his drink product as ‘Pepsi’ in 1898, it proved to be a hugely successful business decision, with the drink now one of the world’s most recognisable brands.

The name ‘Pepsi’ was taken from the word ‘dyspepsia’, which simply means ‘indigestion’, as the founder believed his sweet treat to be good for people’s digestive systems.

Meta / Facebook
Given that Facebook was something of an international cultural phenomenon, it seems bizarre that it would undergo a change of name just 18 years after its creation in 2004.

In 2022, the landscape of social media and its influence on culture was changing which brought on new challenges for major social media platforms.

After Facebook experienced pressure from the likes of various stakeholders, protestors and even government officials, company founder Mark Zuckerberg decided it was time for a total rebrand.

The new name – Meta – was introduced in 2022. Not only was it intended to reflect the company’s all-encompassing hold over the social media scene, but the name Meta also reflected the company’s commitment to what it saw as the future of social media – the immersive virtual world of the Metaverse.

Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit / Lilt
Often when brands change their name, the thinking behind it is to make a name much shorter, snappier and memorable. However, the opposite happened recently when the iconic fizzy drink Lilt got its name changed to Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.

The name change came after Coca-Cola, which also owns Fanta, acquired Lilt. In 2021, Lilt’s packaging was altered to closely resemble that of Fanta’s, and in 2023 the tropical treat completely submerged into the Fanta family by becoming Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.

Subway / Pete’s Super Submarines
Submarine sandwich stores were all over the USA in the 1960s, and friends Fred De Luca and Dr Peter Buck were quick to jump on the trend when they opened their first shop, Pete’s Super Submarines, in Connecticut in 1965.

By 1968, the business had grown in popularity, although people had started to point out that ‘Pete’s Super Submarines’ sounded like ‘pizza submarines’, which was awkward given that the company sold sandwiches, not pizzas.

The shop was subsequently rebranded as Subway, and it is safe to say that the sandwich business never looked back.

Google / Backrub
Google’s brand name is so recognisable that it has since become an intrinsic part of the English language. So it is hard to believe that the famous search engine was almost named ‘Backrub’.

The name ‘Backrub’ was initially picked because of the way that the search engine recognises and analyses a website’s backlinks. However, it proved to be a very smart call to change the name to ‘Google’ before it launched in 1998.

Starburst / Opal Fruits
Opal Fruits were first launched in the UK in 1960. However, when they were launched in the USA in 1967 they were given the name ‘M&M’s Fruit Chewies’, which was very quickly changed to Starburst.

As the US version became a more recognisable brand name around the world, Opal Fruits changed its name to Starburst in 1998. The only real difference between the two sweet treats was that Starburst included a blackcurrant flavour, whereas Opal Fruits did not.

Some UK fans have remained nostalgic for Opal Fruits, and in 2020, the sweets enjoyed a brief limited-edition revival on UK shelves.

Snickers / Marathon
Much like Starburst, the nut-filled chocolate bar was sold under a different name on each side of the Atlantic. Marathon bars had been sold in the UK and Ireland from as early as 1930, but the treat was officially renamed Snickers in 1990, to line up with the name used in the US.

In 2020, UK stores saw the brief return of Marathon bars to themselves, as part of a limited edition promotional campaign which proved popular with chocolate lovers.

Aviva / Norwich Union
Norwich Union had been a recognisable insurance company in the UK for over two centuries before it was decided that a rebrand was needed.

The City of Norwich is not quite so well-known beyond UK shores, and as such the insurance company had been operating under the name Aviva in 28 different countries.

In 2009, the time was right to align Norwich Union with its global brand, and the insurance company has been known in the UK as Aviva ever since.

business name — Google began life as Backrub before it was rebranded (Pic: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

eBay / Auction Web
The buying and selling site was initially launched as Auction Web back in 1995, and after two years of success, the site’s founder – Pierre Omidyar – attempted to change the name to echobay.com.

However, this domain name had already been claimed by Echo Bay Mines, and Omidyar had to shorten his desired company name to eBay – which did not turn out too badly for the business.