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Given the troubles being faced by Thomas Cook UK, should Thomas Cook India look at changing its brand name to mitigate any possible fallout of the global operator’s financial trouble? The expert opinion seems divided on the subject.
Lloyd Mathias, strategic investor and former PepsiCo, HP and Motorola executive, said that though Thomas Cook India did well to clarify that the Indian entity was not linked to the collapse of Thomas Cook UK, there is a clear case to change the brand name.
“There are many issues that needs to be looked at starting with whether, going forward, the Thomas Cook brand will be an asset or a liability,” Mathias said.
However, according to Harish Bijoor, Brand-expert & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. the equity of brand Thomas Cook is deep and wide. It precedes the day of modern branding, the way we recognise it. He also believed that keeping the brand is crucial to the Indian entity. “It packs memories that are bright and robust!” Bijoor said.
Mathias believes that the crisis at the global firm would impact Thomas Cook India as customers would be vary and this may even see a significant drop in business. “In an increasingly globalised world — especially in the travel space — the taint of the global collapse of Thomas Cook (albeit the UK company) doesn’t bode well. Customers will have a sense of discomfort in their dealings with Thomas Cook India, as long as this memory lingers,” Mathias explained.
Several companies in the past have gone through rebranding process like Hutch-Vodafone, Hero Honda changed to Hero, UTI Bank became Axis Bank, Infotel Broadband Services Limited was renamed as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.
Brand change involves cost and the cost could be high, Mathias agreed that a brand change doesn’t come cheap but it is imperative, he explained. “A brand name change is more than change of logo and stationery. So ideally, the changeover has to involve a complete overhaul and a reaffirmation of the firm’s values and commitment to the customer.”
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