AOL Questions Its Branding

[engine]

Is it any surprise AOL is questioning its own branding? To me, it's not surprising as it's synonymous with those huge marketing campaigns sending out massive numbers of free dial-up disks, and today, I suspect that most don't realise it's owns a good number of tech properties.

"I actually don't think there's a bad choice, but we have to make the choice," she tells Business Insider. "Are we going to keep the AOL brand or are we going to bring a new brand to market?" AOL Questions Its Branding [uk.businessinsider.com]

[Old_Honky]

I miss the free disks they were ideal as coasters.

I believe they should have re-branded years ago and now it may even be too late. Way back when I bought my first computer, a colleague who was an IT manager suggested that the full blown internet might be a bit strong for me and suggested that I start off with CompuServe. I obtained a dial up disk started using and grew to love CompuServe, even with my email address that was numerical and which I could never remember. Then AOL took them over and everything got a whole lot worse, clunky and unusable so I was seduced over to the dark side of the real internet. To me AOL was (and probably still is) another unnecessary layer between me and the internet. To get away from that perception they need to re-focus on whatever their main role is now and drop the name AOL like a hot potato.

[lucy24]

Wasn't there a time when AOL seemed poised to take over the world? Something like AOLFordTimeSearsWarnerDell etcetera.

[topr8]

it's the ego of directors at work here ...

The issue, according to chief marketing officer Allie Kline, is that there's a disconnect between the parent company and all the brands that are part of it.

... blah, blah, blah ... it goes on to say that people just don't know what AOL actually owns.

well i didn't it is true, but so what ... in actual fact, now i've read the article and know they own both the huffington post and mapquest ... i strangelly like them both a little less!

[blend27]

IMHO, after all the revelations on snooping by GOV&Private Companies in US and all over the World, the label "America Online" is outright Spooky.