Blackwater rebrands as “Xe”
image courtesy of Wired magazine
Blackwater, the infamous defense contractor which has been under scrutiny since breaking a host of international laws in Iraq has taken a dramatic step in shedding it’s image as ruthless, reckless, and murderous.
The company will now be known as Xe. Pronounced “zee”, the name is vaguely Chinese, vaguely futuristic, vaguely scientific, and altogether vague. It could be a new brand of ladies shampoo. It could be a hot new nightclub. It could be the latest mobile phone. The name says nothing about what the company does, and in this case, it seems to be the point.
A number of news sources picked up the story, which broke early Friday, and we were treated to a segment on The Rachel Maddow show discuss this very topic.
Oh, Rachel, how I do love thee. (and maybe I should write a WTF Wednesday artice about that Blackwater onesie. I mean, seriously?)
But can a name change erase an infamous past? The most famous case of this is when the Phillip Morris company changed their heritage and baggage-loaded name to Altria, a similarly abstract and lofty name. But anyone who follows the tobacco debate still knows what Altria does. A cigarette by any other name still causes cancer.
Here’s what I would have done if I were Blackwater: nothing. Since the company doesn’t have a consumer-facing role, the general reputation doesn’t much matter. And since large corporations and the State Department don’t really have a choice, they’ll still consider Xe regardless of past performances. If the company is trying to clean up their image, they need to do just that. Make steps to fix their process, hire better people, implement better methods for oversight and accountability, and in all other ways start acting like the brand they want to be. Calling yourself Xe does nothing except places the time=0 state for what the Xe brand stands for. Right now, assuming we have no collective memory, all we know about Xe is that they are a cowardly company who would rather change their name and very essence, rather than face up to the missteps of their leadership. I guess there’s nowhere to go but up.
// a tale of brands & branding, politics
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