As the virtual backbone of offices, governments, and schools worldwide, Microsoft is one of the most well-known brands out there.
Its flagship Windows operating system powers over 1.6 billion devices, but this is just one of Microsoft’s industry-leading digital offerings. These range from creativity platforms such as Designer to full-fledged powerhouse applications like the famous Office suite. These applications have built a seemingly unshakeable brand loyalty among personal and business users worldwide.
However, Microsoft’s ever-present desire to rebrand threatens this brand loyalty. Although the holding company has remained unchanged since its inception, several of its products have undergone major overhauls for reasons that are sometimes challenging to understand.
Rebrand History
While Microsoft is known for rebranding products or services, and most of these have been successful, some rebrands have caused the product or service to lose consumers along the way.
Xbox Music to Groove
Hoping to tie the service more closely to the upcoming Windows 10, Microsoft decided to rebrand the popular Xbox Music service to Groove in 2015. The move was intended to showcase the ability to access various Microsoft products across devices—in this case, PC and Xbox.
Despite Xbox Music’s decent loyalty base, the rebrand caused confusion among users, didn’t attract any new PC users, and ultimately made the entire service redundant.
Lync to Skype for Business
In 2011, Lync was launched as an office management platform that allowed users to delegate tasks, send Instant Messenger messages, and access a shared calendar. The software quickly grew until it was rebranded in 2014. At this time, Microsoft decided to associate the platform with the more popular Skype, which it acquired in 2011.
The functionality of the platform remained mostly unchanged when it was renamed Skype for Business. However, the rebrand did create confusion among users who didn’t know the difference between the platforms or which one to use for which purpose. The software was quickly discontinued as Microsoft turned its attention to the now-famous Teams.
Bing Chat to Microsoft Copilot
Not to be outdone by companies like Google (Gemini) and Anthropic (Claude), Microsoft has invested millions in its AI assistant, Copilot. This AI assistant originally fell under the software giant’s search engine brand as Bing Chat.
However, as of the end of 2023, Bing Chat ceased to exist and was rebranded to Copilot. This move, done to showcase the software’s assistant nature and bring the naming closer to the rest of its AI products, was well received and shows that not every rebrand is a complete failure.
Office 365 to Microsoft 365
The most recent product to undergo the infamous rebranding culture of Microsoft is the legendary Office suite. Titled Office 365, the productivity apps were renamed to Microsoft 365 in an effort by the company to bring the suite under the primary umbrella of the brand.
Initially released in 1990, Office is used by almost as many people as Windows. The suite is estimated to be active on more than 1.5 billion devices and includes the iconic Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Due to the longevity of the software, Office has an incredible brand following in almost every country, from America to New Zealand. Similar to the loyalty shown by Kiwi gamblers when returning to their favorite online casinos, this devotion has helped the platform grow. And just like the best casinos found on NZ BonusFinder, Office has also continued to improve, adding new features and ways to manage tasks more efficiently.
However, the rebranding to Microsoft 365 has been met with incredible criticism. With the Office name so ingrained in users’ minds, the rebranding has been mostly a failure. As such, the suite still requires the Office name alongside the rebrand—stylized as Microsoft 365 (Office)—in almost all app stores.
While the rebrand hasn’t killed the applications, it has caused frustration among users and raised questions about why Microsoft is insistent on fixing things that aren’t broken.
The Pitfalls of Rebranding
Although Microsoft states that it has carefully considered the impact of each rebrand and how it will affect customers, the ongoing rebranding suggests that the company may not understand the associated pitfalls.
Loss of Brand Loyalty
The first drawback is that a rebrand could significantly reduce brand loyalty. For consumers who have used a product or service for years, rebranding for no apparent (or properly justified) reason could cause them to lose loyalty to the brand.
When this happens, they may begin looking for alternative solutions—something they would never have considered before. The resulting loss in subscribers or user base could be detrimental to the existing product.
Confusion
Another major drawback is that a rebrand may cause confusion. Unless properly communicated consistently and well ahead of time, rebranding and changing a product’s look, logo, and name could confuse existing and new consumers.
As in the case of Lync, much confusion was caused as to what platform had replaced it and why a replacement was needed. This brought about the collapse of the existing user base and led to the software’s ultimate demise.
Customer Disagreement
Finally, although a company may understand the reasons for a rebrand, customers may not always—even if they are clearly communicated. Some customers may see a rebrand as unnecessary or frivolous and feel alienated by it.
This is particularly true if they feel that the rebrand moves away from the core values of the existing brand or if it is not in line with the product’s purpose. When this occurs, it may lead to a loss of brand loyalty and a drop in user numbers.
Conclusion
Microsoft has a long history of attempting to rebrand its products and services. By now, the company should know that rebranding isn’t always easy or straightforward—and that it has the potential to bring a product to its knees.
In the future, Microsoft should be more mindful of the changes it makes to brands that its customers love. Failure to do this could lead to alternatives gaining a larger market share and the company losing a significant user base.