Three small business branding lessons from the BoM’s rebrand fail

The Bureau of Meteorology’s recent attempt to rebrand – asking people to stop referring to them as the ‘BoM’ – backfired spectacularly on social media, with public outcry causing the Bureau to retract its request within days. Brand management specialist, Lauren Clemett, explains what went wrong for the BoM, and three branding lessons every small business can take from their misstep.

The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia recently announced they wanted people to refer to them using their full name, to properly respect and support the work they do. This caused a massive storm that caused many to rain down their disbelief and discontent online.

One of the BoM’s main competitors, the subscription-funded Higgins Storm Chasing, even went so far on their online forum to say: “For $70,000, you can call us whatever you want!”.

It took just days for the Bureau to take a rain check on their rebrand and decide that people can continue calling them the BoM.

How the BoM got it wrong

Much like the inability to properly predict the weather, this attempted rebranding move proved how out of touch a government department can get.

In the same way they can’t control the weather, there is no way on earth that the Bureau Of Meteorology could control what people call them. A name sticks, and there is a reason for that. Our brains like sounds, repetition and assonance. Just think of an advert from childhood that you can still hum the jingle to!

When it comes to rebranding or repositioning a brand in our minds, often a position in our brain can be set in stone, and it is pointless to shift it.

This rebrand created the perfect storm for the BoM who was obviously attempting to improve their credibility, and it backfired superbly in three vital ways.

1. The vernacular

The Bureau of Meteorology is a mouthful; it’s not easy to say or spell.

Given the chance, people will shorten any name to make it easier to refer to, especially in Australia, where you stop at the servo to grab a sarnie for your mate Davo.

It’s obvious why the Bureau of Meteorology got shortened to The BoM. Even the department referred to itself this way in its URL, maps and apps. And when you have been referring to your brand using the term everyone knows, it’s really not clever to suddenly rain on everyone’s parade and tell them the fun’s over.

Instead of a rebrand, The BoM needed a PR campaign to reposition itself as the leading trusted service provider, rather than just telling people what to do. They learned that trust is not something you can conjure up, it is earned with actions and by delivering on your brand promise.

2. Brand value

Improved technology has made weather prediction much more precise, and there is far more competition for the BoM. There is also the issue of global warming and changing weather patterns, which has made it even more important for people to know what’s going on.

For example, sailors who race competitively need vital wind, tide and weather stats. The term ‘checking the BoM’ before sailing is well used, but many use Windy Weather as a more reliable source. The aforementioned Higgins Storm Chasing have accurate national and local reporting and a loyal fan base, who often deride BoM’s predictions and prefer to use the Higgins group for more reliable updates. For daily weather, most use the Weatherzone app on their phone, with a simple swipe to check if the sun will shine for the weekend BBQ or family trip to the beach.

With this increased competition, the heat was on the Bureau and seeing the storm brewing, they decided a repositioning of their brand might help retake the top spot.

But instead of resulting in a jump in credibility, where people listen to them more and respect their predictions, the Bureau of Meteorology now has to deal with the backlash.

If The BoM wanted more respect from the public, it would have been better to embrace what people call them than try to fight it.

3. Timing

Australia has always had unpredictable weather events and bushfires, storms and floods. Many lost their livelihoods, and some even their lives, so the timing of the BoM’s announcement was seen by many as a heartless instruction.

Plus, to spend an exorbitant amount of money on what has become a pointless rebrand, while people rebuild from nothing, is considered cruel.

To throw caution to the wind and tell people what you want to be called, especially when you have so much influence over their lives and when many feel you are failing to do what you say you do, is so damaging to the brand that The BoM may never recover from this downpour.

Far from gaining back people’s trust, the department has now lost even more respect than before the rebrand farce.

Before you rebrand, keep an eye on the weather

The lesson is that before you rebrand, keep an eye on the weather. Watch and listen to your audience, respect them to earn their respect, and always deliver on your promises.

Sometimes the best action is to stick with what you have and examine what will earn the trust you so desperately want.

Delivering on promises is an especially hard task when you predict the weather, where you can’t guarantee you will be right.

In this case, the BoM blew itself up when they could easily have just taken the temperature of the people they serve.

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