When is it a good time to rebrand?

According to Entrepreneur.com, there are several instances in which companies and organizations can and/or should consider rebranding or realigning their projected intent. Some of the most common reasons companies choose to give themselves a face-lift include shaking off an old image, outgrowth of the original objective and forays into new demographics or marketplaces.

On March 1st, the organization previously known as Public Land, Public Vote (PLPV) announced in an aggressively worded press release that it has relaunched as Public Land, Public Benefit (PLPB). Amusingly enough, when held up against the potential reasons for rebranding outlined above, the anti-SoccerCity group's decision to swap faces actually makes quite a bit of sense.

The initial image projected by PLPV was that Mission Valley and the Qualcomm Stadium site were far too important to the future of San Diego for the direct adoption mechanism that FS Investors originally pushed for when the SoccerCity project was first unveiled in January of 2017. The SoccerCity opponents, funded by Sudberry Properties and HG Fenton Company, argued that since the property is owned by the city, that the citizens should have some say in how the future of that prized parcel is written. 

Fair enough. However, the PLPV group came away looking rather foolish when they subsequently also campaigned vociferously against the very same public vote they initially called for when FS Investors changed course and asked City Council for an election in November of 2017.

Regardless as to what this new PLPB group is calling itself today, the original mission was to stall for time in order to make up for lost ground on SoccerCity, not to ensure that the public was allowed to voice its collective opinion at the ballot box. The pivot from public vote to public benefit may resonate with a new demographic of people who have remained unaware of the backers of the PLPV/PLPB faction, but more than anything else, Thursday's news represents a turning point from the tactic of stalling for time to the systematic undermining of a proposal that specifically aims to serve the needs and wants of a broad swath of San Diego's citizens.

The San Diego market seems determined to regress as opposed to evolving with anything approximating speed, but when all you've got is a name, rebranding seems to be about as progressive as it gets. 

"Other times, however, rebranding can represent a more substantial effort, perhaps to shift the consumers’ perception of a brand or to show a company’s progression with an evolving market. Is it time for your company to consider a rebrand?" - Entrepreneur.com