Standard Life Aberdeen mocked after dropping Es for new name – here are the best reactions

An asset management company has been mocked online for announcing plans to change its name from Standard Life Aberdeen to Abrdn – which will still be pronounced “Aberdeen”.

The financial giant said it hoped the new name – uniting all its products under a single brand – would help to modernise the brand, although did not explain how dropping the Es would do this.

However, the company – formed in 2017 when Standard Life merged with Aberdeen Asset Management – certainly appeared to achieve its aim this morning, with the new name quickly trending on Twitter as people ridiculed the change.

One user asked: “Is it April 1st again?” Another labelled the rebrand “Irritable Vowel Syndrome” and the question “What do you have against vowels?” was also posed.

Comparisons were made with TV quiz Only Connect’s missing vowels round, while Scottish singer Steve Byrne tweeted: “I give it six months. I’m from Arbrth after all.”

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Whether this is what the company had exactly intended when the move was announced is not clear, but there’s no such thing as bad publicity , is there?

Here’s what people had to say about the lack of vowels in the new name:

Though, some made it clear they liked the new name – even if they were a bit sheepish in admitting it.

According to a video posted on the company’s Twitter account, the A in Abrdn has been taken from “Standard Life” not from “Aberdeen”, which some people appreciated:

The rebranding will start to roll out over the summer and progress through 2021, the company said.

Chief executive Stephen Bird said: “Our new brand Abrdn builds on our heritage and is modern, dynamic and, most importantly, engaging for all of our client and customer channels.

“It is a highly-differentiated brand that will create unity across the business, replacing five different brand names that have each been operating independently.

“Our new name reflects the clarity of focus that the leadership team are bringing to the business as we seek to deliver sustainable growth.”

Well, it worked out alright for IRN BRU didn’t it?