The month of July has a very interesting history: it used to be the fifth month of the year. This is because prior to 450 BCE, there were only ten months in the year, beginning with March and ending with December. The months of January and February didn’t even exist! In case you didn’t know, July is named after Roman dictator Julius Caesar. The name was selected by the Roman senate, being the month he was born in. After Caesar’s death, the month Quintilis (meaning “fifth month” in Latin) was renamed July. Okay, after we shared with you some interesting facts about this month, we can get back to business. We followed various things this July – news and interesting articles related to branding, naming, domain names and startup fundings. Our team collected the most interesting ones in this blog, so sit back and enjoy a short retrospective of the month behind us.
Kim Kardashian is shutting down her beauty brand for a total re-brand
The reality star took to Instagram to announce her KKW Beauty brand will be temporarily shut down to relaunch “under a completely new brand with new formulas that are more modern, innovative, and packaged in an elevated and sustainable new look,” according to Entertainment Tonight. Luckily for fans, the rebranding process means huge sales on the KKW Beauty website. Is Kim trying to drop the “West” name from her brand?
British investment manager abrdn, formerly Standard Life Aberdeen, is dropping the capital letter from its name
Abrdn received a large amount of publicity, much of it negative when it announced name change plans in April. Now the company decided to drop the capital letter from its name, as it rolled out a branding revamp.
McDonald’s France has nailed its advertising with a bunch of pixels
McDonald’s France continues its years-long tradition of a delightfully minimalist approach to advertising the Golden Arches. With the tagline “Guess who’s back,” the brand decided to advertise the reopening of its restaurants with the idea that McDonald’s has completely embedded itself in our collective culture—no matter how blurry it gets. We loved it!
Kellogg’s will start releasing packaging accessible to the blind and visually impaired in the U.K
The company will add a special code to its boxes that can be scanned and translated through voice in 2022. The company aims to share its experience of testing and developing the technology with other brands to improve the accessibility of supermarket shelves. The initial idea came from a meeting between Kellogg’s and children from a Liverpool school for children with sensory impairment when it was inspired to find a solution to help them overcome their barriers from sight loss.
Adidas came up with the idea of a swimmable billboard
As a way to literally deliver women a sense of liberation and freedom, Adidas launched its collection of accessible swimwear with a billboard on a popular Dubai beach.
Apple acquired the domain Mobeewave.com
Mobeewave.com was previously owned by Mobeewave, which Apple acquired last year. The domain is no longer active, although at some point Apple may choose to redirect it to either a related product page or support pages for an upcoming product.
Russia disconnected from the worldwide internet
Russia disconnected from the worldwide internet during tests in June and July. The information for the report came from documents from a Russian internet security working group. The action came after Twitter refused to remove content Moscow says is illegal.
Vidaris and its Affiliated Companies Announce Rebrand to SOCOTEC
Vidaris, a leading provider of TIC (Testing, Inspection, and Certification), consulting, and advisory services with a strategic focus on building and infrastructure asset integrity, announced that it, along with each of its affiliated companies, have completed an extensive rebranding initiative since joining with the SOCOTEC Group in 2019. The company operates on its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Vidaris.com.
We undertook this rebranding effort to reflect that Vidaris and the entire US platform are an integral part of the SOCOTEC Group. United under one brand, we reinforce that we form a team of experts delivering highly technical professional services, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner that provides solutions to our clients’ most complex issues, for the integrity, sustainability, and throughout the lifecycle of their most valuable assets, around the globe.”
Vidaris CEO Marc Weissbach
Sports.com is to be acquired for a $6 million fee
Domain investor George Kirikos spotted that Sports.com is to be acquired for a $6 million fee. According to the discussion, $3 million of that fee has already been paid, with the other $3 million to be paid by the end of 2021. The name is being acquired on April 5, 2021. by Lottery.com, signaling its expansion into sports betting.
L Brands is about to be a brand of the past
The L Brands board of directors on Friday approved the separation of Victoria’s Secret into a standalone publicly-tradedVictoria’s Secret, which will take with it the Pink and Victoria’s Secret Beauty brands along with its core lingerie business, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange as VSCO. the company called Victoria’s Secret & Co. The remaining company’s name becomes Bath & Body Works Inc. as of Aug. 2.
Vetements is now Vtmnts
The Zurich-based Vetements revealed the name of its new brand – and it’s Vtmnts. Possibly, because Vetements is a descriptive word to register as a trademark. Even if Vtmnts does distinguish itself in the quality stakes, it felt like the brand was trying to tick a lot of boxes at once. No doubt, the coming seasons will allow it to carve out a clearer identity.
Hibbett changed its brand name from Hibbett Sports to Hibbett
Hibbett, an athletic-inspired fashion retailer, announced that it changed its corporate name from “Hibbett Sports, Inc.” to “Hibbett, Inc.” The Company’s ticker symbol, “HIBB”, will remain unchanged. Of course, Hibbett operates on its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Hibbett.com.
Athleta has announced its new digital platform called AthletaWell
Athleta announced the platform alongside the news of a partnership with obé Fitness, a platform with a focus on entertainment, pop culture, design, and fitness content. Besides owning its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Athleta.com, Athleta also owns the domain AthletaWell.com. No doubt, their visitors won’t get lost when they search for their new platform.
Funding rounds, Acquisitions, Exits and IPOs in July 2021
Bequest announces its £1.7 million investment
Bequest announced its £1.7 million investment and the launch of its life insurance offering. The startup operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Bequest.com and the startup has also grown 320% since the pandemic started. How do you make it easy for your customers to find you online?
Outbrain has raised $200 million in funding
Outbrain, an adtech company that provides clickbait ads below news articles, has raised $200 million in funding. Outbrain.com owns the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain that makes sense for anyone who tries to find them online. Now that’s what we call smart brand investment!
Casafari raised $15 million
Casafari, a real estate data platform based in Lisabon, raised a $15 million Series A funding round led by Prudence Holdings in New York. The startup operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Casafari.com that surely helps them reach wider possibilities for expansion and growth.
Kitopi has raised US$415 million from a group of investors
Dubai-based cloud kitchen startup Kitopi announced the completion of its $415 million, Series C funding round. The company was founded in January 2018, and currently operates 60+ kitchens in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait and Bahrain. Kitopi operates on its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Kitopi.com. How do you reach your global market?
Nabis secured $23 million in series B funding
Nabis, California’s largest licensed cannabis wholesale marketplace platform, announced the company raised $23 million in a Series B funding round. Nabis operates on its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Nabis.com and it has grown over 140% in volume. How strong is your online presence?
Zomato targets $1.3 billion IPO
Zomato, a food delivery startup in India, said it has boosted its plan to raise $1.3 billion in its initial public offering. Did you know Foodiebay.com rebranded to Zomato.com in the wake of the company moving beyond the food category? The company has secured the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Zomato.com in 2016. Now it is targeting an upper limit valuation of $8.56B.
Teachmint has raised $20million in its pre-Series B round
The edtech startup will use this funding to further develop their live teaching technology. It had raised $16.5 million in its Series A round that closed in May 2021. Teachmint operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Teachmint.com. The startup will use this funding to further expand into new geographies. How adapted is your domain to a global audience?
Flipkart has raised $3.6 billion at a post-money valuation of $37.6 billion
Flipkart has raised $3.6 billion at a post-money valuation of $37.6 billion in what is considered as the pre-IPO round. Flipkart operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Flipkart.com. The company has amassed over 350 million registered users across its services.
Cardless has raised $40 million
San Francisco-based Cardless has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Activant Capital. The company owns the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Cardless.com that makes sense for anyone who tries to find them online. How easy is it for your potential and existing customers to find your brand online?
Female-founded Queenly raised $6.3 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz
US-based fashion e-commerce platform Queenly, a leading marketplace and search engine for the formalwear industry, raised US$ 6.3 million on 23 July 2021. operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain name Queenly.com which means that their users can easily find them online.
Contentful raised $175 million at a $3B valuation
Formerly known as a UI-free content management system (headless CMS), Contentful announced a $175 million Series F round of capital, led by Tiger Global, valuing the unicorn at around $3 billion. Contentful operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain name Contentful.com which certainly helps their word of marketing. How memorable is your domain name?
We hope you enjoyed reading all the above because this past month was filled with some interesting branding lessons. Don’t forget you can always find us on MarkUpgrade’s Twitter account where we have daily posts with startup, branding, naming, domain and business news (and helpful tips!).
What caught your attention this July 2021? Feel free to let us know! In the meantime, if you want to say hi or have any questions about naming, branding, and domain names get in touch, we’re always happy to hear from you.
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