Every month, as part of our Monthly News Recap series, we give you an overview of the most relevant branding, naming, and domain name news. Here are the most interesting ones, so sit back and enjoy another retrospective of the month behind us.
Cybersecurity company FireEye rebranded as Mandiant
The cybersecurity solution provider FireEye has rebranded as Mandiant, Inc. and its Nasdaq common stock ticker symbol changed to MNDT from FEYE on October 5, 2021. Changing the corporate name and stock ticker symbol reflects the company’s strategy to focus on Mandiant’s security controls-agnostic solutions delivered through the Mandiant Advantage cloud-based platform. The company acquired the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Mandiant.com.
Facebook rebranded IGTV as Instagram Video
Instagram’s long-form vertical video platform is merging with feed videos and being rebranded as Instagram Video. It will be housed in a new Video tab on user profiles, alongside fresh features like trimming, filters, and people and location tagging. IGTV was introduced in June 2018 and was essentially meant to become a mobile equivalent to YouTube, creating a space to discover and watch longer videos. But the longer format never caught on. And just two months later, an app called TikTok launched in the US.
Vinewave rebrands to OneDirectory
Vinewave, a leading software as service provider of employee directory solutions, today announced that it is rebranding to OneDirectory. With the rebrand, OneDirectory is looking to the future of the directory space, where IT teams are wanting to get more value from their investment in directory platforms such as Microsoft Active Directory and Azure AD. The company acquired the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain OneDirectory.com.
Heat Watch has announced a rebranding to Runwise
On 11th October 2021, Heat Watch, one of the nation’s leading heating controls services, has announced a rebranding to Runwise. The company’s headquarters are located in New York City, where Runwise, formerly Heat Watch, got its start in 2011. Apparently, this company did its homework well and realized how important it is to have a domain that exactly matches its brand name. Before switching to the exact brand match Runwise.com, the company used HeatWatch.com.
Cree rebranded itself as Wolfspeed
As part of its shift to focus on semiconductor manufacturing, Cree rebranded itself as Wolfspeed. Wolfspeed has served as the brand for the company’s Silicon carbide materials and semiconductor devices business unit for the past six years. Before switching to Wolfspeed, the company used the domain name Cree.com. Wolfspeed, which obviously understands the importance of owning an exact match domain, has invested in another one. You can now find them on Wolfspeed.com.
Capital Funding announced it is formally rebranding as FinTap
Founded in 2015, RDM Capital Funding is a technology-enabled specialty finance company, which provides working capital to small businesses. On 14th October 2021, the company announced it is formally rebranding as FinTap. The rebrand is part of RDM’s growth strategy and comes after the company closed its up to $50 million credit facility with Arena Investors in April 2021, marking an increase from its first facility of $7.5 million in 2018. Together with the name change, the company has a new logo and website. Before announcing the big news about its rebrand, the company acquired the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain FinTap.com.
inMotionNow rebrands to Lytho
Following the merger between inMotionNow and the Netherlands-based Lytho BV announced in April 2021, a leading provider of workflow management solutions for marketing and creative teams announced it is rebranding to Lytho.
Walmart and Kanye West‘s YEEZY are going to court over logo trademark
Walmart has filed a new opposition petition against YEEZY with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The American megastore is arguing that the 2020 trademark application filed by YEEZY holds incredible similarity to the multinational corporation’s “sunray logo.”
Facebook Horizon is getting some big changes, including a brand new name
Facebook Horizon, the VR extension of the company’s social network, will henceforth be known as Horizon Worlds to better fit the app’s function. Facebook is also launching a new creator’s program as it shifts to using its own world creation tools exclusively, hoping to entice content creators to join them in making rich VR worlds.
The name “Cleveland Indians” will cease to exist
The Cleveland Indians have had their name since 1915, but after 105 years, the team is set to take its franchise in a new direction following the 2021 season. The team announced that it will be changing its name from the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians following years of criticism that the branding was racist and an affront to Native Americans.
EA announced the possibility of changing the name of the FIFA franchise
For years EA has been one of the most well-known developers of sports titles across the world. However, of all those titles one game sticks out above the rest. Madden is the only game that is licensed with an individual instead of a brand or organization. Trademarks filed in the UK and EU suggest that EA could be considering the name ‘EA Sports FC’ as a rebrand for FIFA.
Krispy Kreme changes its brand name for Halloween
For this year, Krispy Kreme has taken the Halloween celebration to another level as it went as far as changing its name just for the occasion. The company is rebranding itself “Krispy Skreme” for now. What’s more aside from the name change, the donut chain will also offer new donut flavors featuring Halloween designs, discounts, and even free treats that are up for grabs in selected outlet stores.
Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger all went down for around six hours
Facebook apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook itself, were down on Monday 4th October 2021 in a major outage. The outages likely occurred because of a problem in the company’s domain name system, an obscure but crucial component of the Internet. This is another lesson for all business owners out there: if you do not build our brand on your platform, your website, your domain name, everything can disappear overnight – and you can’t have control over it. It would be good to ask yourself, what happens with your brand when social media sites go down?
TikTok removed 81,518,334 videos in Q2
TikTok removed 81,518,334 videos from its platform during the second quarter of 2021 for violations of its community guidelines or terms of service, representing fewer than 1 percent of all videos uploaded. Now here comes the key question: as a business owner, should you put your brand on TikTok? TikTok isn’t known for its customer service, so you are left in the dark – which can cost your business a lot of money.
Facebook revealed its new name: Meta
Mark Zuckerberg announced finally after long anticipation that Facebook’s holding company’s new name will be Meta. “We are a company that builds technology to connect,” Zuckerberg said. “Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.” He said the name Facebook doesn’t fully encompass everything the company does now, and is still closely linked to one product. “But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company.”
The new brand has been received with mixed feelings, many being concerned with monopoly and the fact the company is trying to change its reputation but not its ways with then new name.
Funding rounds, Acquisitions, Exits and IPOs in October 2021
E-commerce platform Noon.com is receiving $2 billion in financing
Amazon.com’s Middle Eastern rival Noon.com is set to draw as much as $2 billion in financing from investors including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund over three to four years, as it seeks to capture a larger slice of the Gulf e-commerce market. Noon.com operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain name Noon.com since 2016.
India-based app Chalo raised $40 million in its Series C Funding Round
Chalo, public transport technology company, has raised about $40 million in its Series C funding round led by Lightrock India and Filter Capital. The startup operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain name Chalo.com. By December, the company said about 8,000 buses will be live on the platform. How does your domain name make a statement about where your startup is headed?
Pattern brought in $225 million in growth funding
Pattern, a Lehi, Utah-based e-commerce accelerator that helps brands optimize sales on marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, Target, eBay and Google, brought in $225 million in growth funding to continue developing its technology and expand its global presence. The company has raised a total of $277 million so far. Pattern has secured the exact brand match domain name Pattern.com.
Bisu announced a new round of seed funding of $3.2 million
Japanese healthtech startup Bisu will be using this funding to launch a portable home health lab, Bisu Body Coach, which provides personalized nutrition and lifestyle advice through easy, accurate urine and saliva testing. The seed funding brings its total raised to $4.3 million. Bisu operates on the exact brand-match domain name Bisu.com. Short and memorable, this domain will surely stick in minds.
Alpha Paw raised $8 million in Series A funding
Alpha Paw announced it has raised $8 million in a “Series A” funding led by Nordic Eye. Alpha Paw is making a name for itself in the crowded pet wellness space with its breed-specific pet food and wellness line. Alpha Paw has invested in the exact brand match AlphaPaw.com thus making the most out of their marketing across channels and avoiding security risks. It surely results in more direct traffic and increased customer trust. How do you ensure that your potential customers trust your brand?
Hubilo raised $125 million in Series B funding
Hubilo, a global virtual events platform, announced that in a funding round led by Alkeon Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital, has raised $125 million in Series B funding to further the development of the future of events and engagement on Hubilo’s platform. The startup also to set up new sales offices in key regions to expand its operations and reach a greater volume of customers. Hubilo has a domain name exactly matching their brand name: Hubilo.com. The majority of successful global brands operate on similar names that communicate trust and authority.
Germany-based HR tech services provider Personio has raised $270 million
At the beginning of the year, Personio rose to unicorn status, and now the start-up is receiving another 270 million US dollars in an early Series E financing round. With the current round of financing, the Munich-based company is worth over six billion US dollars, making it one of the most valuable start-ups in Germany. Personio has chosen a domain name that corresponds to their global ambitions and communicates their vision: Personio.com.
Karat has closed a round of $110 million
Karat Inc., a startup that helps companies recruit software engineers faster and free up time for their existing development teams in the process, has closed a $110 million funding round led by Tiger Global. Karat operates on its EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Karat.com. How would you rate your businesses’ online presence on a scale of 1-10?
Cannabis startup Dutchie doubles its valuation to $3.75 billion after raising $350 million
Dutchie nabs its second large round of funding — this time a $350M Series D at a $3.75B valuation. The company was founded in 2017 by Ross Lipson, Samuel Ellis, and Zach Lipson under the legal name Courier Plus Inc. The startup operates on the exact brand match domain Dutchie.com. This ensures their brand is well protected online, avoids traffic and email leaks as well as confusion amongst their customers and business partners.
Allplants has nabbed £38M (~$52M) in funding
After three consecutive years of triple-digit revenue growth, Vegan meal delivery startup Allplants has nabbed £38 million (~$52 million) in Series B funding led by Draper Esprit to serve up more tasty plant-based, heat-at-home meals direct to U.K. consumers. The startup operates on the EBM (Exact Brand Match) domain Allplants.com which means they have both, the best kind of traffic for their website and more trust for the brand.
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