In a column in Belgian newspaper De Standaard as well as during an interview on Radio 1, our CEO Marc Michils commented on the coming name change of Dexia Bank Belgium, sponsor of our client, Club Bruges.

We would like to share his thoughts with you: Many strong brand names like Coca-Cola or Douwe Egberts have existed for several decades. Most of them are strong enough to survive a stormy crisis. But some storms are just too strong. In 2011, Dexia found itself in that kind of crisis so a name change was appropriate. The new name can be simple, short and powerful like Duvel, Google or Apple.  However, some brandnames have been proven successful in spite of the long name: Abercrombie & Fitch and Haägen-Dazs. In Dexia’s case, some of the speculated options are Monexa, Axion and BeBank.

According to Marc however, it takes more than a new name to make it. More important is the story behind the new name and the interpretation of it. The name change should be the icing on the cake after an extensive change of, for example, the products, services, personnel or corporate culture. Tomorrow, we’ll find out the new name. In the next months, we’ll find out the story behind the name. We are curious.