It's hard to imagine a more audacious rebranding than what our client, Bell, embarked upon last year. The company formerly known as Bell Helicopter decided to drop the 'helicopter' from it's name and adopt a new logo featuring the silhouette of a dragonfly. The bold move was recognized by Ragan's PR Daily with the Branding Campaign of the Year Award. It is a well deserved recognition.
We at DPK Public Relations have been working with Bell since 2011, with a focus on preparing the company's spokespersons around the world for interactions with media and other influencers. To be clear, we did not assist Bell with the rebranding.
The reason I say it was an audacious move is that for three quarters of a century -- almost as long as Bell has been around -- the company has been associated with the helicopters it designed and manufactured. Lawrence Dale Bell and his team actually started the company as Bell Aircraft in the mid-1930s building fighter aircraft used in World War II, including the much maligned P-39 Aircobra. The X-1 that Chuck Yeager flew in 1947 to become the first to break the sound barrier was designed and manufactured by Bell. Helicopters were considered a way for Bell to diversify.
During this past decade as I have visited Bell facilities I have been struck by the exciting innovation that is omnipresent. With partners Boeing, Bell had perfected tiltrotor technology with the V-22 Osprey, which has proven invaluable to military decision makers in U.S. conflicts over the past two decades. Amazingly this year marks the 30th anniversary of the V-22's first flight.
That being the case, it seems perfect that the next generation tiltrotor aircraft, the Bell V-280 Valor, is undergoing various flight tests and by all accounts wowing the experts.
But Bell's innovation goes far beyond tiltrotor. They have a partnership with Uber and are imagining a pilotless air taxi called the Bell Nexus, which, like tiltrotor, combines vertical lift with forward propulsion. They are also working feverishly on autonomous vehicles designed to safely and reliably carry items from place to place. They call this Autonomous Pod Transport.
When you consider the range of jaw dropping inventions that Bell is involved in, it makes complete sense that having the word, "helicopter" in their name could seem limiting or even inaccurate. Here's how PR News put it:
"The rebrand was, ultimately, a recognition that the market had changed, along with the company’s customers, and that the stagnant brand needed a reboot in order to be relevant in the modern marketplace."
Even though it all seems so obvious and necessary now, I am certain that the decision to drop "helicopter" caused some sleepless nights. It was a big deal, so kudos for those who had the guts to push forward.
The logo, featuring a dragonfly image is also perfect. I recently finished reading Walter Isascson's biography of Leonardo da Vinci and noted that the 16th century genius was captivated by the wing movements of dragonflies. He made note of the fact that the front wings and rear wings moved independently, which he surmised correctly gave the dragonfly amazing maneuverability.
So congratulations to our client Bell. We hope you keep shaking things up!