This was a big week in rebranding. Airbnb and Marvel Superhero Thor both unveiled their new looks. And while one is widely considered to look like testicles (see also: this and this), the other is very clearly without. But why rebrand now? With Airbnb recently valued at $10 billion and the latest Chris Hemsworth-led Thor movie grossing $87 million its first weekend at the box office, many people are wondering why the rebrands are coming now, at a time when both brands are enjoying so much success. But in fact, their rebrandings are an indication of why Airbnb and Marvel are recording such massive profits.These two brands have proven they have an exceptional capability to evolve without alienating the advocates who love them. Their success is a testament to their willingness to lead, not follow.
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Airbnb’s major new features:
All the changes Airbnb is making reflect its mission to be the easiest and most discoverable way for people to travel. The shared experience has become an essential part of weekend getaways and long-term trips, and food, culture, and community are all part of that experience. The new Airbnb is set-up to visually reflect the hierarchy with which travelers make their decisions on where to go, and the following three features reflect that the most efficiently:
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New logo: The cursive “a” is gone. The “Bélo” is in. The new design is meant to obviously incorporate the A in their name, but also the intermingling of a house, location pin, and heart to represent people, places and love. Anatomy aside, it’s meant to represent the company putting its tech-company origins and embracing the consumer.
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New website & mobile app: The new website and app are beautiful. With significantly less white space, the focus is instead on the homes and hosts that make up the community.
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Discover feed: The update to the Discover feed gives it a more personalized feeling, with suggestions for getaways close to users’ current locations in addition to aspirational spots. This paves the way for the company to be the premiere destination that travelers look to for neighborhood information.
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Customization: Like Myspace for your home, Create Airbnb allows owners to customize their own offering and the look and feel of their pages. This functionality essentially gives owners a better way to market themselves on the site and gives renters a better understand of whose space they are occupying. It’s a strong feature for building community and gives the site the very personal feel that members are renting an actual person’s actual home and not just a house.
Thor’s new look:
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“This is not She-Thor,” senior writer Jason Aaron said in a Marvel release. “This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”
Marvel announced this week that Thor, the God of Thunder, will now be a woman. With a new comic series written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Russell Dauterman, the traditionally male Thunder God will no longer be able to swing the legendary hammer Mjölnir, and a female hero will be deemed worthy enough to rise and take his place. Even though this will be the brand’s 8th title starring a female, none are nearly as recognizable as Thor, making this a very bold announcement from Marvel. Why the change? Marvel’s says that the new Thor, “aims to speak directly to an audience that long was not the target for super hero comic books in America: women and girls.” With nearly half of Marvel’s readership being female, this isn’t a publicity stunt to diversify for a press release. This is a savvy move from a brand that’s in tune with its superfans, and reflective of a significant change in the consumer base.
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Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said that the publisher “perceived there to be a real thirst for characters that reflect what we see in the mirror [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][and] our goal is to make our characters reflect the outside world.” Airbnb’s new mantra is “Belong Anywhere.” What these two brands are telling us is that consumers want to feel and identify with the brands they support. No longer is a brand the sum of its sales, but it is instead a product of its community. By studying and reflecting the customers most inspired by their brands, both Airbnb and Marvel will in turn be able to give them the experience they are looking for, and grow their base of advocates. With the rebrands, the companies have evolved to represent their ever-changing fanbases — with or without testicles.
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