Nowadays, time scarcity affects all consumers. In fact, time is one of the most important commodities and brands have come across with a generation with unique traits: Generation Y. Brands were forced to adapt to the current landscape shaped by this generation: higher levels of impatience, more intricate consumption patterns and higher skepticism towards traditional marketing strategies than previous generations. Furthermore, brands had to reconsider their strategies to efficiently communicate and influence consumers, keeping in mind that any subtle change can generate a positive or negative response from consumers. But what happens when a company proceeds with a rebranding process? What will be the effect of this change in the consumers’ perception over the brand?
In this master thesis, the literature review was focused on three key areas: brand, particularly in the identity mix; rebranding including advantages, risks and impact and lastly, in Generation Y. Regarding methodology, the object of analysis was Uber since it met the criteria defined. To evaluate Uber’s rebranding effect on the overall brand perception, the author followed a single-case study method complemented with two independent sample surveys.
In conclusion, Uber’s new visual identity was not well-received by the sample analyzed with the previous logo scoring better results in most of the attributes under study when compared to the recent logo. Actually, these attributes provided interesting insights that could justify this preference. The company failed to communicate their brand repositioning to consumers in a meaningful way and, therefore Uber’s rebranding had a negative effect on Generation Y perception over the brand
