BT drops ‘vainness venture’ rebrand and reverses EE flagship naming

BT is planning to revive its historic name in a reversal of previous plans to make EE its flagship brand for consumers.

Chief executive Allison Kirkby, who took over in February last year, is understood to oppose the decision to sideline the brand by Marc Allera, the outgoing head of BT’s consumer division.

One industry expert described the shift to EE – previously called Everything Everywhere – as a ‘vanity project’ by Allera.

In 2022, the telecoms giant said it would make EE its main retail brand with the aqua blue and yellow logo replacing the BT name on bills, phones, TV boxes and wifi home hubs.

The overhaul, dubbed ‘New EE’, marked a dramatic shift for the business, with BT being one of the most recognisable names of the past 30 years thanks in part to memorable ad campaigns including ‘It’s Good to Talk’ which starred Maureen Lipman as an archetypal grandmother phoning about her grandson’s exams.

‘Part of this is a concern over alienating older people who are more attached to the BT brand,’ said Kester Mann, an analyst at CCS Insight.

Change of plan: Chief executive Allison Kirkby is understood to oppose the decision to sideline the BT brand by Marc Allera, the outgoing head of the company’s consumer division

The move will put the brakes on the ‘New EE’ rebranding process led by Allera, who will leave the business at the end of this month.

He is being replaced by Claire Gillies, previously head of the consumer division of Canadian mobile network Bell.

Mann said that while he did not expect Gillies to reverse the decision to make EE the main brand seen by retail customers, she ‘will slow the transition’.

‘The company never said it was axing BT from the consumer market, but it will be interesting to see if it now gives it greater prominence,’ he said.

An industry source said: ‘I think that the big shift to EE was a bit of a vanity project by Marc Allera.’

The renewed emphasis on the BT name is the latest example of a British corporate U-turning on a decision to change its brand.

This month, investment firm Abrdn announced it would be changing its name back to ‘Aberdeen’ after a widely mocked rebrand in 2021.

A BT spokesman said: ‘There will always be a big role for BT as one of our most highly valued brands by our customers. BT will continue as part of our portfolio of well-loved brands alongside EE and Plusnet.’