This is what happens when a corporate brand gets attention for all the wrong reasons.
In November, the mobile payment system Isis rolled out nationwide for customers of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The system was developed with the goal of creating a smarthphone-based payment service. According to the company, the brand name Isis was selected to “capture the simplicity of our mobile wallet experience.”
Recently, the company announced plans to rebrand itself, primarily because of that other ISIS in the news: the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a militant group in Iraq notorious for its extremism and brutality.
Not surprisingly, the mobile payment company wants no association and wants to avoid confusion with the violent army that shares a name now becoming shorthand for terror.
Says Isis CEO Michael Abbott:
“However coincidental, we have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to those who are suffering. As a company, we have made the decision to rebrand. Changing a brand is never easy, but we know this is the right decision – for our company, our partners and our customers.”
