ISIS Recruitment forced to rebrand
FROM OCTOBER 2014’s RECRUITER MAGAZINE
ISIS Recruitment has successfully rebranded after continued conflict in Iraq and Syria forced it to change its name just 14 months from its launch.
The rec-to-rec recruiter will now be called Adoria Recruitment rather than continue to share its name with notorious terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
In total, the rebrand cost the small start-up of three people £1k, said Tracie Hope, one of the firm’s directors. The whole process took almost two weeks — time that should have been spent pitching for new business, she added. However, the firm has landed itself with two new clients and a “handful” of new candidates off the back of the publicity the rebrand attracted.
When clients were informed about the changes, Hope told Recruiter she received hundreds of messages of support.
Talking to Recruiter when the decision was first taken to rebrand, Stephanie Shaw, one of the firm’s directors, said the firm started receiving abusive messages on Facebook from people in the US. As the conflict in Syria and Iraq worsened, even the clients started saying that it might be time to think about a name change.
She said: “About three or four months after we started up the business, we noticed ISIS cropping up on obscure news channels.” She added: “As the situation got more and more fraught, it was on everything.”
In a blog post, Shaw explained that ISIS Recruitment was named after the Egyptian goddess Isis, who in mythology was known for saving and protecting her children.
Shaw said: “Now though the name ISIS has been tarnished by recent news events, and the fact that we had the name first isn’t really a strong enough argument to stick by it, therefore we need to move away from our much loved brand.”
However, not all firms have experienced the same pressure to rebrand. After some consideration, ISIS Surveyors, based in Hampshire, decided not to change its name. The firm’s director David Bennett, said that its name has not affected its operations, including the recruitment of new staff.
He told Recruiter: “There are so many other companies in the UK that have ISIS in their name and I think we will just run with it. It certainly doesn’t seem to have affected our enquiries of late. I don’t think it is probably worth us changing at the present time.” He added: “The only person that has mentioned it is the postman.”
• Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
