????一個(gè)行業(yè)里百年的品牌到底有什么價(jià)值,？2013年12月宣布裁減總值50億美元商品化學(xué)品業(yè)務(wù)的陶氏化學(xué)公司（Dow Chemical）很快就會(huì)認(rèn)清這個(gè)問(wèn)題,。

????這家公司目前更加關(guān)注高附加值的特殊材料產(chǎn)品，例如手機(jī)用的半導(dǎo)體芯片,，并逐步退出了低利潤(rùn)空間的氯化學(xué)業(yè)務(wù),。根據(jù)公司發(fā)言人表態(tài)，公司高層正在考慮將“化學(xué)品”（Chemical）一詞從公司名字中刪去,。

????公司首席執(zhí)行官安德魯?李佛利斯對(duì)《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》（The Wall Street Journal）表示,，更名能幫助公司實(shí)現(xiàn)從“化學(xué)品至化學(xué)工業(yè)”的定位轉(zhuǎn)型。

????隨著公司不斷調(diào)整發(fā)展戰(zhàn)略,，它們的品牌也會(huì)發(fā)生變化—無(wú)論結(jié)果是好是壞,。但就歷史經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)說(shuō)，公司身份變化帶來(lái)的更名通常給公司帶來(lái)的麻煩要大于好處,。從技術(shù)到國(guó)防,，各行各業(yè)都有公司更名的案例，不過(guò)都嚴(yán)重危及到公司業(yè)務(wù),。盡管個(gè)別公司最終成功走出了更名的陰影,，但這些不過(guò)是例外，而非慣例,。

????“只要他們還堅(jiān)持陶氏（Dow）的這個(gè)牌子……只要他們不改名字,，公司就不會(huì)因?yàn)槊种猩倭恕瘜W(xué)’（Chemical）這個(gè)詞而受損，”德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）證券分析師戴維?貝格雷特指出,。

????請(qǐng)大家繼續(xù)往下閱讀,，看看更名給我們今天介紹的7家公司帶來(lái)了怎樣的挑戰(zhàn)。

????What does a century-old brand do when it grows out of the very business that inspired its name? After announcing in December 2013 that it would to shed $5 billion worth of its commodity chemical business, Dow Chemical will have to figure that out.

????The company is focusing more resources on higher-value specialty materials products like semiconductor chips for cell phones and moving away from the lower-margin chlorine business. In turn, executives are considering ridding "chemical" from its title as well, according to a company spokesperson.

????Chief executive Andrew Liveris told The Wall Street Journal that a potential name change would hopefully help position the company as one linked by "chemistry rather than chemicals" as it transforms.

????But as corporations evolve their strategy, their brands can change too -- for better or for worse. And if history is any indication, an identity change followed by a title switch can cause a company more trouble than it's worth. Corporations spanning industries as diverse as technology to defense have all rebranded themselves only to the peril of their businesses. While some have successfully navigated the dangers of a new title, these instances prove to be the exception rather than the rule.

????"As long as they keep Dow... as long as they don't change that name, the company will not suffer from dropping chemical from its name," said Deutsche Bank Equity Analyst David Begleiter.

????Read on to discover seven companies who found out firsthand how challenging a name change can be.

RIM公司更名為黑莓（2013年）

????2013年1月，行動(dòng)研究公司（Research In Motion）對(duì)外宣布將根據(jù)它廣為人知的智能手機(jī)品牌,，更名為黑莓公司,。公司管理層在推出新的手機(jī)平臺(tái)、黑莓10（BlackBerry 10）的同時(shí)宣布了這項(xiàng)決定,，希望藉此重振式微的品牌,。S&P Capital IQ分析師詹姆斯?摩爾曼指出，盡管采取了上述變革措施,，黑莓公司戰(zhàn)略上并沒(méi)有顯著的變化,，股價(jià)仍然不斷下跌。

????“事實(shí)上,，公司更名并不會(huì)影響消費(fèi)者的購(gòu)買決定,。本案中，公司上述策略實(shí)屬敗筆,，” 市場(chǎng)調(diào)研公司W(wǎng)edge Partners 高級(jí)責(zé)任研究分析師布萊恩?布萊爾對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志這樣表示,。

Research In Motion to BlackBerry (2013)

????In January 2013, Research In Motion announced that it would change its name to BlackBerry after the widely known smartphone device. Executives made the announcement in tandem with its new mobile platform, BlackBerry 10, hoping that they could revitalize the declining brand. Despite the change, BlackBerry did not follow up with a significant change in strategy and the stock price continues to suffer as a result, said James Moorman, an analyst for S&P Capital IQ.

????"The fact is that a name change doesn't matter when no one buys your new hardware. So in this case it was a bust," Wedge Partners Principal and Senior Research Analyst Brian Blair told Fortune.

continue to run stories that refer to the company by its old name.