When is the right time to rebrand the second most-watched cable news network in America in 2025?

youtube/@msnbc

MSNBC’s top executives decided November 15th was. The announcement, piloted first by star anchor Rachel Maddow’s recitation of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, interspersed with cinematic imagery of other anchors, the American flag, landmarks, political archives, and kinetic typography. The sequences edited to a rhythmic beat, echoing, almost literally, the heartbeat of the country: its people. The ad’s bold and cinematic proclamation of the brand's newness is undeniably moving.

Curious choice of timing though.

A risky attempt it was to announce an exciting new phase in the organization on a day when the world’s gaze—not just New Yorkers’—is set on the city’s mayoral race. In any branding exercise, deliverable rollouts are pronouncedly strategic, almost always leading up to a product launch or an event. Surely July 15th, the day MSNBC was founded in 1996, would have served as a date of much greater sentimental value than November 15th.

This rebrand has been a long time in the works, especially since its divorce from Comcast. The peacock silhouette, now retired, was revised to a new insignia that feels more like a sports chyron than it does a news establishment. Understandably so since Versant’s prospective CEO, who is leading several other channels on top of MSNBC, has a portfolio of forging new deals with partners like Olympics, NFL, and NASCAR.

Because the new acronym, MS NOW, did not stray too far from the source material, it offers comfort through familiarity. But it misses the opportunity to inspire newness.

I acknowledge, having led and worked through countless branding exercises, how vexing it can be for others to pound their chest from the top of the Empire State Building and cast criticisms so quickly—all while staying obnoxiously detached from the creative astuteness and, more consequentially, nuanced corporate decision-making.

However, as an objective and fervent viewer of the program, I can’t help but note that I find the connection between corporate promises and visual interpretation absent.

This is a lesson for any organization undertaking a rebrand. A rebrand should promise and deliver the closest creative interpretation of your brand’s ambition—annotated by its mission and vision, and guided by its history—combined. This is when your why works best.

The practice of rebranding is not only about forging anew but also about repackaging a past. Creative interpretation through the practice of rebranding will always be subjective, which makes for an insightful and introspective process. But with an impenetrable conviction—your why—the execution will never be outreasoned.

At the core of your branding exercise, remember that it is always a negotiation between ambition, creative interpretation, and corporate pragmatism.

→ If you’re interested in designing your brand with me, say hi!