Nokia ditches Ovi Branding – goes back to “Nokia”. Bye Ovi Store and Ovi Maps, hello Nokia Store and Nokia Maps :D

I said I wouldn’t blog this morning (with exam in a few hours) but this is pretty big and it won’t take long (and I’ll revisit it later).

Nokia who created their internet and services brand “Ovi” are now ditching that and returning to “Nokia”. Ovi means door in Finnish and was announced back in 2008. (Shame can’t we have both doors and windows? oh dear  -_- sorry)

All services will remain as they are but they now default back to the brand “Nokia”. This begins in July and continues to 2012. Future software updates will possibly be removing Ovi branding for current users. e.g. Ovi Store and Ovi Maps. Just replace Ovi for Nokia. Nokia Store and Nokia Maps etc. (the latter returns to original name)

The only thing I’m concerned about is mail. We can’t all go about changing from @ovi.com to @nokia.com <<that’s for staff :p. Are we just going for @live.com/@yahoo.com?

Well, I think I’ve made some rants here and there about the brand recognition of Nokia VS Ovi in its inception. Short and sweet as I seriously have to go – good job. Use your advantages Nokia. I hope to see more of this common sense in the future.

I think a lot of the responses are quite positive, with many saying this is what should have been done in the first place.
Nokia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jerri Devard explains:

“We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia. By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compellingopportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.”

Jerri continues:

“The reasons for this decision includes the fact that Nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices – there is no longer a differentiation. For example, if consumers want the best mobile navigation experience, they know it’s a Nokia that they can rely on. These last few years, and moving forward, our mission remains unchanged: we will continue our work to deliver compelling, unified mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive technologies.”

Nokia Conversations

– you might also want to check it out from Ovi Blog directly.

Druv Bhutani commented:

Very good decision ! Brand consolidation was seriously required. This should help Nokia retain its identity post the move to WP7 as well.

On that note, in one sense, Windows Phone never gets Ovi Store and Ovi Maps. It is somewhat “killed” already. 😛

In all seriousness, it Druv makes a great point. These things BELONG to NOKIA. Maps BELONGS to Nokia. Nokia’s Maps.

Welcome back home again :D.

Ah ok – got to dash!

Tags: don't dilute the brand - concentrated all on Nokia, featured

Category: Nokia