Bell rebrands

Crisper and cleaner. Bell has dropped the word ‘Helicopters’ from its name as part of a company-wide rebranding process that will be rolled out over the next year.

The manufacturer has modernised its website and logo, dropping the ‘Bell’ logo and adopting a dragonfly to represent the company.

This is the first time the company has rebranded itself in more than 50 years, when Textron first acquired the defence arm of Bell Aircraft Corporation and rebranded it as Bell Helicopter. Brand design consultancy Futurebrand was bought in to help in the rebranding process.

A statement on the company’s website read: “Bell has always been about more than just helicopters. Our team has spent the past 80 years pushing the boundaries of flight, and now we will accurately reflect that quest.”

Mitch Snyder, Bell president and CEO added: “The look captures our innovative spirit without detracting from our core mission of providing safe and unsurpassed experiences to our customers.”

Over the last few years, all of the major commercial helicopter OEMs have changed their name – with the exception of Sikorsky. Eurocopter rebranded as Airbus Helicopters in 2014 and AgustaWestland changed its name to Leonardo in January 2016.

New image

One thing that has stood out during the redesigning process is Bell’s decision to distance itself from the image of being purely a helicopter builder.

The rebranding process kicked off in Summer 2017, just a couple of months after Bell partnered with Uber to develop its air-taxi vtol for the upcoming UberAir service. The ‘new Bell’ placed the air taxi – the FCX-001 – at the front and centre of its website.

Click onto the new front page of Bell’s website, and there is not a helicopter to bee seen. Whilst the company remains first and foremost a helicopter manufacturer, its new strapline “Above and beyond flight” is self-explanatory. Bell now wants to be recognised as an “industry leader in advanced technology and innovation” – its clear view of itself.