• by Colin Kirkland , Staff Writer, July 13, 2022

Hootsuite is changing its face (again).

With the rise of TikTok, the fall of Facebook, and the wishy-washy promise of Web3, social media is in the midst of massive change. Which means so is social media marketing. In 2008, the first social media management platform Hootsuite, was born, and now, almost 15 years later, it’s time for a rebrand.

CEO Tom Keiser said in a statement that it’s “time to rethink our integrated branding strategy to better reflect our position and our direction as the social experts, trusted partners, and joyful mentors. We’re showing the world that Hootsuite doesn’t just ‘get’ social…we are social.”

Powerful stuff.

First question on my mind: Does the owl look different?

Yes.

In its new form, Owly has a little more spunk, a little more pep in his step (even though it looks like his body has been erased), and he has a legitimate role in the company: Chief Connection Officer. (Finally.)

To foster engagement with the brand, Owly is set to embrace the new tagline -- “Your Guide to the Wild” -- at every turn., urging customers to be brave and embrace their brand through the wild world of social.

Hootsuite created a category in a space that now has over 4.6 billion users worldwide. Now it says that customers can expect to see a new approach, with Owly riffing off the common challenges that social marketers and small business owners face on social, showing “them that their trusted Owl has their back.”

The rebrand activation was built in-house, leveraging the expertise of Hootsuite’s creative, social and functional teams, alongside customer feedback and stakeholders “ensuring the new approach signified the humanity and connection that makes up social.”

With Gen-Z and Millennials deserting Facebook and flocking to the short-video app, Hootsuite knows it’s time to expand its customer offerings.

Prior to the rebrand, Hootsuite partnered with TikTok to help its 200,000 customers effectively manage their short-video content on TikTok alongside other networks through one integrated tool.

Even for an industry that can change drastically every day (Ah, remember when Facebook become Meta?), the landscape seems to be headed in a whole new direction, and classic institutions like Hootsuite will be smart to embrace change rather than fight it.

Updating the mascot is likely just the start.