pwc's rebranding: a masterpiece or an extravagant absurdity?

LOL This is hilarious. I was actually a big fan of their old theme/branding. It looked very professional. I don't know what they were thinking. I guess like BB said, since audit/tax are generally conservative, this is a way to differentiate themselves from the other 3.

Agree with you. I have worked at PwC for three years.
Very often client's percepted the firm as a solid professional audit company.
Now "pwc" is written in small letters; i do not think tha this is a best way to differentiate themselves from the others.
we will how this rebranding will affect the firm.

Interestingly during my time at PwC I was involved in a small piece of this rebranding project. Of course, my confidentiality agreement prevents me from saying much, but I will say that this was not a decision that was made quickly, there was a lot of deliberation over it.

I will say that I don't love it, but it is definitely better than some other options that were on the table at the time. I do like that it's much more modern and, quite frankly, less boring than the old branding/color scheme. I also really like the shortening of the brand to PwC. Most people knew the firm by that name anyway, so there's really no downside risk there.

Really the most interesting thing I see on the webpage is that they've gone back to referring to the consulting practice as "Consulting" rather than "Advisory". I guess enough time has passed from Enron et. al. that an accounting firm having a "consulting" practice isn't automatically seen as evil anymore.

That IS interesting! Guess the terms of the sale to IBM in 2002 included a noncompete of less than ten years, eh? Or maybe they're just leaving the consulting name on the Bearingpoint Commercial Services segment they acquired?

I know Ernst & Young and Capgemini's noncompete is still in effect, and I think KPMG and Bearingpoint is as well, although I have no idea how the bankruptcy and subsequent sales of some business units impacts that kind of legal agreement...

After Deloitte's blockbuster growth in their consulting business, it seems obvious that the other three firms would want to step up their practices as well.