Companies Debut New Brand Identities at SATELLITE

Several satellite companies have rolled out brand refreshes in the past few months gearing up to make significant changes to adjust to an industry in flux. In this story, Via Satellite catches up with Gilat Satellite Networks, River Advisers, and Aldoria to see how they are revamping their corporate brands in a bid to align with changing industry trends.

Satellite technology company Gilat did not change its name during a recent rebrand, but the company did not take the rebranding decision lightly. Renewing the firm’s corporate image was a necessity due to evolution within the company itself and the ongoing flux in the industry, says Yael Maman, marketing communications director. Gilat realized that the industry was going through enormous transitions and it wanted to be a part of these changes as well as help facilitate them. This meant a need for change in the way the company communicates and represents itself to capture the idea of being global, touching every corner of the world with satellite communication.

On the other hand, ManSat, a market access and spectrum regulation consultancy, decided to rename the company to River Advisers as it wanted to step outside of traditional, satellite-centered names. ManSat was a nod to the company’s headquarters on the Isle of Man.

“As we looked at the technology trends, the convergence of satellite and terrestrial capabilities, the aspirations to explore the Moon and deep space, we wanted to have a name that really reflected our dynamic capabilities and offerings,” explains Katherine Gizinski, CEO of River Advisers.

The company’s new name was inspired by the nature of a river — adaptable, powerful, but also calm and in control. As technology enablers, the company will guide and shape its own direction, navigating around obstacles on the way while pushing clients forward towards their goals.

Aldoria, a space situational awareness (SSA) company based in France, saw an opportunity for rebranding after raising 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in a Series A funding round. Changing the company’s name from Share My Space was important to make it easier to address the U.S. market. Aldoria chose its new name carefully, merging the words ‘aldo’ and ‘or’ together. ‘Aldo’ has Latin origins meaning altitude and sky, while ‘or’ means gold in French.

“All in all, it's the gold of the sky with the orbit, the constellation. I think it fits pretty well with our scope: surveillance in space,” says Mylène Bosio, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Aldoria.

Aldoria’s roadmap and focus has not shifted despite this change in the company name. The company’s objective is still to be the European leader in space surveillance, enabling data fusion, addressing the European institutional actors, military and defense sectors, as well as commercial companies while venturing into the U.S market.

In an answer to the increased need for reliable SSA data and services due to the significant growth in the number of satellites and the existing and newly generated space debris, Aldoria developed and installed six optical ground stations last year and is planning to use the funding to expand its orbital information system with two or three more stations this year. The company is also aiming to double the number of staff with the goal of tripling revenue within one year, while communicating its offerings more clearly.

Gilat, however, reimagined the company’s mission and vision with the rebrand, 35 years after the company was founded.

“We understood that we are so much more than just a technology company and our vision is about believing in the right of all people to be connected,” Maman says.

This interconnectedness is mirrored in the company’s slogan “Boundless Communications.” Gilat wants to be future ready. Moving away from hardware-dependent technologies, the company is focusing on multi-orbit solutions, very high throughput satellites (VHTS) and 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network). Maman emphasizes that solid communication capabilities are now crucial in the industry which demands capacity and reliable connectivity everywhere on the planet. The company hopes the rebrand will better express Gilat’s expertise when it comes to multi-orbit, multi-market, software-defined satellite platforms.

River Advisers says the company’s core culture remains the same with the new name, with an emphasis on innovation, creative problem-solving and client focus. Gizinski reiterates that the company aims to reflect on its growth in scope and ambition, in order to better communicate with clients about its dynamic offerings and core values.

The revised image structures the 24-year-old company as one always looking to the future in order to shape the landscape to protect critical capabilities or enable new ones. River Advisers continues to grow, building out its portfolio of service offerings in international spectrum regulation, consulting work, market access, reference support, among others. As new capabilities and technologies emerge on the market, the company plans to add complimentary services and expertise to this portfolio to adapt and achieve client success.

The common thread that connects these three companies is the pressing need to better represent the changes happening internally and within the broader industry. As the industry undergoes technological shifts, the necessity for each company to step up and facilitate changes, while aligning their brand image accordingly, is emerging as a valuable solution—one that reflects the company's evolving vision. VS