Zoom Drops the ‘Video’

Zoom has officially entered its post-pandemic era.

Late last year, Zoom Video Communications announced it was changing its official name to Zoom Communications.

Zoom now describes itself as “an AI-first company delivering modern, hybrid work solutions that enable you to collaborate seamlessly.”

It’s a strong branding choice worth unpacking.

On one hand, most people probably didn’t know “video” was part of the company’s official name in the first place.

The announcement was a way to draw attention to a change in its story that’s far more significant than an update to the company’s legal name.

Simply declaring an increased AI focus is not novel or particularly newsworthy in today’s tech landscape. The rename – and pivot away from the company’s flagship offering – makes it a bigger story.

Still, the shift away from video is a big move. For a while anyway, Zoom was synonymous with videoconferencing. It achieved that vaulted category where its brand became shorthand for its service. Web searches are “Googles.” Tissues are “Kleenexes.” Video calls were “Zooms.”

The moniker has faded as big competitors shored up their video conferencing tools and
remote work lost momentum.

Cameras Off

Reading between the lines, Zoom’s message is clear: Don’t think of us as the
pandemic-era video conferencing solution.

In the extensive post announcing the updated name and brand, Zoom seriously downplays the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on the company’s trajectory. The words “COVID,” “pandemic” and “remote” aren’t even used.

It’s an interesting direction for a company that was so integral to that period – and invested significant marketing efforts toward reinforcing that connection. All the coverage of Zoom’s rebrand references the pandemic.

Ultimately, rebrands are designed to reorient audience expectations and generate news coverage. The bold choices here did just that. Like Campbell’s removing soup from its name, removing a key identifier flags a powerful narrative shift for reporters and audiences.