For the first time since its founding in 1995, Angie’s List is getting a new name.
But the reference to co-founder Angie Hicks isn’t going away.
Company officials announced Wednesday that Angie’s List will now be called Angi, and parent company ANGI Homeservices is now Angi Inc. The name change comes with a new logo.
As a part of Wednesday’s news, affiliate HomeAdvisor will start using the longer moniker, HomeAdvisor, powered by Angi.
The name change comes after a year-long market research initiative concluded that the Angie’s List brand is incredibly strong, even stronger than HomeAdvisor, which acquired Indianapolis-based Angie’s List and morphed into ANGI Homeservices in 2017.
Angi remains based in Denver but has significant operations and hundreds of employees in Indianapolis.
“Angi just has unbelievable brand recognition,” said Oisin Hanrahan, who was named CEO of ANGI Homeservices last month. “What we’ve seen is the Angi brand just resonates better [than HomeAdvisor]. When you have a brand with such great recognition, you’d be crazy not to lean into it.”
Hanrahan joined ANGI Homeservices as chief product officer in 2019 when it acquired New York City-based Handy HQ, which he co-founded. He said it’s difficult to put a finger on one thing that makes the Angi brand strong.
“The brand is magic. It’s the sum of all the parts and a little bit of magic on top,” he said. “You look at the maniacal focus of getting the right pros, the maniacal focus of doing right by the customer, and the focus on being comprehensive and the magic of Angie Hicks, and they built up a lot of consumer trust.”
The name change, Hanrahan told IBJ, is indicative of the company’s growth and changing focus.
Angi also rolled out a new, updated app Wednesday morning.
The new Angi app includes features that support people through their home care journey, including the ability to instantly buy pre-priced jobs, the option to pay for work through the app, financing options, and standard features designed to help take the complexity out of home improvement.
“Angie’s List is so much more than a list,” Hanrahan said. “A list was an amazingly innovative thing when the company started and began growing. As the world has changed for homeowners and professional service providers, that expectation has shifted. Instead of showing you a list of [professional service providers], you will be able to hire a pro, message a pro and pay a pro and arrange financing right through the app.”
The Colorado-based parent company will begin an aggressive paid marketing campaign this week, Hanrahan said. It will start with digital advertising, but will expand to radio, billboard and television. A sizable TV campaign to tout the new name and expanded capabilities of the app will launch in mid-April.
“You can expect to see us put a full marketing campaign behind this,” Hanrahan said. “You can also expect to see us change out the signage on the building in Indy next week.”
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Legit did not even know AL was still a thing.
Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I wont like it. I used to love Angie’s List because I could plug in the name of a company that I was considering hiring and see what other customers thought of it. Now, the website forces me into a search for a specific job I need done and matches me with providers. AS a homeowner, I find it essentially useless
The name and logo were well recognized and respected. I understand feeling the need to change under the new owners – but I would have left it as Angie’s List. I don’t care for the new website either. I want to have the option to put in a company name and search reviews – not services. Also, time to remove all traces of the old name and logo because for years I drive the old campus on Washington Street and think is it still Angie’s List or HoneAdvisor? Mixed messages can confuse and doom a brand.
Well heck I didn’t know Angie’s List or Angi was even around anymore. I thought they left – or promised to leave – this terrible state due to the horrible impact of RAFRA. I guess not.
I echo Richard. I used to rely on Angi’s List because I could evaluate reviews of various companies and then select the one I wanted to work with. It provided a simple and useful service. Now I’m forced to answer a bunch of questions and then force-fed companies to contact. It does away with a sense of autonomy for consumer. It may attract more companies because it serves as an agent for the companies, but it’s lost its homespun public square vibe, and integrity, and customers like me. Angi’s List – go back to the original formula. You have lost your mojo!