After 13 years of being known — internally and externally — as PwC, the global professional services firm has finally decided to embrace its nickname officially with a logo change.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Malaysia, the unveiling of its new logo took place last week at the foyer of its headquarters in 1Sentral, Kuala Lumpur.

“We are now known simply as PwC — it simplifies matters. Most people I know use that term anyway because it’s less of a mouthful,” said PwC partner Sridharan Nair who oversees markets for Malaysia and other countries in Southeast Asia. Legally, and in formal documents, the firm will still be known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, he added in an email interview on Tuesday.

Although the global decision to change to the briefer PwC logo was announced last September, international offices were given the autonomy to establish their own implementation timelines. “It was a conscious decision which takes into consideration cost and our commitment to the environment. We expect the visual elements of the new brand to be fully implemented across our global network by next July,” said Nair.

The logo change represents more than just an abbreviation of the longer name, said Nair. “The warmer, brighter colours aim to reinforce a more human and distinctive look. Furthermore, the new brand is centred around the hope that all we interact with will say ‘My relationship with PwC helps create the value I’m looking for’,” he explained.

The rebranding heralds a relationship-building approach to client management, focused on building trust, said Nair. “We hope this will help further differentiate PwC,” he said.

While the new logo was only unveiled recently, PwC Malaysia has been communicating the change internally since last September to reinforce the new brand positioning. “We produced handy quick guides and video tutorials and set up a brand help desk. We’ve also given out goodies — chocolates and pencils in our new brand colours (there are eight of them: yellow, tangerine, orange, red, rose, burgundy, maroon and grey),” said Nair.

Globally, the new logo, which was designed internally by the PwC Network with input from branding consultancy Wolf Olins, has received mixed responses with some publications, including the Financial Times of London, comparing it to the failed “new” Gap logo.

“You can’t please everyone. But most agree that the warmer colour palette is a breath of fresh air. Any change takes some getting used to,” said Nair. “More importantly, we hope people will soon experience consistently, our aspiration to build relationships that are valued.”

This article appeared on the Media & advertising page, The Edge Financial Daily, Jan 27, 2011