Nationstar Leadership Lets Company’s Marketing Team Rebrand It As “Mr. Cooper” 

Meet Mr. Cooper. The new name of Nationstar Mortgage. Nationstar entered 2017 looking for a fresh start and apparently a name change was just the thing. They didn’t choose just any name.

They chose to name the company after movie icon Gary Cooper. Nationstar also plans to base their corporate governance around characters the late actor portrayed in the movies.

2016 was not a good year for the mortgage servicer. The embattled servicer lost several senior executives and the value of Nationstar’s stock dropped by 60%. They also were busted for trying to scam a 9/11 first responder. 

Customers also describe their experiences with Nationstar as being like in the nightmare world of an Alice Cooper song. 

Nationstar was also issued a fine by the CFPB in March for HMDA violations.

CEO Jay Bray and his team felt an offbeat, very personalized identity is just the ticket. Bray told investors on an earnings call:

Mr. Cooper is meant to be that advocate that person that’s going to connect with the customers. To deliver best — better experience and to be an advocate for them day in and day out.

A New Name and A New Website

It seems like the company contrived the name after listening to a focus group made up of dimwitted senior citizens. The new website is also filled with feel-good buzzwords that are typically used by dumb people who want to sound important.

It also seems like Nationstar wants customers to get that warm and fuzzy feeling of watching an old Gary Cooper movie. Company executives write on their new website:

To us, it’s an identity that represents the kind of person who always goes the extra mile for a customer. He stands for avoiding business as usual and doing everything he can to help. He has a firm belief that one person can make a big difference.

The minute-plus long video on the website also builds on that ambitious vision. The video also describes pretty much every character Gary Cooper portrayed in the movies:   

He’s part CEO. Part revolutionary. He’s a challenger of convention. A champion for his customers. A cheerleader for his team. He believes in keeping things simple, telling the truth, focusing on the solution. He’s here to remove fear, eliminate doubt, and build a home loan company people actually like. One known for transparency. Not small print. Helpful advice. Not confusing jargon. Lending a hand. Not turning his back.

Nationstar is also pumping a lot of time and energy into rebranding themselves. They officially announced the rebranding in February but did not announce an official date of the change. In May, the servicer announced the switch will be official August 1st.