Salesforce announced today that they’re changing the name “Pardot” to… drumroll… Marketing Cloud Account Engagement. Along with this rebrand, they’re changing the names of about a dozen products — but of course, Pardot is nearest and dearest to my heart.
Do I have opinions? Ohhhh yes. And I will be sharing those in a blog tomorrow.
In the meantime — here’s what you need to know about the future of the Pardot brand.
2022 Salesforce product name changes
Salesforce likes renaming things. It’s what they do. Having been a customer and partner in this ecosystem for 12 years, I’ve kind of accepted it.
In this quarter’s wave of brand updates, Salesforce itself is actually getting an upgrade. The company announced in March 2022 that Salesforce.com is changing its legal name to Salesforce, Inc. (Sorry, I’m still going to call it SFDC though.)
The most recent wave of Salesforce name changes
Several products are also getting the rename treatment. Pay attention — you’ll have to use these new names when communicating with Salesforce support agents.
Here are the latest name changes affecting marketers who use Salesforce:
- Marketing Cloud Email Studio (aka ExactTarget) to Marketing Cloud Engagement
- Pardot to Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
- CDP to Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform
- Interaction Studio to Marketing Cloud Personalization
- Email, Messaging, and Journeys to Marketing Cloud Engagement
- Advertising Studio to Marketing Cloud Advertising
- Datorama to Marketing Cloud Intelligence
- myTrailhead to Salesforce Sales Enablement
- Salesforce CMS to Digital Experiences
Wait, what? Why?
The word Salesforce has used as a touchstone when communicating these product name changes is that they are EASY.
Salesforce EVP & GM Digital Experiences Lidiane Jones echoed this in the official announcement about the name change:
The Marketing Cloud portfolio is now more aligned with the language marketers already use, so the capabilities and value are easier to understand. For example, many marketers are looking for the capability and value of real-time Personalization, not an “Interaction Studio” solution.
We’re expecting to hear more on Salesforce’s logic behind the changes at the Sydney World Tour.
What is NOT affected by the Pardot name change
With the name change, there’s lots that is staying the same:
- Product features & functionality (continuing to grow and expand as part of the normal release cycle)
- Pricing
- Packaging / bundles
- The actual SKU names on your Salesforce contract
Not ready to accept the new brand? Let’s cope together.
If you’re anything like us, Pardot is your BFF and you know all the Pardot trivia, including how Pardot got its name.
So, you might need some time to process the news from Salesforce — especially since Marketing Cloud Account Engagement just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Spotify playlists for your recovery
While we are still waiting for the ecosystem to establish its own moniker (McKay, anyone?) we have just the thing to get you through all of your stages of grief — some tunes to carry you through. Check out our breakup playlists on Spotify.
- Side A: Songs to scream to
- Side B: Songs to cry to
- Side C: Songs to empower you to get up, move on, and SLAY
What’s your reaction to the new name? Share your take in the comments while we all process this.
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement?!?.. What happens to my BFF (Pardot)? Rich (parents) companies should stop giving their (kids) products long-ass names! LOL