It’s a new vibe going on in the industry. All companies feel that their market is changing hence they should also change. Now some companies make some distinct changes in their functioning and then go on for a logo change. Now why there is a logo change? Well it’s simple. A logo is one of the first things that a prospective customer will see of the company. This gives the viewers a perception that the company is changing in certain aspect.
Now at times it so happens that the company wants a visual change because they feel that their consumers are changing. Now is that the right decision?
Like mentioned before when a logo change takes place in the mind of the consumer the company is change, not they feeling that they (the consumer) are changing. And if they don’t feel that change when they interact with the company it leads to a level of dissatisfaction. And a second reason, the logo is a very important part in the identity of a company. So changing the logo should not be treated as a simple re designing strategy. It’s an identity changing strategy. If not done for the right reasons after the logo change the company could end up in an identity loss among the consumers.
You don’t trust me, well let’s take a look.
When the pressure due to decline of sales, officials at GAP decided they will appeal to a new gen market by changing their logo and making it look more youthful. The result, there was an outburst among GAP loyalists via social network sites which increased the pressures on the Gap senior officials and soon bringing back their old logo dumping their new one.
GAP say it was bad designing and Laird & Partners blames on bad selection from the lot, but truth be told it was just a bad exercise. I’m not sure on how GAP came to the conclusion that a change in logo would be their solutions to continuous dip in sales but that’s what primarily went wrong. Companies like GAP get their recognition from their consumers because of the identity they have built over the period of time and deciding to change it in an instant is not something the consumers could adjust to. It is these logos that consumers become familiar with and learn to depend on for excellence and reliability as the company grows and earns that kind of reputation.
Before your company involves in a logo changing exercise ask yourself these questions:
- · Why do you feel the logo changing exercise is necessary?
- · What change are you trying to justify with this exercise?
- · What did your customer feel about your brand?
- · What’s their current feeling towards your brand?
- · Is a logo change necessary or will a logo update be sufficient?
