As a designer & marketer, I love seeing rebrands. Some are very successful and others are not so much. At least Gap listened to their fans and brand community via social media and public mockery on TV, radio & print. Some advertising experts say this may have been a stunt to get media attention. Just this morning, the Today Show on NBC mentioned the brand going back to the classic logo then immediately asked why that was considered news.

Do you have a favorite brand that did a great rebrand or maybe another brand horror story? Do tell.

Guess what Brinks is doing? No, they’re not buying a stadium; they’re rebranding! I do not understand changing a powerful brand that has household name recognition. I flipped when I heard the Cingular brand was on it’s way out, but it was being replaced by the even more well known and powerful AT&T brand. Brinks is changing their home security and business security to Broadview Security. I do not think Broadview Security has the same brand dominance as AT&T. I do like the additional of the term “security” to the name, but when you have a brand that is synonymous with an industry like Brinks is to security, I am okay not having the descriptive word in the name. I agree having a different look for the personal and business sides of the security business, but I would never suggest a name change for a company with as much brand collateral as Brinks.

According to their website, Brinks is keeping the name for their “Global Security Transportation and Cash Logistics Company” so the brand will still be around. When doing some research for this post, I was even more surprised to find The Brink’s Company had a different logo.

We’ll see how this pans out over the next few years. One benefits going for Brinks & Broadview Security is the amount of money they can spend in advertising and branding the new company name. A  smaller company with a similar name recognition in a local or regional market would have a tougher time without that kind of spending power.

You’re invited to join in too! If you see a logo that you like, just comment on one of our posts the name of the company & why you like it and we’ll create a post for it with a picture of the logo.

Enjoy!

Classic Jack in the Box logo.

Jack in the Box, a national burger restaurant rarely found here in Louisiana, recently introduced their new logo by Duffy & Partners. (Old & new logos shown on the right).

The new logo is definitely an update from the old balloon letters of yesteryear to the slick almost Web 2.0. A recent article on BNET contrasted the necessary update versus the change of a classic, nostalgic brand identity. The article’s author also pointed out the trouble the company will have with the slight two-tone red box. Hopefully Jack in the Box can afford a printer that can print the files correctly. (Half-hearted joke.)

The new logo is a solid update and will work well in many uses including signage and package designs. The focus is now on “Jack” which/who is literally in the box. I’m curious if they will eventually drop the text below the logo to further imply “Jack in the box”. My only concern is the short-lived life of the logo. The logo is trendy but will probably be stale and outdated quickly. I assume that Jack in the Box is trying to tap into a younger generation that does not relate to the older identity and ignores their in-your-face character on TV. (Yes, Jack in the Box had the old, somewhat inappropriate character before Burger King introduced their new king.)

New Jack in the Box logo.

My biggest beef with the burger joint is their lack of brand cohesion. When we rebrand a company , we do not just introduce the logo – we implement the new identity. For now, the Jack in the Box website and stores still use the old logo (check it out at: http://www.jackinthebox.com). When developing a new brand, show it to the audience as a package. I completely understand the stores not being updated overnight; that is expensive and unnecessary. Jack in the Box should change their website & talk about the new look, run TV commercials with the new logo, email fans of “The Box”, and put up cut outs of their Jack mascot in stores introducing the new logo.

Looking at the logo designers website, Duffy & Partners did develop 4 whimsical icons for the different types of food served at Jack in the Box. These should not be implemented until the stores have been rebranded so customers will not be surprised.

New icons for the different types of food served in stores.

What do you think about the new logo and/or implementation of the brand?

Why do companies name themselves three lettered acronyms? Maybe they do this to make graphic designers’ job harder or maybe it is to confuse consumers. Unless you have a brand that is a household name like IBM, don’t name your company after three letters, any three letters! If you must, try adding something descriptive like CVS Pharmacy. This help consumers understand your brand, your products, and services; you are a pharmacy. The more descriptive the name, the better name it is for others. A descriptive name helps your brand, your consumers and even your search engine rankings. “Logo Designers” would be a great name and everyone would know what that company does – logo design.

What if your company already has an established three-letter name? Shoot your CEO. (Bad joke, I know.) CBO would be better. Ever hear of a Chief Branding Officer? Yes, it is a real position just like CFO, CEO and COO. Confused yet? Now you get my point. If your company is established with a three-letter name, try developing a tagline or slogan that illustrates your service or products. Like BOB, your friendly brand marketing business.

In conclusion, give your customers a chance to know what you do before they get to know you and stay away from the acronyms. Your potential customers should not have to make a connection with you just to know what you do, that is putting the cart before the horse. Don’t even get me started on the 7-letter acronyms.

Maybe you have heard of brand marketing and know the importance of developing your brand. Until one dives into branding, it is easy to think that your “brand” is just another word for your “logo”. Your logo is just the beginning. Your brand is the experience your customers, clients and potential buyers get from you and their relationship with you, not the other way around. Brand marketing is about developing that relationship with consumers and embracing their experiences with you.

What is the difference between Wal-mart and Target? Many would agree that Wal-mart has the best prices, but Target has a better experience. Target’s stores are cleaner, products a bit nicer and Target has cooler television ads. Is this true or is it just what people experience? What do your customers think about your company? Good, bad, indifferent?

So, what makes up a brand? Your logo is part of it as well as each communication piece to the consumer otherwise known as client “touch”. This includes your website, brochures, stationery, press releases, signage, store/office interior, advertising (including radio, television, print, outdoor) and sponsorships. All these items are your brand as well as how you answer the phones, treat customers, and what others say about you are all apart of your brand. Ouch, that’s a lot. This is where advertising, marketing, design, public relations, and research companies come in for the larger companies. For the smaller businesses, some of this comes down to your instincts as an owner and just keeping a grip on why you are in business. Most likely, you are in business because you have a product or service that no one does as well as you. Your brand starts with that– the reason why you are in business and continues to grow with why your business is different from your competitors. (Fancy term – brand differentiation.) Those two items are the foundation of your brand and what your customers experience. The other areas, like advertising and marketing, are the avenues that disperse your brand; public relations manages your brand.

What is the best way to build your brand? How do you maintain your brand? You need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Doing this will help you experience what your customers experience with your brand. If you like the experience, how can you make it stronger? If you disliked or absolutely hated the experience, what are you going to do about improving that experience? In a recent article about Target in Fortune, the Taret brand is built around the CEO and his executive team walking the sales floor as an employee and as a customer. They simply look around, without blinders, noticing what experiences engage them and tie them to the brand. Can you walk in your customer’s shoes?

All the advertising in the world is just wasted money if the experience when using your product, shopping your store or utilizing your service does not meet the expectations. Remember how you felt when you were mislead by an advertisement when the experience did not meet your expectations? Have you had an experience that far exceeded your expectations? Which would you rather your customer have with your company and with your brand?

Now, that was not so bad. Remember your brand is more than just that logo.

How is this atrocity possible? Simply put, color is relative from person to person. If my wife tells me to paint our living room green, what color green is it? I need her to be more specific so I do not have to paint it again.

In our design world, we do not have fancy names like pumpkin bread and midnight blue like the paint stores. Instead we have an elaborate numbering system. Yes, your logo might use colors 3435 and 541. Surprising, huh? Yes, this is your logo’s green and blue colors. These are very important numbers when maintaining your brand integrity and consistency. Have you ever noticed that the Coca Cola red and the Gap blue is always the same? That is because each designer, printer, and specialty item company should be using the Pantone Color Matching system. PMS for short. No, that is not a joke, it really is PMS. The color does change some with different papers, materials and printing methods, but that should be taken in consideration when developing your identity.

So, what color was the dress? Maybe 186. Next time I see her, I’ll ask.

Realistically, how often should a company change their logo? Depending on your business and market, possibly every 10 or 20 years. If your company makes a few poor decisions and your business model makes a complete 180, may be sooner rather than later might be a wise decision. Another question to ask yourself is, “How well is my logo known?” We all know the dated IBM logo. Why haven’t they changed? Well, because we all know what it looks like.

In case you forgot what it looked like…

Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the “Guerrilla Marketing” books, says you should plan on getting twenty years out of your logo. Look for the extended warranty (just kidding). A drastic change can wipe out your brand?s equity that took years and lots of money to build. Many times you can make small updates to a logo without jeopardizing the entire brand. Notice the evolution of the Design the Planet logo below. The logo started out representing a start-up, female freelance designer working out of her home. The first update shows a young company of a few employees making strides in the market and venturing outside of the home. The newest logo captures a company evolving into a larger corporate climate with a more refined business model and clear visions from the past and of the future.

With each update, Design the Planet keeps the brand intact and evolves the identity to match the current and near future of the company. Also, being a design and brand marketing company, Design the Planet should constantly strive to capture the mind share of its target market while maintaining a strong brand that “speaks” to that market.

A few notes to think about when considering an update or redesign of your company’s logo:

• Does the current identity match the business model? Your company’s products/services? The future of the company?
• What should the identity say about the company?
• Is the identity trendy or dated? What does the trend say about the company? Does this trend work?
• Is the logo a cliché? Are you a lawyer with the cliché scales or an IT professional with clipart of a computer on your business card? How does the company differentiate from others in the field and/or market? (Note: Conventional symbols are okay and can be tastefully added or freshened up without hitting your clients over the head with the symbol.)

Let’s look at an international brand that recently updated their logo. Earlier this year, Xerox released their new corporate identity. Xerox had not made a change in their identity since 1961, when they dropped the name “Habloid” from the logo. After nearly 50 years of usage, Xerox updated their well-recognized brand for what Richard Wergan, vice president of advertising, calls “a brand identity that reflects the Xerox of today.”

After years of market research, internal strategizing and client surveys, the new logo retains some of the elements of the original logo. The research showed that consumers associate the color red with Xerox and for their overseas markets, the red color represents good luck, prosperity and good will. (Something else to consider when thinking about redeveloping your company’s identity: what do other markets that you serve think about your identity? When your company started, did you think your market would include Japan or Germany or if you are only stateside, Boston and Denver?)

Xerox stated why they made the change, “We are a very different company today than we were when our current brand architecture was developed,” says Richard Wergan, director of worldwide brand at Xerox. “The new logo is meant to disrupt the mental model of Xerox as just a copier company.”

Like all updates, they are across the board whether you are an international company like Xerox or a slightly smaller company like Design the Planet. The new corporate logo is your face to your clients, vendors, competitors, and potential clients. The corporate makeover needs to extend to each facet of your company, including business cards, packaging, signage, vehicles, website, phonebook listing, down to your company’s invoices. It takes time to update everything and can take a lot of money. When updating your brand, make a list of what needs to be updated and a timeline with the highest priority items changing first (suggestion ? website & business card first). The last thing you want is to have a hodgepodge of logos from various updates. This array of identities gives the illusion that your company is disorganized and multiple brand identities in the public’s eye create competition with yourself.

Reason #1 – It was old. The day that I look down at my card and think “this looks old” is when I know an identity needs a makeover. Quite honestly, the brand update should have happened a few years ago, around the time Katrina hit. Going into Katrina I had already reached that conclusion, but post-Katrina, we didn’t have the time or manpower to dedicate to building our own new brand. There were other people who needed our help, so we chose to reprioritize at the time.

Reason number 2 – The font. The old Design the Planet font was adapted from a Handwriting font that I found stylish and new, yet old. After using the logo for around five years, what was once a novel font that differentiated us so well had become overused. I see it everywhere and with that, our logo loses impact and becomes common. Or, more common then I would like.

Reason number 3 – The market. As a company, our market has shifted over the past several years, not dramatically, but it has changed. The old logo was well suited for the company years ago, but now seems not to match our company focus and brand.

Reason number 4 – Our web site needed a facelift. Our old web site didn’t have all of the bells and whistles it needed to be an essential tool. Specifically?

A. It was initially programmed completely in Flash several years ago because people wanted to see our proficiencies in the program (and we have updated it almost religiously since it was created). However, since then, the ways of the web have changed!

B. We have been optimizing and web marketing for our clients for years, but our Flash site was lacking in the live content that is readable by search engines.

C. The Flash site was cumbersome to update, mostly because it was programmed so long ago that it wasn’t accessing a database of information to populate the images and content.

D. Our old site didn’t give us the opportunity to share additional information like what you are reading now, and some things are worth sharing!