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In the past few weeks, several respected brands took it upon themselves to fix what wasn’t broken by unveiling new versions of their highly recognizable logos.

For the first time in 25 years, Microsoft ditched its italic boldfaced font for a lighter straightforward type coupled with a group of squares reminiscent of its Windows operating system.

After 17 years, online auction powerhouse Ebay, calmed the overlapping uneven letters of its previous logo with thinner, aligned letters.

And in the biggest head scratcher, USA Today launched a new logo after 30 years.  A solid ball has replaced the blue globe with the intent is that the ball will be used as an infographic for the top news in that section.  Okay, if you say so.

Some people are up in arms over the changes.  Others embrace the new designs.   Then there are people who realize it doesn’t matter.  (Cue audible gasp here.)  Yes, fat letters, thin letters, italics, squares, circles….it just doesn’t matter.

• A logo doesn’t increase your visibility.  Your marketing does.
• A logo doesn’t increase sales.  Your people and your messaging do.
• A logo doesn’t build loyalty.  Your product quality and customer service do.
• A logo doesn’t build a strong corporate culture. That’s management’s task.

Now, granted a logo isn’t worthless when it comes to your brand image.  In fact, it is the visual representation of your brand.  Therefore, it should be memorable.  D’uh, that’s a given.  But it should be relevant to your corporate name, image or service.  For instance, if you’re a technology company, a pirate ship is not the best image for your logo.   Just saying.

• A logo should enhance your corporate image.  Translated, this means DO NOT USE COMIC SANS.
• A logo should work in all media.  What looks great on the side of a building may look like a Rorschach test on a business card.
• A logo should not be cliché.  Law firms should avoid using scales.  Medical practices, Caducei.   And Cinnabon, should avoid the EKG readout.

Once you logo has been selected, do not compromise its integrity.  Don’t change the colors for the holidays.  No one needs to see your logo in orange and black to know it’s Halloween.  If they do, you don’t want their business.

To view a selection of memorable, clean, images relevant to their industry, visit the Electrum Marketing logo portfolio. 

Thanks to the economy, many businesses have reinvented themselves. That may mean offering new services, eliminating some products, pursuing new markets, or moving in a completely new direction.  Done right, reinvention could be the best thing ever.  Avoiding it could lead to obsolescence.

Often, businesses attempt to “refresh” their brand, rather than doing what’s really needed – a total brand overhaul. Change is always a risk, but sometimes it’s the right thing to do, if:

• Your values have changed. YMCA became the “Y” to become more inclusive and shed its religion/sexist bias.
• You have a crisis. Tylenol’s tampering recall was a marketing disaster. A confident packaging program helped to re-ground the brand.
• You are the leader but you look like the underdog. Federal Express changed its identity to FedEx, surpassed its competitors and never looked back.

Brand reinventions fail when the plan to reinvent turns into tactics that are more like tweaks. Here’s how to avoid the tweak:

• Ban “design by committee.” Involve all of the influencers up front then assign one person to lead the project. Every brand needs a champion.
• Do smart research. Conduct research early, thoroughly and often. Talk to consumers before you start. Loyal and potential customers can provide surprising gems of insight.
• Test new designs against new positioning. Consumers will often be more comfortable with the current look, but if your objective is to reposition the brand, beware of playing it too safe.

Are you ready for a brand reinvention? If so…

• Make sure that your product is good. Restaging a brand to compete with an innovative new competitor will only go so far if the product itself is weak.
• Anticipate roadblocks and deal with them ahead of time. Get the decision makers involved early on and keep the project moving fast.
• Measure success by measuring brand relevance and sales. Sales may not rebound overnight, but gauge if your sales team is more motivated and your buyers more interested.

Ready to reinvent or refresh your brand?  Contact Electrum Marketing to conduct your brand audit, facilitate a brand strategy with your decision makers, and train and monitor your staff to delivery it effectively.

Based on an article in Advertising Age