If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Gap realized this last week as it unveiled its new logo. However, the “contemporary and modern” look has fans, designers, and netizens ranting about the sudden change in logo. Flash mobs form in a snap as the Gap logo became one of the top trends in various social sites. Why?
People hate the new logo.
The wave of criticism reigned across the Internet, which is why Gap has turned to its fans for consultation regarding its plans to whether retain the iconic blue box logo or move forward with a new logo. The notion of a new logo has Gap harnessing the power of social networks through crowdsourcing its logo. According to Bill Chandler, vice president of corporate communications of Gap, tells Co.Design. Specifics about the crowdsourcing contest will be released in a few days. “We’re going to establish a process,” says Chandler. “We’ve seen a lot of energy on social media sites.” That’s the truth: The website ISO50 has almost 200 entries in its Gap logo redesign contest.
So why do a plethora of fans bother with a simple logo redux? It only shows that people care about a brand. In this case, Gap has touched millions of lives with its clothing line – an unseen asset for companies. A change in logo will always mean a change in the brand as a whole, which is why people hate Gap’s attempt on rebranding. The Company’s Facebook fan page has thousands of fans. It’s absurd why they didn’t come up with a social media outreach about changing the logo. Collaboration with customers is a very rewarding form of interactive marketing. People will always identify with their favorite products. If they become part of making a new product, they will not just buy it, they’ll promote it themselves.
Cliché as it may seem, people become your walking ads when you turn them into fans. Brands mean a lot to people because aside from using their products, they identify with a brand that’s why people buy the products. Social media has made brand development for prolific. Company-Customer collaboration will not only bolster revenues, it will enhance a fruitful relationship with a community of customers – paving the way for excellent products and brands.
Companies, prepare yourselves for the age of social business.
Editor’s Note: This is a guest article from one of our readers – Mac Ocampo. Read more about him below.
About the author:
Mac Ocampo has 5 years of copywriting, social media CRM, and digital marketing experience. His clients range from KPO firms to e-Commerce start-ups abroad. He started as a freelance copywriter for a handful of clients during college. Today, he handles accounts for a Boston-based social media agency called Pandemic Labs. His latest account, an e-Commerce firm called Shopster, is a cross between Facebook and eBay which allows budding entrepreneurs to build and customize their online stores.
When Gap released the picture of their “new” logo, their problem was simple to identify — whoever made the logo was out of touch with the brand.
Brands have changed logos in the past without much fanfare. If you look locally, both Goldilocks and Red Ribbon changed their logos just a few years ago. And quite honestly, it looked like a successful transition.
Mainly because both their new logos retained a quality which people who loved the brand can easily recall the old logos — the scripted “G” in Goldilocks, and a “red ribbon” in Red Ribbon.
It’s a shame that Gap’s mistake became open for the world to criticize, but (as the saying goes) bad publicity is still good publicity.
Look how much mileage they’re getting now just by launching the Redesign Gap Logo contest!
I agree. When some brands are able to create attachment to users, it becomes personal. The brand is no longer an entity and ensignia alone. The customer accepts it as part of his own persona. No wonder, GAP brand users are ranting. They are not used to the new logo. It is something new to them. And at most, when companies forgot to reiterate the changes and the additional value it ads to the product, the users/customers will definitely react.
Good article. I like this one. Thanks Mac. You too Carlo. Keep it up.
When a company has an established brand under it’s belt, logo redesign usually doesn’t happen on a whim. Many factors play towards it, mostly it’s re-aligning their values. Take Unilever as a pleasant example.
For many years, Unilever’s company logo is the iconic blue “U”. Solid, unassuming letter U that simply stands for Unilever.
However, by the start of the new millenium, Unilever shifted it’s logo to the now mutli-icon U. Upon research I realized why, and it made a whole ot of sense too. The reason was their re-aligned value in adding vitality to life hence each and every icon within the Unilever company logo pertains to the product and services that they bring.
The same with Globe Telecom’s globe sphere. Each icon represents a certain value the company hold and the logo simply reflects that.
So when a company decides to simply throw the old logo away and decided to update the brand just for the heck of it, it kinda irks me. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke! :p