Rebranding is a great way to give your company a new and fresh look. Many companies don’t realize that their dated logo can be harming their business. Unattractive and outdated logos can make consumers think that your business is old and outdated, and they will be more inclined to make purchases from companies that are new and exciting.
Some companies, like Nike, will probably never rebrand their logo because it’s simple and can stand the test of time. Other companies are not so lucky and will need to update the colors, font and overall style.
Microsoft recently underwent a logo modernization. They went from a plain black and italicized “Microsoft” and added some color and design elements to spice things up and give the brand a more modern feel.
The St. Louis Cardinals also updated their logo in 2011. Although it stuck close to the original, it still made changes that gave it a fresh feel.
Why do companies modernize their logo?
Most companies modernize their brand for one of two reasons: either their branding is very old and outdated and does not keep up with the times, or their old logo does not highlight all the qualities that the company now possesses. For example, a company whose logo contains a picture of a typewriter may want to change their logo to incorporate computers or mobile devices. Also, if a television advertising company updated their services to now include digital advertising, they may need to change their logo to incorporate this new service addition.
How do companies modernize their brand?
There are plenty of different ways that you can modernize your logo. The first way is to simply change out the color scheme of your logo. Sometimes revamping a logo with a fresh color palette is all that your company will need to give it a more modernized look. Apple rebranded their logo by removing the rainbow colors and using a soft silver.
The second option is to simply tighten up the image. This is basically what the St. Louis Cardinals did. They noticed that the font and the birds of their logo looked dated, and instead of changing the logo altogether, they added more detail to the birds, changed the color of the bat and changed the typography. Capital One also did this by simply changing the typography and adding a small design element.
Some companies do a complete rebranding of their logo. This means that they do a complete transformation from the original to the new, and there is not much, if any, similarities. Blackwater was a private military company who transformed its logo and its company name.
Are there disadvantages to rebranding?
The major disadvantage to rebranding only occurs if you take a recognizable logo and completely change it, like Blackwater did. If people are comfortable with your logo and it has brand recognition, you will lose this recognition with your customers, and many may not realize that it’s the same company.
For the most part, though, most logo modernizations tend to work out for the best and give companies a fresh new look that is more attractive to their customers.
About the Author: Prepared by Lizie E a marketer and writer for Cloverleaf. Visit Cloverleaf’s website to learn more about rebranding