Think About It

We’ve said it before, and we mean it: Consistency is the holy grail of brand communication.

But let’s not confuse consistency with stagnation.

If a company hangs around a while, there will come a time when it will need to update its visual identity – the brand mark (commonly called the logo), typefaces, colors, etc., that are used in representing the brand.

So how do you know when it’s time for a change?

Certainly, when a company’s brand evolves, the look of its brand should change with it.  So, mergers and acquisitions, expansions, or other changes that affect what’s being offered – or to whom – all are legitimate reasons to consider updating the visual identity. In these cases, the look may need to change to reflect the new character or scope of the organization.

Even when the core company hasn’t undergone significant changes, sometimes a visual identity that looks out of sync with the market needs to be refreshed. Brand managers shouldn’t chase visual fads, but they should be mindful of long-term trends. For example, Miller Lite, Burger King and the Atlanta Falcons changed their brand marks in recent years to stay in step with a young market demographic.

Most often, a change in visual identity is both a design update and a reflection of a new corporate direction. Take Holiday Inn. The company has lost considerable market share to competitors like Hilton. So company executives are correcting their course by directing their hotels to update guest rooms and improve customer service. At the same time, the company announced a change in its brand mark, getting rid of the script “Holiday Inn” in favor of a more contemporary mark: a simple, white “H.” The update gets rid of the old, dated mark, but more importantly, it serves as a signal to consumers that the company has changed.

Another good example – always setting a good example – is Apple. Apple’s genius has been in updating its look by changing colors and typefaces, never abandoning the apple-with-a-bite-taken-out-of-it icon that holds vast brand equity. When the company was born in the 1970s, its brand mark was an apple with rainbow-colored stripes. In the 1990s, the apple icon – like the iMac itself – was dressed in vibrant colors to match the company’s creative, personal image. Today, Apple is more a personal technology company than a computer company, and a high-tech grey apple logo reflects this new direction. The updated colors show the company as fresh and hip, while the consistency of the apple icon tells customers that Apple is the same company they’ve come to know and love.

It’s wise for any company that is updating its brand appearance to ask whether there is an “apple” in its visual identity – something that people connect with so deeply that it should be preserved. Abandoning your entire visual package can alienate loyal customers. In general, it’s smart to hang onto a core shape, basic color palette or main typeface and use subtle changes to give the brand new life.

What companies do you think have done a good job in updating their brand appearances? Who’s missed the mark? Let us know what you think. Post your reply to any article on our blog by December 31, and we’ll enter you in a drawing for one of two pairs of tickets to an Atlanta Thrashers game!