THE ECONOMIC TIMES, 23 FEBRUARY 2011 Delshad Irani & Amit Bapna T WENTY-T EN was meant to be the start of something new for global clothing retailer Gap, which owns brands Ba- nana Republic and Old Navy among others. The company killed its twenty- year-old blue-box logo with the brand name in white type and revealed the new tiny blue-box logo with brand name in black type. Clearly a remarkable transforma- tion! For fans it was all a bit too much to handle. A few days later Gap had to resurrect the old logo after dis- tressed consumers unleashed their disgust for the new logo on Facebook and Twitter. And just like that, a logo re-invention made headlines across the world, not a first though. PepsiCo's Tropicana re-branding expedi- tion met with a similar fate. Interestingly, it was also around the time the Gap saga was unfolding that tele- com major Airtel was readying itself for its new identi- ty. It seemed a particularly inauspicious time to be re- inventing the wheel on brand personality. But the folks at Airtel were unperturbed. After all, Gap oper- ates in a different environment where consumer in- volvement is heightened by greater internet penetra- tion and savvy. Nonetheless, it prompted Airtel to car- ry out intensive t ests on the new logo. Weeks in to the new identity, in a gesture of inclusion they introduced the Name Game initiative, a call to the people to pro- vide the new logo with a moniker like Nike's Swoosh and Michelin's Bibendum. Airt el had to hit the refresh button to reflect the fact that the consumer is chang- ing. "For brands in categories where there is no physi- cal product, the logo takes on an even stronger role. Despite being on the growth trajectory, we had to re- brand to signal the fact the consumer is younger and inject freshness into the brand," says Mohit Beotra, head, brand & media, Airtel. The logo, however, has received a mixed response. Its colour (red, a favourite and not only in the telecommunica tions space) and a symbol some reckon too close to Videocon's rebrand- ed logo, the green V, prompts one design specialist to call it a lost opportunity. Brand and logo re-inventions don't come cheap. Naturally, re-branding has its perils but add a global on - line population the size of China's on stand by to fire- bomb and it's bound to send a quiv er down the spine of the most seasoned marketer. Despite the determina- tion to be unique and easily iden tifiable in an ocean of brands, many companies, old and new, have tweaked their logos through the years. The logo bei ng what it is, the face of the company is usually the first to go under the design surgeon's knife. Some use a scalpel, other s a butcher's cleaver. As you can imagine the end-resul t on the two op-tables are poles apart. In 2009, Godrej f illed its logo with colours to convey the vibrancy and the for- ward-thinking philosophy of the brand. Tanya Dubash, executive director and president (marketing), Godrej Industries says, "500 million people use Godrej brands daily in various forms, so for s ure we did not want to to- tally do away with the existing logo, which is more than 110 years old and is familiar to so many." The iconic Apple logo didn't always have bite. The first logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton under an apple tr ee. The reasons for a change are plenty a need to in- ject vitality and youthfulness in to the brand (the colour in the Godrej logo) and make it contemporary and more importantly connectable (Café Coffee Day's dialogue box logo); diversification and brand exten- sions (Starbucks removed the word coffee from its logo), expansions into new geographies (Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra), ventures in to new business- es (Videocon) and in some cases re-branding happens when companies' have been naught y. If you are thinking brand re- invention, pay more attention to the logo. For equity worth millions rides on just a change of hue, type, or line. BEdeconstructs the entire Logo-jam. Here’s a challenge for ourreaders test your Logo Quotient. No prizes for this one folksANSWERS TO THE BE LOGO QUOTIENT ON PG 2 Pg 4 BRAND BOSS DIFFERENT STROKES MEDIA ROOM THEN & NOW BETTER BY DESIGN ONPG 2 P G2 The Art & Science The Colour Code The Best & Worst Logo Transformations D E S I G N : S H U B H R A ALL LEADING WATC &JEWELL MBAI ,BANGALORE.CHENNAI,I ) AMRITSAB. UHOPAL .BHUBP 1 , COCHIN. COIIWIBATORE, GOA, WORE ,JAIPUR.JAMMU,KANPU PiSIK,rUNE RAIPIJR,SURAT.VIZ, RVICE CENTRE: LVMH WATCH & 7474141 AQUARACER SERIES TAGHeuer SWISS AVANT-GARDE SINCE 1860
