I think Scott McCallion did a great job of exposing the fact that where GAP really went wrong in their logo redesign was spending money on a brand mark rather than crafting a better way to become relevant in people’s lives. I highly recommend reading the post. But I think he went wrong with this point:
“Simply put, no one really cares about the logo anymore. Today, people are more interested in what a brand can do for them. Great brands are discovering that logos or advertisements are losing relevance, and instead put their efforts into creating social brand platforms that invite participation and create value in authentic and relevant ways. The real reason the Gap logo failed was that it wasn’t backed by any of this.”
I think people do care. Further, I think people rely on logos now than ever before. Because unlike the days of “traditional” media, people actually use the logo now.
So it’s quiz time. Find the brand communication in the Facebook stream below:
I’m going to guess it took you about three seconds to see that Gap logo. It probably would’ve happened even faster, but the user-generated IHOP reference near the top of the stream probably slowed you down. Now… who was the other brand communication in that stream from?*
The visual representation of your brand is more important now than it has ever been. Social mediums can be powerful, personal communication devices for brands. But those same mediums are typified by scanner culture. So even in our social media world, where personal connection and providing value are thought to be paramount, a quickly identifiable mark is still a powerful way to push people’s gut feelings about a company — the root of “brand” — to the top of their minds. So whether you’re talking about a logotype, symbol, emblem or monogram (like the GAP mark above**), using it consistently and often in social mediums, like Twitter and Facebook, can make the difference in being recognized among the noise in the space.
Think about it in terms of your own use. How many people do you follow? And of those populating your stream, how many of those do you make sure to look for? And what’s your first step in finding those voices consistently? I’m guessing you do the same thing I do: scan the avatars until you see the visual representation of someone you want to hear from. You do the opposite, too, whether you want to admit it or not. You use avatars to quickly skip the people that you’re less interested in hearing from. Voices may jump from one list to the other and back again over time, but you’re still using visuals as the sorting device.
Let’s take it one step further. Whether your looking forward to hearing from a person or visually filtering them from your stream, you still register the avatar visual. For brands, that might be as important as someone actually reading your post.
Now, I’m not saying that your logo is the reason people want to hear from you. Again, in that regard Mr. McCallion is on target that what people desire from brands in the social media space is value… a reason for being. But how will consumers know the value is there awaiting them unless they can recognize on the fly that you’ve thrown your value into the stream?
* If you didn’t find the second brand communication yet, it’s the last post in the stream, and it’s from Adidas Football.
** The new, old GAP logo is perfect for this exercise as it’s a “lightning rod” icon. For more on that, check out Brian McDonald’s post on doing redesigns right, and my comment below it.
Great post John,
I think that logos and marks are even more important now than ever.
I agree with your point about all of these social networks using avatars. Every individual is represented as a logo too. Using the same principles of logo design in crafting your avatar and gravatar can create a unique and memorable brand identity that carries brand value with the words its accompanies.
P.S. Cool to see me in your stream….
No social media stream is complete without THE Frozen Food Master. Great point about the personal avatar — it’s the most often seen representation of brand “You.”
Thanks for the comment.
Totally agree! Think about how much it throws you when someone changes their Twitter Avatar. Some I totally skip unless it is some I recognize. I have been going back and forth over changing my Twitter handle, since ‘Holyfield’ is no longer my last name. Will I lose the vale of my personal brand? Has anyone seen this done successfully?
Thanks for the comment. You’re absolutely right about the avatar change. Sometimes I’ll be scanning, see a picture, and think, “Why did Twitter add this person to my stream?” Sometimes that leads to just regularly by-passing a new avatar. But other times, it causes me to re-explore the person behind the avatar… which might lead to me find I should pay more attention to them.
As for changing names… I did that at one point. I started life on Twitter as jvlane257. I ended up changing it so I could keep my name consistent in both online social worlds and the real world. I imagine the change caused others to do what I just described above: either boot me from the stream, or re-discover who I was. But I don’t remember the name change disrupting any good online relationships.
I read the FCD post and appreciated some of his poinst but the old-fashioned notion that a logo IS the brand is long, long gone. If logos didn’t matter, we’d all be “COMPANY X” in black Helvetica on a white background. Why would you gloss over what is usually the strongest identifying visual that you have in any crowd of other identities? JL’s term “scanner culture” (or short-attention span or whatever) is exactly the point. An experience may be short or long, single-time or repeat, but a logo is instantaneously your face to the public and I’d question the smarts of a company that thinks they can just mail in the logo part of their identity.
John, thanks for the shout out and link as well as your comment. I think it’s very short-sighted to say nobody cares about your logo. Our brains recognize designs and associate the image with our memories faster than we can blink. Yes changing your design does require your brain to create a new association and purge the previous one. Sometimes it can take years. For instance I still say the Houston Oilers when referring to the Tennessee Titans because I had such a strong and long-term association with the brand before they moved the team. To make it even more confusing when they wear throwback uniforms they are wearing the old Houston Oilers ones! There is a difference between a brand and a logo. A logo is a representation of the brand. The brand is what is felt by your customer, the value they attach to it from the quality and/or service offfered.
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Kate and Brian — thanks for the comments!
It goes back to the saying, “Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what *they* say it is.” Well… you still want them thinking about it and what it is on a regular basis. So making sure the brand mark is readily identifiable — rising above the noise in a crowded marketplace or stream — queues up those emotions.
- I’ve kept the same avatar for over 2 years (if not longer) because many people have told me that it stands out in their Twitter stream. I also use the same avatar for all of my online profiles as well as in the logo on my website (dan-london.com). With the average time on page dropping and people following more and more people on social networks it is important to have a consistent profile image.
- People went nuts over the Tropicana rebrand as well. http://www.logodesignlove.com/peter-arnell-defends-tropicana-rebrand I found the new containers very effective as I noticed them on the shelves even when I wasn’t looking to buy OJ. Isn’t that a better result than just brand recognition?
- Logos do matter. A well designed logo gives a company credibility (deserved or not). Even if a company does use a Helvetica text logo, it is still a logo.
Your avatar does stand out. Well done!
Black Helvetica on white background… I can think of a couple of those types of marks that are still iconic and evoke an emotional response. American Apparel is one. So the point is well taken; and it adds fuel to the “it matters more than ever” fire.
The Tropicana re-brand — like GAP and Pepsi — are all great examples of how attached people get to the visuals of a brand, even if they aren’t *really* the brand. And we shouldn’t go so far as to say you can’t change. Because while GAP failed to weather the storm (or didn’t have the desire to), Pepsi did. And I’d venture that their brand — and the emotional response the mark evokes — is better for it today.
Thanks for your comment!
John, great article. What about businesses that has branded themselves with “print based” logos, ones that don’t normally fit into the 48×48 world of twitter but are big, bold and full of type. Is it best to take part of their designed logo, or to re-brand if they believe their focus will now rely mainly on social media? I know it will vary based on company, but should someone rethink their look if they are going to rethink their marketing?
Keep up the great work, both here and at CL.
Best,
Matt
Thanks, Matt. Interesting that you should touch on the best way to design a brand mark for the social media world. I hope you’ll come back for tomorrow’s post as I think it will start to answer those questions.
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As we’re on Social Media Makes Logos More Important | brand aperture, The company logo becomes an integral, indelible aspect of a company’s identity within its markets. A company’s logo creates the first impression people will have of the business. It’s the most important graphic image a company owns, one that summarizes and represents the business – to employees, partners and most importantly of all, to customers.