why brands are going logo less? · this logo less step, therefore, is an attempt to make the...

November 2019

rands like Pepsi, Starbucks,McDonald’s or Nike are so popularthattheydon’tneedwordmarktobe

recognizedbyconsumers.Thesameappliesfor the logos of BMW, Apple, Adidas, andcountlessotherbrands.Whilemanybrandsdon’t enjoy this level of recognition, butsomearejusttoobigtoignore.Evenbrandsgo to extraordinary efforts to present asingle consistent identity among itsconsumers and try to be recognized bymillions of different people on any givenstreetor socialmediaplatform.This is theprimary reason that a ubiquitous logocarriessomuchvalue.Abrandissimplyanindividual’s perception of a product,organization or person, it is abstract innatureanditisthelogothatgivesitmeaningandidentity.Sowhytherearesomebrandswhicharegoinglogoless?

Recently, Mastercard, the brand bestknownfor itscreditcards,hasremoved itsname from its intersecting circles logo forthefirsttimesinceits1968creation.Theredand yellow Mastercard symbol will nowstandalonewithoutthewordmarkacrossalldigital and physical communications,including sponsorship properties and retaillocations. And the trend continues as lastweek,Doritosalsochallengeditsconsumersby removing thebrandname from its logoandreplacingitwith‘LogoGoesHere’insideitstriangle-shapedmarque.EvenStarbuckshaveusedthistacticwhileithasn’tofficiallyremoved itswordmark, but it notedon itswebsite that the brand prefers to use thelogo by itselfwithout itswordmark,whichallows it to be presented with “greaterprominence”.

Logosofbrandshavealwaysmadesenseinaphysicalspace,forinstance,McDonald’sneed to ‘look’ the same inNewDelhi as ithastobeinNewYorkorShanghai.Itneedsto be recognized by millions of differentpeople on any given street. But thisdependencyonlogosworkdifferentlywhenit comes to digital world, where we eachhaveourownpersonaldevices,inthatcasemassrecognizabilityseemslessimportant.Abrandjustneedstoberecognizabletooneindividual. Thenwhat kindof valuedoes auniversallogocarriesonsocialmedia?Sincea brand stands for different meanings for

different people, so it should surely bepresented differently. Marketersunderstand that traditional ads are nolonger working the way they once did. Atleastnot in thedigitalworldasconsumerson the whole are becoming harder toimpress since they have so many optionsavailableontheirfingertips.Whileitusedtohappeninlimitedspacesearlieraswelllikein the newspaper or during commercialbreaks but now, these ads all swim in thevastoceanoftheinternet.Adsdostillruninthose conventional spaces too, but brandsare working to grab consumers’ attentionwhetherofflineoronlineandtryingtostayrelevantandcontemporary.

Brandshaveadoptedcountlesswayssofartostayinternet-relevant:frominfluencermarketing, guerilla marketing, or pop-upevents,andmuchmore.So,this isanothertactic by brands. Also, this tactic of onlinemarketing is specifically targeting theMillennials and Gen Z as together theyaccountforaboutathirdoftheworld’stotalpopulation.Whatbrandwouldn’twanttheirattention?Andwhat’sbestwaytoreachouttothem?Tospeakthelanguage,theyspeak.To a younger consumer, a single word orimagecancarrycomplexmeaning,thankstothe rapidly-movingonlineworldofmemesandabbreviatedcommunication.

This logo less step, therefore, is anattempttomaketheconventionaladsmoreinterestingtotoday’sjadedconsumersandtomakethebrandlookmorerelatable.So,when a brand removes its name from itslogo,ittakesaplaceinthemodernonline

world of symbols, slang, and shorthand.Thus, Doritos’ advertising tactic is a wellthoughtout stepandhas thepotential forsuccess as it is buzzworthy. Brands likeDoritos are not only trying to flex theirpower,butalsotryingtoshowthattheyfitinthismodernworldofquickmessagesandhiddenmeanings.Andmaybenoteveryoneismeant to “get it”— but consumerswhorecognize the brand might feel a little bitspecial for solving the (very simple) puzzleandmightprobablyengagewiththem.

Will this tactic increasedsalesorbrandrepute?Only timewill tell. But it certainlyhasthepowertoincreasebrandawareness.It is helping brands in retaining andreinforcingrelationshipswithexistingbrandfansbutalsoinwinningtheattentionofnewconsumers, since somanypeople arenowtalkingaboutDoritosandMastercardthankstothesenew“dopeads.”

BWhy Brands are going Logo less?

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