I know that Logos are real important to a lot of people...especially in the Destination Marketing industry. We spend thousands on logos that are not nearly as important as we attempt to convince ourselves they are.
Don't get me wrong...every corporate entity needs a logo for its website, communications, etc. It's just not generally going to the reason that a consumer buys your product.
Especially when it needs to be interpreted for said consumer. Like the "new" Kraft logo.
Well, it's new to me. Unveiled in 2009, I just saw the new logo this week on a box of Ritz Crackers. When it was unveiled, Kraft said the logo "signals to employees, consumers and investors what the new Kraft Foods is all about."
OK...I'll admit, I struggled with the allegorical "Lord of the Flies," but, I haven't a clue what the "new" logo symbolizes. So, I dug deeper. Besides looking suspiciously like the Yoplait logo, there are all kinds of hidden clues in the logo...kind of like "Revolution 9."
The swoosh is really a smile. The seven bursts represent the seven divisions of Kraft Foods. The triangular one stands for DiGiorno Pizza.
And, if you look at it backwards during a full moon, it will cause you to drop ten pounds and regrow hair.
Of course, I made that last one up...but really? I'm supposed to see pizza in that logo?
I know I'm so late to the party on this (though they did claim in 2009 that the new logo wouldn't be appearing on product...so maybe they just recently changed their mind). But it calls into question two things (beyond that I must not buy a lot of Kraft products).
Logos that require a consumer to read up on what they mean to understand them fail at the gate. And unless the consumer is looking for a logo to define a product quickly, most logos are meaningless.
Which means that we marketers can get on to more important stuff. And, we should.
A great example of a committee thinking too hard.
As you know, branding is not a new logo, it's a promise to your audience- one your competition can't own. A logo can't create mental real-estate ownership unless it stands for something.
I just hurt my ankle jumping off my soap box. Ouch!
Posted by: George Greven | April 05, 2012 at 13:30
Good post, Bill and relevant to the discussion we just had regarding your logo. I know it's kind of edgy but I hadn't really focused on it and you said you've been using it for 2 years! Anyway good to see you recently at the Illinois Tourism Conference.
Posted by: Maureen Riedy | April 05, 2012 at 15:16
Great to see you too...and, actually, we've been using the spike for 7 years. And, yet...many of our clients still don't recognize it when we go to apply our temporary tattoos at conferences (http://on.fb.me/HsdCrm). Just goes to show...
Posted by: Bill Geist | April 05, 2012 at 15:45