Ehrenberg-Bass Institute: Lessons In Launching Your New Logo

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute: Lessons In Launching Your New Logo

In this guest post, marketing scientists from Adelaide’s famed Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, James Martin and Adam Gelzinis, review Formula One’s new logo and look at the lessons for brands considering a similar re-brand…

At the final race of the 2017 season, Formula 1 revealed their new logo, which will represent the brand from the start of the 2018 season.

F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches stated that a key motivation for this change was to simplify the design for today’s digital era – a move also recently made by Coca-Cola and Starbucks. The new mark is designed to be more flexible and versatile on mobile and digital platforms, compared with the old logo, and is a key step in a wider initiative by F1 to reposition the racing organisation as a media and entertainment brand.

Visually, the new logo is bolder and simpler than its predecessor, with the iconic ‘flying 1’ replaced by three bold lines denoting F1. The new design also does away with the use of negative space to form the “1” between the “F” and the red swoosh.

Screen Shot 2017-12-14 at 5.32.42 pm

Love or hate the new logo, Formula 1’s justification for refreshing the brand is reasonable. But, in their haste to modernise the brand, has Formula 1 neglected the formula for effective re-branding? What are the implications of this change?

Branding elements like logos, slogans, colours and characters are assets that brands build over time to become more noticeable and memorable. Consumers (or racing fans) then use these assets as a shortcut to identify a brand. To have a logo embedded in people’s heads and be instantly recognisable is extraordinarily valuable, and it can take years for a brand to build. A dramatic change to a long-standing logo, such this example by Formula 1, can write off this long-term investment in an instant. As with changing any of a brand’s distinctive assets, marketers must consider the risk of diluting people’s associations with the brand.

For a logo to be useful, it must be unique (to avoid confusion with other brands), famous (known by a large number of people), and evocative (linking the logo to the Formula 1 name). By replacing their logo with something so different, F1 is going back to the starting grid and must begin building brand linkage all over again. It also risks being confused with other brands, for example ESPN’s similar bold red design.

 

Screen Shot 2017-12-14 at 5.34.42 pm

 

When modernising a logo, it does not need to be radically different to its predecessor. A new logo can still be reasonably linked to the original one, which will stretch the developed brand linkage, but not break it. A recent example is Subway, who updated their logo from the early 2000’s last year. The new logo uses a slightly different yellow and green colour palette, but overall has a similar design. Notably, the brand keeps the distinct arrows on the S and Y. Another example is Google, who updated the typeface used in their logo but left the colours nearly identical.

Screen Shot 2017-12-14 at 5.35.07 pm

Being modern at the expense of a brand’s history can be like taking one step forward but five steps back. Granted, the new F1 logo is simpler and may be easier to distribute digitally, but at what cost?

James Martin & Adam Gelzinis are Marketing Scientists at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. For more on Distinctive Assets and how to build them, look out for the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s new book ‘Building Distinctive Brand Assets’ by Professor Jenni Romaniuk which will be available in March 2018.

 

 




Please login with linkedin to comment

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute F1

Latest News

Revium Snags Peter Bauld From Deloitte Digital
  • Advertising

Revium Snags Peter Bauld From Deloitte Digital

Revium, a leading full-service digital and AI consultancy, has announced the appointment of Peter Bauld (lead image) as Executive General Manager. Revium is a full-service digital and AI consultancy with over 20 years of experience creating engaging digital experiences for leading organisations and their customers. Bauld joins Revium after an illustrious career spanning over two […]

Veridooh Snatches Prashand Menon From ScentreGroup
  • Advertising

Veridooh Snatches Prashand Menon From ScentreGroup

Out-of-home OOH) and digital media leader Prashand Menon (lead image) has joined OOH ad tech company Veridooh as group business director within NSW and QLD. Menon joins Veridooh from his most recent role as ScentreGroup’s group business director and brings with him more than 10 years of experience in Australian media. Previously, he held positions […]

Kat & Co Transforms Into THE WORLD OF Experiential Agency
  • Advertising

Kat & Co Transforms Into THE WORLD OF Experiential Agency

After more than twelve years of producing experiences for some of the world’s most innovative brands, including Hermes, Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co, Kat & Co has quietly metamorphosed into THE WORLD OF. THE WORLD OF is an experiential agency at the juncture of culture, technology and the human condition. […]

SMG Studio Launches Risk: Global Domination X Dune Part Two
  • Campaigns

SMG Studio Launches Risk: Global Domination X Dune Part Two

Through a licensing agreement with Legendary Entertainment, SMG Studio inked the rights to adapt Dune: Part Two into a game based on Risk: Global Domination, Hasbro’s interactive board game. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic masterpiece, Dune: Part Two, this new digital adaptation, RISK: Global Domination X Dune: Part Two, is poised to captivate players from […]

QMS: Taylor Swift, Lunar New Year & Mardi Gras Were Boon For OOH Market
  • Marketing

QMS: Taylor Swift, Lunar New Year & Mardi Gras Were Boon For OOH Market

Taylor Swift, Lunar New Year and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival have had a dramatic impact on the number of people moving in and around Sydney over the past month, drawing big crowds into the heart of the city and its surrounding suburbs. New data from digital outdoor company QMS reveals a […]