If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.
Friday, January 9, 2009 at 6:59PM A Twitter session today with @RobUsdin prompted me to write this blog in response to Pepsi and Tropicana and their decisions to refresh (?) their branding. As Rob stated, "What is it with companies trying to rebrand when they have perfectly good logos? First Pepsi, now Tropicana?"
As you may have noticed from the foreign-language marketing, Pepsi has updated its logo for the first time since 1987. The logo was a design by the Arnell Group. An otherwise solid shop, Arnell's new logo seems a bit to gimmicky to me. As Identityworks's Tony Spaeth put it, "It worries me that it is less durable, less permanent and classic. It comes across as more of a campaign idea than an enduring brand expression."
By comparison, BMW's logo has been around since the Depression (the first one). You know why? It works! When you invest so heavily in a brand, you build up equity over time in that brand, and everything that goes along with it -- including the logo. Simply stated, great corporate logos like BMW, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and others are truly priceless. They are as valuable as the company itself, in my opinion. Why Pepsi would flush all of that brand equity of a logo that worked well for them, I don't understand. In fact, they should have stuck with the one released in 1971.
Shortly thereafter (but I'm sure concurrently -- they are owned by PepsiCo), Tropicana decided to change the timeless and easily recognizable branding of their orange juice cartons. Admit it, when you're walking down the juice/milk aisle of the supermarket, your eye is drawn towards the Tropicana cartons with the straw through the orange, right? Now their carton looks like they're trying to be some sort of health drink. Yes, we all know that orange juice is healthy -- no need for this. I must admit that I do like the look of the new branding. It's a great carton design and layout. However, I would never have traded it for a timeless classic with all of that brand equity built up.
In a time when the whole world is looking to retain their equity, marketers, please act like the smart investors of the world and hold onto the assets that retain their value.
bmw, branding, coca-cola, logo, mattsnod, mcdonald's, pepsi, tropicana in Digital Marketing 
Reader Comments (8)
I, too, find this to be incredibly annoying and nonsensical. The new pepsi logo reminds me of the Obama logo (a little.)
I almost never see a new logo for an established brand and think "ooh, that must mean they've improved this product in some way, let me buy some--lots---right now!"
Anyway, Pepsi's new logo won't change the fact that their swillish soft drink will never taste as good as Coca Cola.
Funny that you say that. When I did a Google picture search for the new Pepsi logo, the Obama logo came up. Interesting!
I don't think it will help or hurt the brand necessarily in the long term. In the short term, it gets people talking and thinking about the Pepsi brand in a way they may not normally do. When you ask, "Why did they change it" you're saying "I like MY Pepsi. What's this new thing?" When do we take pause these days to consider our relationship to a brand? Whether the new logo works or not, it gets people thinking and talking. They can always bring the old one back by popular demand, which makes people feel even better about the brand. In the meantime, Pepsi drinkers will still find their beverage of choice on the shelf.
I see what you're saying, but by that argument, http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3186059227_065cb3ed15.jpg?v=0" rel="nofollow">this logo would be good for Pepsi just to shake things up.
It's clearly not. I don't think you're accounting for the millions of sheep-like shoppers, or as I call them -- "Sheepers" -- who wander the aisles of stores and are drawn to the familiar. That familiar only becomes so after years of corporate branding, advertising, marketing, and PR. I guarantee that there will be at least some percentage of people who pass by the new Tropicana cartons simply because they don't recognize them or are now not comfortable with them.
There are only a few reasons why a company should change their logo:
- merger or takeover (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
- as times change, the logo is out-of-date or offensive (Aunt Jemima)
- the company is changing what they do or who they are (IBM)
Well no, because that logo bears no resemblance to the previous Pepsi logo at all. The new one is a variation on the original, and still recognizable as a kind of Pepsi logo. Without the word in the logo, you'd still know it was Pepsi. It's still familiar. It's just a little different.
Tropicana's change is more drastic, but they are mitigating confusion by printing a picture of the old container on the new container. After a few months, there will be no confusion. They stand to gain, because as you said, the new packaging conveys to today's consumer that Tropicana is a healthy drink. It doesn't matter that most people know orange juice is healthy. They're not selling orange juice. They're selling Tropicana orange juice.
People change over time, and their relationships to brands change as well. The previous Pepsi logo was getting dated. The font looked like one you'd find on an ice beer label from 1992. The purpose of a logo is not just to have a stamp so that wandering sheep can find a product on a shelf. The logo is part of the brand, which helps the consumer define a personal identity through the product.
It's more appropriate to say that it could be the right time to change a logo when the average consumer and the brand are out of sync.
Part of what differentiates Pepsi from Coca-Cola is that Pepsi constantly reinvents itself as the brand of the young generation. Coke brands itself as "good ol' Coca-Cola". Same logo since the 1800s. Market share proves that Coke's approach works, but it can't work for two companies in the same market. You can't sell "good ol' Pepsi" to people.
Pepsi's new logo is just another step in the constant movement to re-brand the product.
Funny, but what the Pepsi people actually did was not make their logo look like their previous one but make it look like Obama's logo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8767776@N02/3190245804/" rel="nofollow">Check it!
And one thing I forgot to mention about Pepsi.com, is everyone sick of brand Web sites that seem like you're walking into a hip-hop club? Not everyone that
They made their old logo look like the Obama logo. Pretty good thinking on their part. Who in recent history has represented what Pepsi wants to be on their best day more than Obama?
I find that I'm beginning to thinking things like, "When I was younger, the web was __________ ." It's like music, but more sad, because the web is now old. How messed up is that?
Interestingly, a quick google of "pepsi logo obama" shows a bunch of people blogging about how they felt the Obama campaign ripped off Pepsi's original logo.
Surely, the two brands are trying to tap into the same energy.