The announcement of Yahoo’s new logo yesterday brought up the never-ending discussion about how often a company should refresh their logo and in turn, their branding.
When a start-up comes to us for logo advice, we always tell them that the logo is the most important part of the branding. It’s the foundation in which we build everything else. So why ever change it, when you fall in love with your logo and you’ve built your empire on it? Well, there are many reasons.
If you use Yahoo as an example, it seems they’ve decided to rebrand because they wanted to give their public image a boost, using the new logo to foster feelings of forward momentum and excitement. Sometimes needing good PR is a great reason to update that logo.
Brand evolution is another positive push to refresh your logo, or in Pizza Hut’s case remind people of why they love you. Pizza Hut’s Red Roof logo, that was in use from 1967 to 1999 is getting re-energized.
For businesses who haven’t gotten to the point of having nostalgic followers, other changes to your brand identity may warrant a logo change, like adding a business partner, catering to a newer clientele or changing target locations.
Another ideal argument for a new logo is the creation of new and secondary companies within your original brand. Coca Cola does this often by creating branding, mostly packaging, to fit their particular marketing campaign. Most recently, they’ve launched NFL and College Football packaging. While we tend to advise against changing your current logo for each piece of marketing (don’t change your logo to match each little league team you sponsor), creating a whole new brand like Coke does is inspiring.
Company culture or a new voice can be cause for a new logo as well. Mailchimp rebranded in 2018 with a new logo, giving their mascot, Freddie the Monkey, a closeup. The same year, Dunkin’s (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts) new look was due to the company’s desire to simplify and modernize their whole image.
The bottom line is, there are times that it’s right to give your old logo a reboot, but it has to be right for YOU. Some experts say every 5 years, some say when you refresh your website which should be about every 3-4 years and some say don’t fix it if it isn’t broken. Our opinion is that your logo should ring true with the times, and if it doesn’t, it’s time for a refresh.