“You can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow”, this pandemic has certainly depicted how important it is to be relevant in today’s time. The Brand Revamping examples highlighted in this blog clearly depicts this relevance, where brands recreated their brand elements to show solidarity and convey support during the harsh times.
Some of us have either got habituated to this ‘new normal’, while some may still be striving to adapt to the ‘new normal’. It’s not a simple task to easily accommodate to the changing surroundings and start functioning as per the changing environment.
However, while we are still learning, unlearning and relearning a few things to adapt to this, a few companies and brands didn’t invest much time trying to cope with the situation. Instead, they have either diversified into a new segment, repurposed their operations, or revamped their identity to stay relevant to their consumers. And this is what is exactly required for a company or brand to sustain during uncertain times, “Be in the Present, Be Relevant and Add Value”.
There are a few brands that recreated their logo and even suspended their tagline to stay relevant during the Covid-19 times. These brands aimed to promote social messages through their brand elements, as “to lack creativity and relevance is to be in the ring blindfolded”. While a few brands changed their logo completely, a few took to posting on social media to announce their brand revamping act for the current scenario.
A logo is the most vital element of a brand and making changes to its brand elements like the logo is a great initiative taken on the part of the brands. The intention behind the brand revamping here was to demonstrate support and spread social messages.
Brand Revamping Examples-
Subway
Subway India changed its logo to reinforce the safety measures in the consumer’s mind and stated this as the new normal. The brand incorporated a face mask to their logo along with the message ‘Stay Safe’. The brand aimed to highlight the safety standards and hygiene practices implemented in their restaurants.
Since the logo is the most vital element of the brand, the brand tweaked its logo to convey that it is a responsible brand, and they are taking all the precautions for the safety of their customers.
Urban Company
Urban Company also recreated its logo by integrating a mask to spread social messages. While some found the logo cute, some also took the social message from it. The aim was to remind everyone to be safe by wearing a mask and also maintain social distance. The brand also wanted to spread positivity among its customers during these tough times.
MCDonald’s
McDonald’s recreated its logo to emphasize the need for social distancing. The iconic McDonald’s logo was split into two arches to denote social distancing.
McDonald’s aim was to convey the safety measures to be undertaken during the pandemic, with the message “separated for a moment to always be together”. The company stated that it stands united with its customers despite the temporary separation brought by the closure of its restaurants.
The brand also created a GIF to promote its safe and contactless McDelivery option and ensure the customer that food reaches them with safety.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen also altered its logo to promote social distancing. The brand moved the letter V away from the letter W in its logo to encourage customers to maintain social distancing. The brand also released a video with relevant messaging stating that we always overcome the crisis by staying shoulder to shoulder and close to each other but, this time we must overcome this crisis by staying away from each other.
The video ends with a simple yet powerful sentence ‘Thanks for keeping your social distance’. While the statement expresses gratitude to the customer for being responsible, it also evokes a feeling of responsibility.
Other German car manufacturers like Mercedes and Audi also changed their logo to promote social distancing.
Mercedes moved the branches of the star away from the circumference of the circle indicating isolated branches and staying contained within the circle.
Audi separated all four rings from each other that represented the four brands that joined together to create Audi. The four rings were separated to encourage people to maintain social distance with the message “Stay home, stay away, stay healthy, stay together, we’re all in this together.
Coca- Cola
Coca-Cola made changes to its billboard advertisement on Times Square. The ad featured their iconic logo of Coca-Cola by creating space between the letters. The copy read “staying apart is the best way to stay united”.
Coca-cola is known to create campaigns that connect with people and this ad was one such example of it.
JKBS
JKBS altered their teaching and learning pedagogy to hybrid learning as per the COVID-19 protocols and thus launched a new logo.
The new brand identity took the typography approach to showcase the leadership quality of JKBS, by ensuring that each letter is portrayed independently and confidently. ‘K’ is designed to represent quality education by depicting a book with forward looking appearance and ‘BS’ have been merged into the lineage of ‘JK’. The logo is now the blend of colours – ‘Blue’ reflects confidence, inspiration and wisdom and ‘White’ to highlight purity, safety and cleanliness.
KFC
KFC had to drop its 64-year old slogan “It’s finger lickin’ good” since it does not fit well during the Covid-19 times. KFC communicated through this act that they are socially responsible and do not support promoting wrong messages.
KFC understood the importance of staying relevant and conveying the right message through their action. The brand’s act of eliminating the tagline in itself spoke a lot to the audience.
Summing Up
In one of the webinars, someone very rightly said, “It is not the time for brands to show their brilliant marketing strategies but to show their integrity”. This statement stands true, especially, in these uncertain and turbulent times. This year has been the most tragic event one might have ever witnessed in their whole life. This was probably the worst time for brands as well.
The lockdown has affected the economic activity and marketing strategies of the brand. These were not the times for brands to be active in their promotion but to truly portray their integrity and brand values. Customers always connect with brands who make an effort to extend support during troubling times, empathize with the audience and demonstrate their social responsibility well. And a few brands have rightfully taken an appropriate brand revamping approach and the above-mentioned logo revamp examples do state that. If you are someone who is looking to revamp your business in order to meet today’s needs, then look no further. Moshi Moshi is a branding company in India, ready to help you take your business to the next level.