By: Jessie Bunning
Art Director
What is proven again with this fervent, mass uproar over the new Gap branding, like the Pepsi re-brand of last year, is that a good brand is more than just a logo, advertising and the products manufactured or sold. A successful brand is an entity of its own; one that people--whether or not they are actual customers--will feel a vested, personal connection with. And whom will feel free to opine (and take matters in their own hands with re-designs) when the brand does not match the identity they know in their minds.
As increasingly computer-savvy, and cost-conscious people have access to Adobe Creative Suite, it's become easier to overlook the essential importance of branding and identity design. Creating a brand is not just creating a logo. A good brand takes months, maybe even years to research and develop; a good logo takes months, at least, as well. If successful, this results in creating a living brand that somewhere, exists in the minds of consumers everywhere.
The new Gap logo removed all traces of the personality of the prior brand, and as a result, created a shock, akin to seeing a co-worker after the weekend with an entirely new face--plastic surgery so drastic that you don't even recognize them anymore. This may have been a measured publicity stunt, and if so, an incredibly successful one capitalizing on a social media-obsessed, constantly-connected population to generate more "free" publicity than any advertising dollars could have done (perhaps with the exception of the viral Old Spice Guy campaign). Whether calculated or not, it shows a lack of integrity in and respect for their brand by the Gap. While it may have paid off in the short term by making it the subject of countless status updates, tweets, logo parody sites and online news articles, how much brand loyalty can continue when those who are in charge of the brand hardly respect it? 
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment