This presentation shows the effects of degree of brand logo changes on consumer responses, or more specifically on brand recognition. In addition, this presentation also addressed the effects of an important consumer trait -brand consciousness- on brand recognition.

1. Evolutionary versus Revolutionary Brand
Logo Change:
Higher Degrees of Brand Logo Change Hurt
Brand Recognition for Highly Brand
Conscious Consumers
Bo van Grinsven en Enny Das
b.van.grinsven@vu.nl

2. •
Introduction
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Examples of logo redesigns
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Studies on logo redesigns
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We developed an experimental paradigm to
provide rigid tests of the effects of objectified
degrees of logo changes on consumer responses

3. Evolutionary and revolutionary logo redesigns:
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Evolutionary redesigns: without losing or changing brand identity or
brand values.
Revolutionary redesigns: are typically associated with major strategic
shifts, like mergers, name-changes, or bankruptcy.

4. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
Hypotheses 1 & 2
New and unfamiliar elements will demand more attention and more capacity
to be processed and stored in the memory system.
H1: An increase in degree of change, decreases brand recognition
A single exposure may be sufficient to store logos that have undergone a
slight adjustment, but may not suffice to store substantial logo redesigns.
H2: Increases in exposure induce increases in brand recognition in particular
for substantial degrees of logo change.

5. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
Brand Consciousness
Brand Consciousness: a personality trait that indicates the degree to
which a consumer is oriented in buying well-known branded products
(Sprotles & Kendall, 1986; Shim & Gehrt, 1996; Liao & Wang, 2009).
Consumers perceive the purchase and consumption of products to be
‘vehicles for self-expression’ (Belk, 1988, and Sirgy, 1985, in: Nan &
Heo, 2007, p.67).
Changes in product information, like a brand logo redesign could affect
the perceived consumer-brand relationship:
Highly brand conscious consumers are sensitive for this kind of
information
H3: Increases of degree of logo change negatively affect brand
recognition, in particular for highly brand conscious consumers.

6. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Study 1 - Participants and design
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•
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A preliminary study to test the effects of degree of
logo change
3 (degree of change: no change, small change,
substantial change) between subjects design.
121 undergraduates (75% female, Mage = 20.4, SD = .
43)
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7. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Materials Study 1
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Redesigned by graphic designer,
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Based on Müller, Kocher, and Crettaz (2011)
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All FMCG Brands
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Combination of word mark &
logo
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Pre-tested materials (N = 20):
-19.83 , p < .001
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and
brand
t(8) =

8. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
•
Measure
Brand Recognition: Adjusted Lexical Decision Task
(Meyer & Schvaneveldt, 1971).
Because brand recognition is a spontaneous,
unconscious process.
•
•
•
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Recognize whether you see an existing vs nonexisting word
We used pictures instead of words

10. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Results
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H1: An increase of degree of logo change decreases brand
recognition: F (2,116) = 4.57, p = .012.
• Bonferroni post-hoc: no vs small change, p > .05
• no vs substantial change, p = .013, small vs substantial, p > .
05
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11. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Study 2 - Participants and design
•
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3 (degree of change: no change, small change,
substantial change) x 2 (Exposure: 1 vs 3 times)
between subjects design (brand consciousness as
continuous moderator).
148 participants (56.9% female, Mage = 25.03, SD = 7.82)
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12. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Materials Study 2
Different product categories
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FMCG, computer brand, financial sector
National and international brands
Redesigned according Müller, et al. (2011)
Pre-tested (N=51),t(8) = -19.83 , p < .001
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13. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Measures
•
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Brand Consciousness: six-item, 7-point Likert scale
(Nelson & McLeod, 2005), α = .82 (e.g., brand name
products that cost a lot of money are good quality’).
Brand Recognition: similar to study 1: adjusted
Lexical Decision Task (Meyer & Schvaneveldt,
1971).
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14. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Results (1)
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Interaction effect between degree of change and exposure: F
(2,132) = 3.25, p = .042.
• Simple effect analyses: marginally significant effect for
difference in brand recognition between original brand logo (M
= 514.67) and substantially changed brand logo (M = 681.23, p
= .061), only in 1-exposure condition
• No further effects found.
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15. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Results (2)
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Interaction effect between degree of change and brand
consciousness, F (1,132) = 3.307, p = .004.
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No median split, thus retaining all observations in the analyses
(e.g., Royston, Altman, & Sauerbrei, 2006), following Aiken &
West (1991)

16. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Results (3)
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Interaction effect between degree of change and brand
consciousness, F (1,132) = 3.307, p = .004.
•
Simple effects: Marginally significant: Brand recognition
decreased when highly brand conscious consumers were
exposed to a substantially changed brand logo (M = 652.66, Se =
52.38) as compared to the original brand logo (M = 472.47, Se =
61.61, p = .082).

17. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
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Findings and discussion
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Exposure neutralizes effects of brand logo redesigns
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Effects on brand attitude, brand identity and reputation need
further examination!
Only effects for highly brand conscious consumers: brand
recognition decreased when exposed to a substantially
changed brand logo
•
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Tunnel vision?

18. Evolutionary versus revolutionary changes
Effects were found for FMCGs, so it is even more interesting to
examine effects for transformational or high involvement
products/brands.
Present research presents a first step in the experimental
paradigm. The next step is to examine effects on other
consumer responses.
Questions?
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