Id Alert Method Branding 1101

New Identity Alert
January 2011

Among the brand identities featured in this issue Update The review of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am
are Belk, FAO Schwarz, Symantec, Airtel, Solutia, Games in the past issue of New Identity Alert
Whirlpool, Starbucks, GM Financial and the Rio incorrectly stated that soccer (or football) would
2016 Olympic Games. The year has certainly not be one of the sports played at the Games.
started with some high profile new brands, most It will, in fact, be one of the 48 sports played at
notably the Starbucks rebranding announcement the Games.
and the Rio Games emblem. It will be interesting
to see whether this year will a busy and noteworthy 2 0 1 1 This year, in lieu of gifts, on behalf of
one with the introduction of many and hopefully our clients, friends and associates, Method
exciting new brand identities. Branding has made a donation to Toronto’s Daily
Bread Food Bank. Wishing everyone a happy
and fulfilling 2011.

dailybread.ca Photogr aPhs: Michael Kohn, MichaelKohn.coM

NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand identities PAGE 2
January 2011 compiled from on-line news sources by Method Branding. methodbranding.com

Pre vious logo

1971 1987 1992 2011

S TA R b u c kS Timed to its 40th anniversary, Comment While the words Starbucks Coffee will completely. One hint is found on the Schultz video
Starbucks announced at the beginning of this no longer be part of the logo, this is not a big deal. posted on the Starbuck’s web site. It features a
month that it was updating its brand identity. From The company has emphasized that coffee remains vertical Starbucks logotype appearing next to
its first location at Pike Place Market in Seattle, at the core of its products but that the “new brand the Siren.
Starbucks now claims it has more than 16,000 identity will give us the freedom and flexibility…” to
locations in over 50 countries, with about 142,000 expand and sell other products. While only the That this minor change to the Starbucks brand
employees worldwide. In comments posted on the coffee cup has been unveiled so far, it appears this identity would attract so much comment is a
Starbucks web site, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is a well done brand identity. The refinements to testament to the strength of this brand. Or, to
hinted “…there will be much more to come” this the Siren are slight, but deftly done. Much has paraphrase, a tempest in a paper coffee cup.
March as the company celebrates its anniversary. been made of the fact that the name is no longer on
starbucks.com
the coffee cup, but the cup is with consumers after
they have made their purchase. It also appears as
though the Starbucks name will not disappear


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FA O Sc h WA R z In time for the pre-Christmas Comments This is truly an iconic brand that is the large floor piano in Big, to the iconic Nutcracker
shopping spree, this iconic brand introduced a new lost. The flagship store on Fifth Avenue is still solider – they still are the doormen at the store,
brand identity this fall. FAO Schwarz is nearly 150 drawing visitors, but in many ways is now over- and have their pictures taken with tourists every-
years old, and its store on Fifth Avenue in New York shadowed by the Apple Store whose entrance is in day – it is puzzling that the company would choose
City is one of the city’s main tourist attractions, the plaza in front. This is the store of the present such a sterile new brand identity.
drawing millions of visitors each year. Following (and future), while FAO Schwarz in the background
several difficult years, including bankruptcy protec- is now the store of yesterday, a relic of the past. FAO.com
tion, FAO Schwarz is now part of Toys“R’’Us, which The new brand identity does not do much to create
will include FAO Schwarz boutiques in all its a “relevant” brand for today. The jester symbol is
U.S. stores. somehow devoid of personality. Just compare it to
Starbuck’s Siren and the coldness of the jester is
glaring. Considering how much rich visual history is
attached to this brand, from Tom Hank’s playing on


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M I L L E R T h O M S O N This Canadian law firm Comment The previous logo, with its generic, Law firms need at least some semblance of
launched its new brand identity this past “no-nonsense” look was considerably superior to gravitas, though wit can also work if executed
November. Miller Thomson has more than 450 the new logo and brand identity. This attempt to properly. The only thing that Miller Thomson
lawyers in their 9 offices across the country. create the plus sign out of the I from Miller and the demonstrated in selecting this new logo is poor
The firm stated the objective for rebranding as T from Thomson may not be a bad idea, but its judgement. And poor judgement in a law firm is
“reaffirming Miller Thomson’s progressive, no- execution is hideous. It is truly amateurish and this not an oft sought-after quality.
nonsense approach to the practices of business reflects poorly on the firm.
law and litigation.” millerthomson.com


Bid logo

R I O 2 0 1 6 The emblem for the 2016 Olympic Comments Finally, an emblem for an Olympic While the emblem for the Rio Games may not be
Games in Rio de Janeiro was unveiled during the Game that is well done. Said to symbolize both the best logo ever designed, and one can find
Copacabana Beach New Year’s Eve celebrations in people coming together and Rio’s iconic Sugar Loaf, shortcomings in its execution, it is nevertheless
front of two million people. The emblem was this emblem is warm and positive. well done as well as being accessible to a wide
created by a Rio design firm, selected from eight audience. For an event that will probably have the
finalists, drawn from a process that apparently It is a welcome change from a series of emblems for largest global audience ever, having an emblem
initially involved 130 firms. The Games will be major sporting events, the Winter and Summer that most people find appealing is not a bad thing.
held from August 5 to 21, 2016. Olympics included, that were poor testaments to
the state of brand design around the world. The rio2016.com
worst culprit, as has been mentioned before, is the
emblem for the London 2012 Games.


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b E L k This Charlotte, North Carolina-based Comment The new Belk brand identity appears JCPenney, not to mention Neiman Marcus, are all
company launched its new brand identity this past anchored on three attributes: modern, southern based in the South, it is not clear what Belk does to
fall. Belk describes itself as “the nation’s largest and style. It also appears to be none of these. live up to its Southern claims. It is not Macy’s or
privately owned mainline department store.” While it is an improvement over its past logo, the Bloomingdale, but what makes it Southern, beyond
Founded in 1888, the company has 305 stores new one does not look modern, but more like a where it is based?
located in 16 Southern states. Belk stated that 1980s brand identity. It is, from a style standpoint,
about $70 million will be spent over the next year as stylish as JCPenney, which one assumes is belk.com
for corporate branding and marketing, including their competition. The brand’s style is very much
$25 million for the installation of new logo signs in targeting the lower, mainstream market. This is the
its stores. The rebranding, the first since 1967, is crowded marketplace dominated by Walmart,
said to project the company’s restated mission JCPenney and other retailers. Belk also tries to hang
“to satisfy the modern Southern lifestyle like no its hat on its Southern roots. It is unclear how the
one else…” brand manifests that. Given that Walmart and


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Pixel-Perfec t coPy

S Y M A N T E c Having bought VeriSign’s identity Comment This new brand identity, while profes- It often makes sense to build a brand’s equity by
and authentication business, Symantec launched sionally executed, raises some questions. Was leveraging existing or legacy brand equities when
its new brand identity this past fall. Based in Symantec, not an unknown brand (with other a company has been acquired. VeriSign has not
Mountain View, California, Symantec claims it is well-known brands in its portfolio, such as Norton), disappeared, only part of its business has been
“a global leader in providing security, storage and so damaged that it had to borrow the check mark sold to Symantec. Linking its brand to VeriSign’s
systems management solutions to help consumers from the VeriSign wordmark to establish its cred- this way, sends one clear message about
and organizations secure and manage their ibility? Was it necessary to borrow the exact check Symantec: It didn’t think its own brand had much
information-driven world.” The new logo was mark from VeriSign, right down to the identical value in the digital marketplace.
described as symbolizing “Symantec’s focus on pixels (as shown above)? What will happen to
enabling confidence.” Symantec, if VeriSign stumbles along the way? symantec.com
How would that affect the Symantec brand?


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A I RT E L Part of the Indian conglomerate Bharti, Comment It is not clear what the new symbol recognized symbolism that would lead one to
Airtel launched its new brand identity in November. represents, but it somehow works. The new quickly imbue any meaning into it. Still, despite
The company describes itself as one of the world’s brand identity is certainly an improvement over any of this confusion, one can’t help think this
leading telecommunications companies with the previous one. It has energy, youth and, with its new brand identity will ultimately be successful
operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. lowercase logotype, is also friendly. The energy of and help grow this already large telecommunica-
They claim to have over 200 million customers the new symbol can also be seen on the company’s tions brand.
across their operations, growing from 50 million web site, where sections of the new symbol are
customers in October 2007 and 100 million in May used as graphic elements. airtel.in
2009. Airtel offers mobile voice & data services,
fixed line, high-speed broadband, and services for The symbol, however effective it may be, is a
enterprises, as well as national and international mystery. Perhaps because the shape suggests a
long distance services to carriers. letterform – is it a D? – or is it maybe an ear? –
the symbol lacks either the total abstraction or


Pre vious logo

D O u b L E T R E E This past fall, Hilton introduced Comment “A final group of logo designs were symbol, a brown serif D and a tree. Maybe this was
a new brand identity for one of its hotel brands. then selected for consumer testing by select focus the best of the different concepts developed. More
Now called DoubleTree by Hilton, the brand has groups representing cultures around the world. likely, it was the most ordinary and therefore the
over 240 hotels around the world. Hilton describes Consumer feedback drove selection of the final one most likely to be selected by consumers.
itself as “the leading global hospitality company,” logo…” These comments from the press release Consumer testing has its place as an important tool
with more than 3,600 hotels in 82 countries. announcing the new brand identity deliver some for brand management. It is, however, not an
Among its other brands are Waldorf Astoria Hotels insights into the Hilton management style. It is alternative to executive decision-making. This is
& Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels fairly common practice for companies to conduct especially true with the introduction of new brand
& Resorts, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden some consumer testing before introducing a new identities, where past case histories demonstrate
Inn, and Hampton Hotels. The new brand identity product or service to consumers. The key here is the ineffectiveness of judging a logo’s worth.
will start being used during the first half of that consumer testing “drove” the decision.
this year. Management abdicated it own judgement in the doubletree.com
face of market surveys. The result is a pedestrian hiltonworldwide.com


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G M F I N A N c I A L With the completion of its Comment GM sold off GMAC and then had to buy Clearly, the decision was made that red was too
acquisition, General Motors announced AmeriCredit AmeriCredit to fill that function (though it is appar- far afield for a GM brand, hence the blue and grey.
is to be renamed General Motors Financial ently interested in reacquiring part of GMAC, now The question, of course, is why did they not
Company, Inc. GM Financial provides auto finance branded as Ally). The new GM Financial logo is an closely align GM Financial to General Motors? The
through auto dealers. Founded in 1992 and with its improvement over the AmeriCredit mark, but just. It real potential for this brand is how much they
head office in Fort Worth, Texas, the company has appears as though they decided that GM Financial can leverage off the relationships consumers (and
about 3,000 employees in Canada and the US with would not be linked to GM, other than by the name, others) have with the car maker. To distance the
approximately 800,000 customers and $9 billion in but that somehow there was worthwhile brand brand from that relationship, especially given
auto receivables. equity in the AmeriCredit logo. The new symbol the decision to name it GM Financial, seems
borrows the diagonal lines from the old AmeriCredit strangely silly.
logo and the typestyle of the GM Financial logotype
is a lighter version of AmeriCredit’s. americredit.com
gm.com


Pre vious logo

S O L u T I A This specialty chemicals and Comment This is not a bad brand identity, but it is been much stronger had it not been skewed, at
performance materials company introduced its one that is not quite right either. The sun-like least not the logotype. The tension or contrast
new brand identity this past November. With symbol is fine, with its alternating green and blue between the logotype – had it not been italicized
headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Solutia has lines suggesting the films the company makes that – and the symbol – had it been skewed even more
about 3,400 employees in more than 50 worldwide are laminated to glass. The logotype is also okay, – would have resulted in a much more compelling
locations. The company produces a variety of with its sturdy, modernistic look. The problem is logo and a better brand identity.
products, including films for glass lamination for that it appears as though the whole logo has
automotive and architectural applications, for solar been italicized, but just slightly. The symbol and solutia.com
and electronic technologies and products for logotype are slightly skewed to the right, but not
aviation hydraulic fluids. Its new global brand enough to really be italicized and have that forward
identity was said to be built on the pillars of motion. The result suggests more timidity or
Ingenuity, Productivity and Performance. hesitation, as though they were not sure whether to
move forward or not. The logo, in fact, would have


Pre vious logo

W h I R L p O O L As the company began its 100th Comment Why bother is the question that comes to them into their second centenary? A truly new
anniversary celebrations, it unveiled a new updated mind when reviewing the update of this brand brand identity could still have maintained the
brand identity. Based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, identity. Sure the type is cleaner with its new sans equity of the old brand identity, while still creating
Whirlpool describes itself as “the world’s leading serif style, and the whirlpool graphic over the W something that would have signalled this is the
manufacturer and marketer of major home has also been simplified and is clearer, as well as start of a new chapter of the company. Instead, they
appliances, with annual sales of approximately that orbiting sphere graphic. The problem with the are clinging to the past. If in the coming years, it
$17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 old logo (no matter how well known) was that it had finds itself overtaken by European and Asian
manufacturing and technology research centers one icon too many. With those two conflicting competitors, this may be looked back upon as a
around the world.” The company markets graphic elements, it was a bad logo. Whirlpool has major missed opportunity.
Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Brastemp, just updated a bad logo. It now has an updated bad
Amana, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand logo. Did the Company not have the courage, on its whirlpoolcorp.com
names to consumers in nearly every country around 100th anniversary, to introduce a truly new brand
the world. identity, one they could have trumpeted will carry


Much has been written about Gap’s introduction of,
and subsequent retreat from, its new brand iden-
tity. The final words of this saga should be those
spoken by Don Keough, Coca-Cola’s Chief Operat-
ing Officer in 1985. Twenty-six years ago, facing
stiff competition from Pepsi, Coca-Cola had intro-
duced New Coke, a reformulation of their iconic
beverage. Despite months of development and
extensive consumer testing, New Coke was met
with loud protests. At one point, over 8,000 com-
plaints a day were logged by Coke’s consumer hot
b R A N D I N G h I G h L I G h T S O F 2 0 1 0 This past line, according to the book For God, Country and On July 10, 1985, at the press conference where
year was not an exceptional one for new brand Coca-Cola, by Mark Pendergrast. Coke announced its retreat, Keough was quoted as
identities, except of course for one infamous case. stating, “Some critics will say Coca-Cola made a
Faced with a non-ending barrage of protests and
Of the new brand identities that were reviewed in marketing mistake. Some cynics will say that we
negative press, Coca-Cola decided to retreat and
New Identity Alert, bpost, the YMCA and Towers planned the whole thing. The truth is we are not
bring back Coke’s old formulation as Coke Classic.
Watson stand out as the best of the past year. They that dumb and we are not that smart.” Feel free to
This was huge news, with television programs
may not be “perfect” with nothing to quibble about, replace references to Coca-Cola with Gap.
interrupted with the news. “Virtually every newspa-
but these three still stand out from the many
per in the country (the United States) carried a front bpost.be
ordinary and less than ordinary brand identities
page story on Coke Classic, bumping reports on ymca.net
launched last year.
President Reagan’s cancer operation out of the towerswatson.com
spotlight,” writes Pendergrast. gap.com


p L E A S E cO N TAc T u S AbOuT METhOD bRANDING
If you have any comments about the corporate A design firm with extensive experience, we
brand identities featured in this issue, or if you work with a wide variety of clients including
wish to alert us to new identities that have been corporations, government agencies, not-for-profit
just launched or are about to be launched. organizations, start-up companies and others.

We also welcome receiving the names and e-mail We work collaboratively with our clients, and with
addresses of anyone you think would be interested other design and branding firms, to create compel-
in receiving this newsletter. ling solutions. The brands and branded communi-
cations (brochures, annual reports, etc.) we create
And if you have a branding challenge, we would endure and build value. Bringing together the
of course be pleased to meet you and discuss how science and art of branding, our solutions are
your brand can be effectively leveraged to its engineered to elicit the desired responses from
maximum potential. stakeholders, building maximum brand value for
our clients.

info@methodbranding.com methodbranding.com
methodbranding.com/blog
Philip Unger
President and Creative Director

366 Adelaide Street W.
Suite 207
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5V 1R9
Thank you to Jim Hynes for his proofreading Note: The brand identities and trademarks in this
416.597.1114 tel and wise counsel. document are the property of their respective owners.
They are used here solely for information purposes.
416.596.0807 fax jameshynes@rogers.com
© Method Branding, 2010

NEW IDENTITY ALERT An occasional survey of new corporate brand identities compiled from on-line PAGE 15
January 2011 compiled fromby Method Branding. by Method Branding.
news sources on-line news sources methodbranding.com

Id Alert Method Branding 1101

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