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How to successfully introduce logo redesigns

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Abstract

Logos are an important element of brand identity and aesthetics, and the management of these brand assets includes redesign efforts. However, despite best managerial intentions, not all consumers welcome logo redesigns. This paper examines how marketing managers can minimize the negative impact of logo redesigns, particularly among their most loyal customers. We find that consumers who are most attached to the brand are least receptive to logo redesigns. To avoid alienating their most committed consumers, managers can achieve the greatest success when a change in logo redesign is accompanied by empathetic messages that acknowledge consumers’ feelings of discomfort about the redesigned logos. While this finding is intuitive, managers rarely follow it in practice. This study fills a gap in the brand aesthetics literature, adds to the literature on brand attachment, and offers managers considering a logo redesign important guidance.

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Notes

  1. Copyright infringement concerns prevent reproduction of the logo redesigns. They are available from the first author on request.

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Acknowledgements

This study is funded by a Survey Research Grant offered by College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University. The authors thank Dymun & Company and Craig Otto for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 201 College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6025, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6025, USA

    Michael F. Walsh

  2. 208 College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University, PO Box 6025, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6025, USA

    Annie Peng Cui

  3. USC Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0808, USA

    Deborah J. MacInnis

Authors
  1. Michael F. Walsh
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  2. Annie Peng Cui
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  3. Deborah J. MacInnis
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Correspondence to Annie Peng Cui.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

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Table 3 Key scale items used
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Walsh, M.F., Cui, A.P. & MacInnis, D.J. How to successfully introduce logo redesigns. J Brand Manag 26, 365–375 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0141-1

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