The Functionality of Logos in Brand Heritage

Brand heritage constitutes part of the ‘collection of perceptions’ you want to build in the mind of your customer (and motivate him/her) so as to make your brand stand out from the competition (Colin Bates 2005).

Before 1914 the twentieth century was full of promise as it ushered in the era of mass production, skyscrapers, jazz music and advertising and Coca-Cola. This electronically driven age gave birth to bigger business ambitions than ever before as the world appeared to be shrinking.

With an advertising budget of $1 million by 1911, Kellogg’s was the most ambitious early 20th century advertiser the world had ever known (Matt Haig 2004). Appreciating the strategic value of making the word logo ‘Kellogg’s’ as pervasive as possible, the company decided to create the largest sign the world had ever seen, installing it in New York’s Times Square, America’s marketing and financial prowess, a world-famous tourist attraction.

Focus was on Kellogg’s logo in advertisements as it also got printed on every box of cereal; before the company introduced any other cereals, the word ‘Kellogg’s’ was synonymous with the words ‘Corn Flakes’. The most effective logos have the widest recognition (penetration) and stimulate some sort of emotional response. It is instructive that American scientists recently found that the Coca-Cola brand actually evoked activity in parts of the brain associated with cultural knowledge, memory and self-image.

Perhaps the scientists’ finding dates back to 1886, when, 800 miles away from New York harbour where workers were constructing the Statue of Liberty, Coca-Cola, another American symbol was being unveiled. It is interesting how the brand has successfully leveraged on this association thereby adding value to it.

I cannot stop marveling at what the connection between Peugeot and the Statue of Liberty is: Batholdy, the sculptor responsible for the statue is also credited for creating the lion emblem which was the logo for one of the earliest Peugeot models (known as Lion Peugeot). The lion was the emblem of the city of Belfort where it was manufactured.

Your logo is a component of your brand identity and consumers’ perceptions of the roots and origin of your brand are crucial to its strength. The first Kellogg’s product (corn flakes) for example, started out in 1876 at a health institute which specialized in ‘purifying’ the soul through a grain-based diet.

But how does the BMW logo hit you? Its roundel is a stylized, rotating airscrew against a blue sky which symbolizes Bayerische Motoren Werke’s aero engines built for planes that bombed the factories (during the First World War, which began in 1914) that they now own! I am impressed by BMW’s success in retaining the best of its heritage through its logo, without unduly emphasizing its origin.

Just as Coke became a generic name for soft drinks, Google is fast becoming a generic term for search. The Google logo is neither sleek nor corporate but ironically, that happens to be its strength! Google is world’s number one search engine. The name is a play on the word ‘googol’ which refers to the number represented by the numerical 1 followed by 100 zeros. The adoption of the term reflects the company’s determination to organize the massive, seemingly infinite volume of information available on the web.

With the Apple logo comes an irony: while several interpretations exist- from a grove of Apple trees, to Newton, to a symbol of Eden with the symbolic bite indicating the entry into a “brave new world”- its creator recently explained that the bite merely implies that the mark would be more recognizable as an apple if it had a bite taken out of it!

Recall the Toyota logo which conveys an abstract of a cowboy in a big hat? It is posited that it is three ellipses representing the heart of the customer, the heart of the product, and the ever-dynamic technological advances and unfettered opportunities that stare mankind in the face. Meanwhile in Japanese ‘Toyo’ means an abundance of, and ‘ta’ is rice. Remember as kids how we used to eat rice once in a blue moon? Well, some Asian cultures allude to those blessed with an abundance of rice as very wealthy people!

Your brand’s identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand’s uniqueness from competitors. The identity is the outward expression of the brand, including its name and visual appearance (brandchannels 2005). Coca-Cola’s script is simple but known the world over. However, it is best associated with the colour red.

I find it interesting that so many successful brands have really simple logos: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. Is it the logo that makes a brand or vice-versa? Kindly send your reactions to: yusuf.danesi@apcon.gov.ng and I promise to have them published.