I was following a conversation on Twitter between Lesley Chang and Matt Freedman the other day concerning the respective logos of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. As you may recall, we had a brief discussion concerning the Pepsi branding late last year and the rumors of a new logo really did come to fruition.
With Coca-Cola, the core logo for the company has not changed in over 100 years. According to Lesley Chang, this speaks to the lasting appeal and the brand power of the cola company, showing that they can be timeless. It doesn’t matter if you see the Coke logo from the 1950s or the Coke logo on today’s vending machines, because it is exactly the same and the recipe has remained largely unchanged as well. Coca-Cola is capturing the more traditional end of the market, showing us that their familiar product is just as good as it has always been.
With Pepsi, the core logo for the company has gone through several changes over the same time period. Every ten or twenty years (sometimes even more frequently), it seems that Pepsi is trying to reinvent itself and better approach the market of the day. According to Matt Freedman, this shows that Pepsi is willing to change with the times and cater to the needs that we have today. This is modern, contemporary, and progressive.
Which approach is ultimately more successful? One of the biggest factors that you may want to consider when it comes to updating your company’s brand (or keeping it the same) is the market that you are trying to approach. Companies that are meant to be on the bleeding edge of innovation should probably consider changing with the times. Look at what Steve Jobs and the rest of the team in Cupertino have managed to do with Apple. This is a far cry from the multi-colored Apple logo that we saw 20 years ago.
Companies that are meant to exude tradition, familiarity, and trust are probably better off reinforcing existing brand images. It wouldn’t be in the best interest of Buckley’s Cough Syrup, for example, to say that they have new flavors and are “hip” to the current trends. We know Buckley’s as the brand that tastes awful (but works). The same can be said about a brand like Werther’s candy.
Traditional or modern? What strategy do you take with your company’s branding?
Matt Freedman
July 15, 2009 12:19 am
Don’t forget about Apple’s original logo, which would never fly in today’s times.
odchudzanie
July 15, 2009 4:58 am
That is very interesting topic You write about. The target group of both companies are in my opinion similar, so these two strategies of marketing are standing oposite. And both give great effects. I need to think about it, I wonder what mechanism could describe that.