September 5th marked Yahoo!'s introduction of its new logo, the first revision since its original release in 1994. After almost 20 years of public recognition, Yahoo! stirred the online community with speculations and reactions as to why the web giant decided to make the move.
While most of the netizens are indifferent to the change, some are not amused. The common verdict is that it's boring and ultimately not living up to its hype. Suppose people are expecting a more engaging version in response to the regularly-evolving logo of its fierce competitor, Google.
Matti Leshem, founder and CEO of the marketing strategy agency Protagonist, said Yahoo! missed an opportunity to create a logo reflecting the "aspirational" quality of the company under Marissa Mayer (who was a former Google pioneer, becoming Yahoo! CEO only in July 2012).
"We knew we wanted a logo that reflected Yahoo — whimsical, yet sophisticated," says Mayer on her Tumblr site. Apparently, everyone thinks Yahoo! wasn't able to achieve that.
How is rebranding crucial to a business?
Several companies became infamous because of their failed attempts to introduce a new image to the consumer public. MasterCard tried to change its logo in 2006, but decided to bring back the old one due to overwhelming negative response to the new design. Pizza Hut renamed itself "The Hut" for a short time in 2009, but immediately reinstalled the original name because people didn't recognize who they were.
The most recent blunder was that of GAP. The clothing company has had the same logo since 1969 and is one of the most recognizable brands in US history. When they attempted to change the logo in 2010, the designed was devastatingly condemned that GAP reversed it in just one week.
The biggest problem you would face in rebranding is the loss of reputation. When something has been established for a long time that it has become a consistent figure in the public's awareness, rebranding becomes more difficult. Unless it is very crucial to the growth of the business, it is not a risk worth taking, especially without thorough planning and study.
Going back to Yahoo!, it can be reasoned that the change was part of the "reformation" campaign that they've been working on since they brought in a new CEO. They've acquired Tumblr for over $1 billion in the hopes of attracting a younger market, and they've also made changes to its Flickr subsidiary. Although their intention was rational, it seems that they've missed their mark.
Going as far as changing your brand logo – your image, your symbol, your identity – makes people expect something big. And that's where Yahoo! fell short.
Rebranding has all the noble purposes but it has to be well-thought of, especially in today's scrutinizing age of media. You don't want to go down in history in the likes of those who made vain attempts at rebranding, all towards an epic fail. Be careful - not all reputations are easily restored.
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