Everywhere you look, you’ll see examples of iconic branding. Think of McDonald’s famous golden arches, KFC’s instantly recognisable colonel or Nike’s simple swoosh – all just go to show how valuable and powerful branding can be. In an attempt to make their brand identity more recognisable, businesses are constantly tweaking their look. But this doesn’t always go to plan.
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When it comes to rebranding, it can go one of two ways. While some rebrands take brands to new levels, here are some examples of famous rebrands that completely missed the mark.
Gap
Gap is one of the most talked about rebrands in recent years. In 2010, Gap switched their iconic logo which featured the company name on a navy square for a new approach. The new logo saw a new Gap wordmark with an iconic square moved to the top right corner of the logo.
It’s fair to say the new logo was met with widespread criticism with most believing that the new brand was a little bland, boring and corporate looking. As a result of the criticism, Gap quickly ditched the new logo and went back to the company’s traditional identity.
What Can We Learn From Gap’s Rebrand?
Considering trends and modern branding principles is important, but Gap is a great example of why businesses need to consider far beyond what is considered current. Their rebrand appears to have been inspired by a move towards a more minimalist look, which has become the modern way in recent times.
However, this decision left the brand looking more like a bank than a fashion company. What Gap also failed to realise is their customers’ positive attachment to their original logo. Given this, maybe it would have been a more successful rebrand if they had tweaked their identity rather than undergoing a brand overhaul.
Tropicana
As the old saying goes, we taste with our eyes, which is why so many food & drink products try to entice us through attractive packaging. In the case of Tropicana, their old packaging featured a fresh, juicy orange with a straw stuck through the middle to give the impression that their juice is as good as drinking straight from freshly picked oranges.
That was until 2009 when their iconic and attractive packaging was altered as part of a rebrand. The new packaging replaced the actual orange with a generic orange blob placed on a white carton. The redesign didn’t go well and was pulled after six weeks.
What Can We Learn From Tropicana’s Rebrand?
Don’t underestimate the power of packaging, especially when working with food & drink products. It’s important to show consumers what they want to see and in the case of Tropicana, their original packaging did this perfectly.
Their new packaging lacked the aesthetic appeal of the iconic Tropicana look. It’s a great example of if something’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Twitter/X
In what was possibly the most talked-about rebrand of all time, social media platform Twitter was rebranded to X after Elon Musk purchased the platform. As one of the most used mobile apps, it took users by surprise and felt strange having to refer to the platform by a new name. As a matter of fact, some users still refer to the platform by its original name.
What Can We Learn From Twitter’s Rebrand?
Twitter’s original brand had a story. The iconic blue bird and the fact that the platform is used to send tweets and retweets created consistency. The new brand, X, lacked any form of story as the bird logo was replaced by a black square and a white X.
When it comes to branding, don’t underestimate the power of storytelling. You’ll often find that if you dig beyond the visuals, you’ll find a compelling story behind the name and look of many a brand.
Leeds United
In 2018, Leeds United shocked their fans by altering the club’s crest. While it’s common for sports teams to tweak their logo in an attempt to bring their identity more up-to-date, Leeds completely ditched their old badge to take the club in a completely new direction.
The change wasn’t well received and fan pressure forced the club to change back to their original club crest in a matter of weeks.
What Can We Learn From Leeds United’s Rebrand?
When a logo embodies history and tradition, play with it at your peril. Sports are a great example of where consumers (fans) have a close connection to their team’s branding. Emblems are seen more like sacred symbols and colours are worn loudly and proudly.
In these cases, it’s safer to perform a brand refresh rather than a full rebranding to avoid alienating those who feel closely connected to the brand in question.
Hershey
Chocolate brand, Hershey, rebranded in 2009 in a change that saw their historic logo undergo a modern makeover. The change wasn’t all bad, and the use of a new typeface and the removal of a brown backdrop did work to freshen up the rebrand without losing the company’s traditional look.
The only problem was in modernising the chocolate kiss on the logo, Hershey inadvertently added what looked like a steaming poop emoji to their brand logo.
What Can We Learn From Hershey’s Rebrand?
Hershey didn’t get much wrong with their rebrand, and it’s definitely one of the better attempts on this list. However, it does go to show the power of having a strict review process that should involve gathering different opinions before the new brand is rolled out.
It’s also important to look at your new identity from different angles. Gathering the thoughts of different demographics is a good way to spot things that would otherwise go unnoticed.
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Final Thoughts
Rebranding a company is a harder task than it may seem at first. As you can see from the list above, some of the world’s biggest brands get their rebrands wrong. If you’re considering rebranding your own company, you may want to consider working with a branding agency in Manchester, London or New York to give yourself the best chance of avoiding any unfortunate mishaps.