How redesign exposes brand intelligence
With signals that the tide may be turning on the switch to corporate branding, Thinkerbell’s Adam Ferrier looks at what brand refreshes or redesigns can tell us about a company’s brand intelligence, and why the six-foot baby is good for business.
Last week, many in marketing were discussing the proposed redesign of Toblerone. Apparently, a move to manufacture outside of Switzerland means they will lose the right to show the Matterhorn on their packaging, and the little bear (emblematic of the city of Bern (bear) hidden in the detailed flourish of the logo will disappear too. Both of the marketing science heavyweights Mark Ritson and Professor Byron Sharp have weighed in. Both have said ‘Nar mate, all’s cool. They won’t lose a chocolate bar in sales with the brand refresh’, and handled sensibly, they probably won’t.
However, maybe a brand redesign shouldn’t just be measured on the aesthetics of the design. Maybe, it’s more than that. Potentially, it’s a window into how that brand is valued by the company? Perhaps a brand redesign, or refresh is actually a window into whether an organisation has strong brand intelligence or not.
Some time ago someone came up with the absurd idea of human centered design and convinced half a generation of marketers that ease and efficiency were the way to build a brand. Focus on the consumer, and what they want, and watch your sales fly was the promise. The outward design aesthetic that married this human centered approach was hard core utility resulting in lots of tech brands doing this:
An insightful and well written article.
But it’s a bit of a stretch to make a connection between brand design and the share price of a company. The share price is usually a reflection of business earnings and fundamentals.