Is it ever ok to adapt your logo, even if it is for Christmas?
Do you recognise these brands at first glance?...
I thought so.
I recently came across a post on LinkedIn that piqued my creative interest. It discussed this image – Hovis and Warburtons seasonal, copy-led logo adaptations (Ho Ho Hovis and Warbrrrtons), and before I knew it far too much time had passed while I scrolled through all the comments (you know how it is!)
The original poster believed it was a negative move for the brands. In his opinion, not only is it cheesy, devaluing the quality of the product, but he felt it dilutes the brand and could even have more difficult implications if trying to protect assets legally (particularly in the era of discount store copycats!)
These are of course all valid opinions, and whilst I didn’t fully agree; I did feel it was a great topic to explore further. As designers we spend our lives explaining to clients that consistency is key when it comes to branding, but is there really anything wrong with a little seasonal shake up?
A tweaked logo, such as these by Hovis and Warburtons, can promote a fun, approachable and more human-like feeling to a brand, and if this suits your overall tone of voice and target audience, it can be a good idea to explore.
A small seasonal change to your logo can feel welcoming to customers who celebrate the holiday whilst tapping into their emotions, and the shelf stand out it can achieve may even encourage potential customers to switch brands, even if just temporarily.
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that festive tweaks may alienate or seem insensitive to those who do not celebrate. This may be why Warburtons have gone for a more generic winter theme, as opposed to Hovis who have opted for a Christmas-led change.
Here are some companies that have successfully achieved a seasonal logo this year, using three different approaches:
John Lewis have subtly tweaked a couple of letters to create a connection with their highly-anticipated TV campaign.
River Island have kept their logo as is (which has had a recent refresh to this serif style) but have added a seasonal touch by overlaying a snow falling animation.
Google, who never shy away from playing around with their logo – usually in the form of Google Doodles, have opted to keep their logo in it’s usual form but have incorporated some (branded) coloured lights as a way of nodding to the festivities.
They all have one thing in common – their huge level of brand awareness.
Whilst changing your logo for the festive season might seem like a fun thing to do, the impact this change will have on your awareness should not be overlooked.
Because of this bigger companies are more likely to tweak their logo successfully, because both their current and potential customers alike have subconsciously learned branding cues such as fonts and colours.
An experiment was carried out by Signs.com last summer, where they had 150 people hand draw 10 famous logos from memory, to see what elements stick and what gets forgotten; interestingly colour came out on top as the most memorable element – around 80 percent selected the correct palettes for their drawings.
You can take a look at the full study here – it’s really interesting! Signs.com - Branded in Memory
If you’re a smaller company, particularly if you’re in your infancy, it may be best to hold the holly, and work on how to ensure your brand is recognisable before you start changing it. In this instance, understanding your audience, consistency and perseverance really are key.
Your logo is a visual cue that should reflect what your business stands for. This should never be compromised, even for a festive edition. But, if you do feel adding some festive touches would fit with your brand positioning, always remember to:
Keep it simple, less really is more in this instance
Ensure it’s still recognisable to retain as much brand awareness as possible
Consider where you want to use the logo – is it scalable?
If changing your logo is an absolute no-go, but you still want to add some festive sparkle to your brand you could explore some creativity on packaging or on point of sale, by introducing icons or different backgrounds. A white version of your logo can be great for this as no editing is required, but will fit more seamlessly into a slightly different style creative.
A much more cost-effective and quicker way to still get involved on the festive action is through your online presence, such as posting holiday-led assets on your social media profiles or adding temporary components to your website.
I believe it’s the sign of a powerful brand to have the confidence to play, and a very talented creative team behind the brand to actually get it right!
In terms of Hovis and Warburtons.. well, here we are talking about it, so maybe it has done its job after all!
Happy Christmas.
