NO - Jon Ingall, Managing partner, AIS
The blue-and-white logo is as much a part of Gap as its chinos and wholesomeness. I'd question why the retailer felt the need to change a globally recognised and perfectly acceptable logo in the first place.
Moreover, if it was trying to bring the brand into the 'modern age', why wasn't the idea reflected in its campaign?
Crowd-sourcing is like any other marketing technique - it needs to be planned and run with precision. Hastily canvassing opinion online as an afterthought isn't helpful.
No one ever really likes change and people are more likely to ask for things to stay the same than to evolve; Gap seemed totally unprepared for that. Plus, the 'outcry' it faced actually amounted only to a few thousand people. That needs to be balanced with the millions of loyal Gap advocates worldwide.
More than ever, this shows a lack of confidence. A brand that truly believes in itself doesn't unveil, and then withdraw, a new logo within a week on the basis of a few moaning minnies.
YES - Gary Moss, Chairman, Brand Vista
I haven't been in a Gap since my daughters, in a highly panicked state, physically prevented their 'old man' from buying a green hoody back in 2003. More to the point, my daughters haven't been back either. So the question of the logo is nowhere near my family's radar, and if Gap wants us back, then it needs to change more than just the sign above the door.
I haven't read anything about Gap accompanying the proposed logo change with a complete brand overhaul, and by that I mean the service, range, environment and pricing. So I suspect that nothing material would have changed and any trial would have resulted in another seven years of me not shopping there.
Gap has therefore done the right thing in listening to Twitter. It should be looking beyond the design, and work out, with the help of its customers, what it should stand for and align everything accordingly. This might mean a new logo, it might not.
Now, I wonder whether it still sells those nice green hoodies?
NO - Gail Dudleston, Chief executive, Twentysix
Gap's hurriedly launched 'crowd-sourcing' project in response to the negative reception its new logo received doesn't seem like a crowd-sourcing project at all. It appears instead to be an attempt to appease the discontented minority, who are often the most vocal.
This logo debacle has underlined the importance of social media to brands. It shows that the age of springing a dramatic change upon an unsuspecting public is possibly behind us - you need buy-in and engagement from consumers first.
The retailer's online response has been excellent - it has listened to its customers and encouraged conversation on Twitter, Facebook and other forums - but has it responded like this for the wrong reasons?
As an immediate short-term fix, crowd-sourcing was a smart move. But if the retailer's design agency had done its due diligence and decided on a firm rationale behind the new logo, with sound business reasons driving the need for change, Gap should show conviction and stick by it.
YES - Simon Davies, Director, makalu.com
A logo is a visual reminder of a brand and its reputation. With time and investment, that identity can have huge equity and come to represent something much more valuable than conveyed by the original piece of graphic design.
To alter that identity so drastically, and therefore change something of value to your customer, without their knowledge or consent, is dangerous. Even if the new Gap logo had been a great piece of design (which it clearly wasn't), there would still have been a considerable amount of negativity.
This type of rejection happens frequently. Tropicana reverted to its original packaging last year after negative customer feedback, and Coca-Cola famously scrapped its 'improved' recipe after years of marketing support.
Companies must listen to their customers, involve them in the process of change and act upon genuine insights - not assumptions.
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