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When companies like Lamborghini and Xiaomi tweak their logos, the changes might seem minor, but the stakes—and costs—are anything but.
A rebrand for a big corporation is a monumental task, involving much more than updating a website or printing new business cards.
Every point of interaction with customers, from digital platforms to physical merchandise, needs to reflect the new brand identity. The total costs run into millions and millions of dollars.
So, when the adjustments are so subtle that they prompt a game of “spot the difference,” it begs the question: is it really worth it?
Take Lamborghini’s recent tweaks or Xiaomi’s notorious round corners. Given the enormous expense and effort involved in rebranding at such a scale, these minimal adjustments raise quite a few eyebrows.
On the other hand, with a more dramatic overhaul, a company might face the potential risk of alienating customers.
For example, Gap’s 2010 rebranding effort introduced a new logo that was met with immediate backlash from the public, forcing the company to revert to its classic logo within a week.
Another example is Tropicana’s packaging redesign in 2009 that confused the costumers, leading to a significant sales drop and a quick return to their original design.
So is a gentle refresh sufficient to justify the investment, or does it risk going unnoticed, swallowed by the cost without delivering a real impact (because at the end it’s all about that ROI)?
