When companies merge, what of the logo? - Jonathan Munk
Every time a merger occurs between two companies, it’s interesting to see how the new, emerging company will brand themselves–especially in terms of their logo. Merging companies not only must decide how to blend the business strategies and company cultures and goals, but they have to combine logos as well. This is especially true of large corporations that have spent thousands of dollars designing the perfect logo for their business. The logos are normally well-recognized and have strong ties with many consumers.
Along those lines, I read a press release today stating that Sprint and Nextel are going to merge pending shareholder approval and some other details in the third quarter of this year. Most consumers recognize both companies’ logos, so which should win out? Sprint has been around longer, but Nextel has a strong brand that is easy to recognize.
Every industry and company will probably handle the issue differently. For example, in the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger (which was actually more of a buyout), the Cingular logo is the only one now used, with the only alteration of it being the addition of AT&T’s blue color to the word ‘Cingular.’
Sprint and Nextel are taking a different approach. The classic “pin drop” icon Sprint is famous for will blend with the strong line that follows the past Nextel logo, to form an interesting and very well executed logo blend. Nextel’s black and yellow will be the new color combination, which were considered stronger than Sprint’s. The design is simple and effective. I think I like this new logo better than either of the companies’ old logos. That said, Nextel will still be using their old logo for advertising products and services.
Blending corporate identities cannot be an easy task. Obviously, both companies would probably just rather use their own logo and identity and simply drop the other, as with AT&T Wireless, but that can be unwise. As a customer, I came to like AT&T Wireless, and felt like they valued my business. But when I decided to upgrade my phone, I was told by Cingular I would have to sign a new contract and become a Cingular customer. With no AT&T logo in sight, and a comparably unfriendly staff, I felt alienated and ended up switching to a new carrier. Who knows how many others felt the same.
I’m just glad I’m not the one who has to decide how to integrate two companies’ identities and still have brand recognition and loyalty.