Supermarket chain Stop & Shop recently unveiled a new logo. Overall, I'd have to say that I like the new one. The old logo was very recognizable and really well established in the Northeast, so one could question the wisdom of such a dramatic departure. It seems that an updated version of the old logo could have worked and could have shown that they are evolving while keeping the brand recognition.
One possible criticism of the new logo is that it makes no reference at all to the name of the store, where the previous logo had made a very obvious reference. But the old logo never made any reference to what you're actually stopping and shopping for, i.e. groceries. It's as if they've just switched the emphasis. Perhaps the name itself is recognizable enough that it makes more sense to call attention to their products rather than a literal translation of the name. The bowl/slices of fruit, etc. icons might not be recognizable enough on their own, but in conjunction with the very recognizable store name, I think it works.
Visually speaking, I feel like the new logo works in several areas. The colors are fresh and natural, and the shape of the icons is fairly organic. My guess is this is at least somewhat to compete for the organic/health food shoppers.
Overall, I like the logo, I think it works, but I do think they probably could have done a bit better. I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10. What about you?
2 comments:
Great post. Interestingly, Stop&Shop and Giant are both owned by the same company and chose to share the same re-branding. It was also noted that the new brand was purposefully ambiguous. TV spots show the slices/bowls used to create different shapes promoting not only food, but lifestyle and culture. NBC's current ads use a similar trick featuring the trademark peacock feathers in varying collateral design. I'm generally in agreement, that a company's identity should be unique, easily identifiable, but also reflect the company in a specific way. An easy test of a logo's effectiveness is to glue someone else's name on it and see if its any more or less effective. (Hello, Nationwide? We're lookin at you!) I think the company should have either maintained separate brands or merged the company.
Good insights. I have seen the TV ads and I like them a lot, they're really well done and I think pretty original for a supermarket chain. So I sort of like what they're able to do with the logo more than the logo itself.
I'm not sure I get the Nationwide reference, can you explain?
Post a Comment