It was new Coke all over again. The Gap had unleashed their brand-spanking-new logo on an unsuspecting public, only to face a giant backlash. Like with new Coke, there was something missing in the company’s vetting process. Plus, there was something today that Coca-Cola didn’t have to contend with: the Internet.
Online surveys sprung up and the polls were open. The public expressed their opinion with a vengeance. The new Gap logo was dead in the water. The next thing you know, the San Francisco-based Gap had quietly reverted back to their earlier blue box mark.
"We've heard loud and clear that you don't like the new logo," a company spokesman posted on the Facebook page.
The Gap had learned its lesson. "There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we'll handle it in a different way," concluded North American Gap president Marka Hansen.
The moral of the story? A smart company will allow Social Media to work its magic on the front end of the process. Not on the back end. Doritos used Social Media to choose which spot they would run on the Super Bowl. Why not use a Facebook fan page to vet a new logo? Maybe even use Social Media to pick the color palette for the next season’s fashions. Be creative. The uses are endless.
Social Media has become the megaphone of the customer. And the brands that learn to listen to its voice, are the brands that will learn to leverage to it. Who knows? You may even rediscover something that you already knew: classics never go out of style.
