Jack Blog
October 14th, 2010 By Jack Morton
(Too?) much has already been said about Gap’s logo fracas. One last thing: Gap’s Marka Hansen sounded very sincere in stating Gap’s commitment to get the launch strategy right next time (not just make a better logo):
“We are clear that we did not go about this in the right way…. There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way.”
As someone who does this for a living, I’d hope that when the next “right time” to evolve its identity comes, Gap’s improved launch strategy will
- play out as more than a moment in time
- prioritize employees (the people who represent the brand) first and foremost
- engage stakeholders more deeply and authentically
- engage less amorphous groups than what Gap called “the online community” (huh?) and less self-selecting groups of consumers and influencers than its Facebook fans
- integrate a variety of platforms and experiences—more viscerally and tangibly than it did last week
- and — in a very fundamental way — it must be about more than the logo. It should be about what the brand stands for. (Here, for instance, is how we tell our staff the Jack brand behaves.)
Gap has made a huge improvement in their products and store experience over the last 2 years… here’s to a better brand launch next time!
(I had fun using the app to make your own [gap] logo!)