[RahulNagaraj]

According to new research, figuring out the correct logos of carmakers in use today is actually more complicated than we think. The research states that many carmakers make such subtle changes to their logos that people cannot identify which is the correct one currently in use.



The research surveyed 1,000 British people who were asked to recognise the correct in-use logo of Nissan, Ford, Honda & Tesla. Only 24% of the people surveyed correctly picked the current Nissan logo. Ford's logo was correctly identified by only 320 people, while Honda and Tesla's logo was picked by just 330 and 340 respondents, respectively. This reveals that people may not be keen on knowing about small changes to the logo, even if those minute changes link directly to the company's history.



Conversely, the most recognised car logo was that of BMW, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota & Hyundai. The survey showed 50% of the respondents correctly identified the correct BMW logo, even though the brand has three designs running at the same time. This includes the actual blue & white quadrant logo, the special M anniversary logo and the minimalist logo for online use.

The research though did mention that logo recognition doesn't impact either sales or customer interest.

Source: AutoEvolution

Link to Team-BHP news

[i10_sanjay]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

The research though did mention that logo recognition doesn't impact either sales or customer interest.

Oh, what a waste of time for them to conclude that it doesn't impact sales or customer interest!

[mayankk]

How will this matter, to a consumer?
Reading the title of the survey, I thought people may be confusing, say, a Honda with a Hyundai, but this is next-level nitpicking. Almost as if someone ran out of survey ideas.

[ashivas89]

I think the purpose of this study is to tell manufacturers to stop spending millions on modifying their logos ever so slightly every now and then. Nobody cares!

[naikameya]

I chuckled reading the start of the paragraph - "The research surveyed 1,000 British people" - reminded me of Brexit. Seems like it was someone's thesis project to do some survey. What was the survey testing brand recognition or if consumers understand nuances of typography and line thickness? Frivolity at the next level.

[aayusht]

Options A, B & C have such trivial differences (I cant even spot the difference for the Ford, BMW, etc. logos). I thought I was fairly alright in identifying logos but this survey is asking for mockery.

[Vishal.R]

Brand recognition and purpose of having a logo is people shouldn't need to look very closely but by just looking casually from distance, they should recognise the brand. As long as they recognise the brand from any image in a raw in above "test", it's success. Looks like the person who created this needs to correct his / her fundamental understanding. Subtle changes are only to make sure esthetics stay relevant with changes in colour printing technologies.

[charanreddy]

Isn’t it desirable for the manufacturer to evolve the logos slowly rather than make drastic changes ? It ensures there is continued brand association/ recognition and gives average buyers perception that a certain maker has a large number of vehicles plying around. I don’t see why consumers need to recognise the latest brand logo . This is a pointless exercise. In fact I was surprised that mahindra moved to the butterfly logo as it was quite a bit of change. But it was needed as mahindra wanted to move away from being a rural mass market UV brand (read Bolero) to a premium UV brand (read XUV700). Others like Mercedes and BMW probably want to emphasise their heritage rather than move away from it.

I also read in a book by Paul Arden ( Former MD of Saatchi and Saatchi consulting ) that a brand symbol needs to be recognisable from far away , like the single tick - Nike or three pointed star - Mercedes . This is not possible if brands keep changing symbols drastically.

[Burgman_tales]

I literally don't see any difference between the 3 Ford and Honda logos. Same for the 1st and 3rd BMW logos. What's the point of such surveys ? That companies shouldn't spend much money on this ?

[turbo]

Originally Posted by aayusht

Options A, B & C have such trivial differences (I cant even spot the difference for the Ford, BMW, etc. logos). I thought I was fairly alright in identifying logos but this survey is asking for mockery.

Originally Posted by Burgman_tales

I literally don't see any difference between the 3 Ford and Honda logos.

The third Ford logo has a full-stop at the end of the word.

The second one, does not have a loop where the first one does. See image

The H font in all three Honda logos is same.

These differences become important in detecting fakes.

Signature detection in forensic forgery investigation is also based on a similar level of nit-picking.

[antz.bin]

One of the first things I taught my nephew when he was 2.5/3 years old was to identify the make of the car in front from the logo. I haven't been able to teach my own daughter that since she sits in the car seat (No Airbags in our old car and I had no knowledge of car seats 13 years back) but it is really that easy.

Why does it matter that we identify the *current* logo? Isn't it enough that we identify *the logo*?

[srgntpepper]

This was probably commissioned by manufacturer of fake cheapo emblems.
Recommendation by Marketing team to Product Dev Team : "Don't sweat the finer details"

[Jeroen]

To be honest most people can’t tell the difference between a Ford, BMW or Nissan. My wife could not and I might struggle in some cases as well.

Every year all these different cars from different brands become more similar. Who cares about the logo.

I want a cool looking car. I could not care less about the logo or the brand for that matter.

Jeroen

[aviator1101]

Brand value is one thing, logo design is another.

If I am in the market to buy a car, I would have done my survey.

Gaining general knowledge or playing party games with logos is OK, but I would surely not walk into a BMW showroom with the aim of buying a three pointed star just because both the logos are round and I'm confused.

Couldn't decipher, what's the big deal with a logo?

[greenhorn]

The benchmark for trademark variations is literally whether a "moron in a hurry" can tell them apart. You need to be a moron to think these logos would pass that test. Then why bother