Lessons from the University of California Logo Fiasco – it’s not about the logo

When the University of California System, representing 22 universities and campuses, developed a new more modern version of their logo for the digital age it was just another internal project. Not realizing it, they had embarked on something perhaps as horrific and challenging to change as the Stars and Stripes.  They forgot one simple thing: all the alumae of all the campuses and the existing students who have a deep emotional connection to “their U.C.”

This really has little to do with the orange banner with a C in it (although it’s quite hideous); it’s more about the process that did not include those who “own” the brand.

When brands change it’s not just a graphic image that’s being evolved or updated. It’s not about a new color, it’s about the legacy of the brand and all its connections to everyone who’s been part of it. They own the brand as part of their experiences. They are the cheerleaders and the loyalists who have passion about what the brand means.

In our work on rebranding projects with large organizations an essential rule we’ve discovered to make change possible is including all the key stakeholders who have deep connections to the brand. Without doing this you immediately encounter resistance. Through a carefully coordinated series of interviews, presentations, basically designed to include all these “owners of the brand,”  you bring them along with the changes.

It’s like a journey that begins with acknowledging the realities of the brand and how its change and evolution must include all those who care about it.

When organizations think they’ve created something new and they do it through a very closed process it’s inevitable this will build enormous friction and possible retraction of the changes. Just like the introduction of the new GAP logo – also a fiasco.

The key is a process that insures everyone has been included. Building a constituency is essential in the effort to change  and grow brands. You are actually crafting loyalty and emotional connection all through the journey and by the time the brand is rolled out everyone is invested. This is a key success element – investment from stakeholdlers makes it work.

Next time U.C. takes a look at their venerable old seal they need to really think through the process of change and build inclusion into the change of brand or it will flop again.