A History of Logos

In Chapter 8 of Essentials of Marketing we talk about the value branding provides to a company and how they protect those brands with trademarks.  The USA Today recently ran the article, “What’s the story behind Apple’s logo, and those of Amazon, Starbucks and other companies?”  The article opens with the video embedded here and then goes on to talk about some of the earliest logos used along with some history and backstories on the logos used by many large companies today including Amazon, FedEx, AT&T and more.  It covers some hidden secrets students might not be aware of.  For instance, did they know that the smile in the Amazon logo connects the “A” and “z” together signifying Amazon’s ability to provide everything from A-Z?  Did they know there is a hidden arrow in the FedEx logo symbolizing the company’s logistics speed and accuracy?  In 2007 Baskin-Robbins decided they needed to overhaul their logo to become more current but that meant throwing out the “31 flavors” identity they had built over the past 50 years.  Their solution – hide the “31” in the “BR” of their new logo.  How about the significance of the peacock in the NBC logo or the significance of the number of feathers in that logo?  The article is a fun read and will certainly surprise students with the depth of thought and meaning behind some of the iconic logos that we know today.

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