Did You Fall into the New Gap?

According to DownWithDesign.com, the clothing store Gap made some rebranding efforts during the fall of 2010 that include updating its logo – but unfortunately it was seen as a failed effort from a backlash of online criticism. The company quickly switched back to the original Gap logo within a matter of days. What a perfect example of the power of feedback from your target market!

Marka Hansen, president of the clothing chain’s North American division, recently announced she will leave the company this week after 24 years. Her exit from the top position that she held for four years comes after a disappointing Christmas season for the company. Gap plans to announce Hansen’s replacement in the near future.

Gap received a large amount of negative feedback that their rebranded logo had missed the mark for various reasons, such as “it is far too generic,” or the new look “cheapened” the brand.

The new logo was extremely plain and simple, to say the least, but was that a bad strategy for a new logo? How about other simple logos, such as the Target bullseye, the Nike swoosh, or the McDonald’s M? All of these are both simple and recognizable logos that are easily identified with their respective brands. So where does Gap fit in with this?

Tell us why you think Gap’s rebranding effort failed, or why you think it was right on the mark.

Published on: February 2, 2011