Ford is updating its logo, the famous blue oval, in June as part of its centennial celebrations and to indicate the company’s revitalisation strategy.
Ford is updating its logo, the famous blue oval, in June as part of its centennial celebrations and to indicate the company’s revitalisation strategy.
The American manufacturer will launch the centennial oval as the company’s corporate identity on June 17, the first day of the company’s second century.
“This action is far more than changing a sign on a building,” said Jan Valentic, vice president of global marketing at Ford. “The Ford oval is a powerful symbol, recognised the world over as an icon of the company that put the world on wheels. As we head into our next century, we want to make it very clear that it is the same symbol that will lead the industry on three simple tenets: great products, a strong business and a better world.”
Ford said the centennial oval is a key component of the company’s revitalisation strategy. “As our product-led transformation has been gaining strength, we’ve been exclaiming that ‘the blue oval is back – and in a major way.” Valentic said. “This is just one more way.”
A marketing professor, Rajeev Batra, told that logos are about iconic status and may stir deeper loyalty in customers or employees. “Given the external PR problems the company has had, it may be kind of an internal morale issue,” he said.
