Introduction

Two events occurred recently that got me thinking about brand logos.  First, while catching up on my backlog of Journal of Marketing Research issues, I read about the results of new research into the effect of logos on brand equity.  Second, one of my old employers unveiled a new logo as part of an effort to reintroduce one of their brands to the Gen Z audience.  The change gave me the perfect opportunity to apply the learnings from the article.  I thought I would share a few thoughts on the subject.

Summary of New Research

The new research I am referring to was published in the February 2019 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.  It is titled “The Visual Asymmetry Effect: An Interplay of Logo Design and Brand Personality on Brand Equity” and written by Jonathan Luffarelli, Antonios Stamatogiannakis, and Haiyang Yang.  I am going to attempt to summarize it here.  

In their research, the authors describe an attempt to study the interplay of logo symmetry (or asymmetry) on the value of the brand.  Through a series of studies, the authors are able to show that 1) consumers perceive brands with asymmetrical logos to be more “exciting” than brands with symmetrical logos; and 2) consumers place a higher value on brands with asymmetrical logos but only if the brand already has an “exciting” personality.

Each of these two findings has significant implications for those involved with logo design. The first finding would seem to imply that logo designers should strive to design asymmetric logos.  Most brands would love to be perceived as “exciting”.  However, the authors only tested the logos in absence of any other brand information.  When other information is added, the results become a bit more nuanced.

In subsequent studies, the authors measured the value consumers gave to brands that differed by logo symmetry and in their pre-existing personality.  What they discovered was that asymmetrical logos had no effect on brand value unless the brand already had an “exciting” personality.  In other words, changing a logo from symmetrical to asymmetrical might reinforce an existing “exciting” personality but it’s not likely to change a brand’s pre-existing personality.  

The overall finding seems obvious in retrospect but certainly worthy of repeating.  Logos can impact brand personality but the effect is limited when other information is available.  In other words, when allocating limited resources, we must be careful not to over-emphasize the impact the logo can have on driving to a desired personality.

Commentary on new Simmons Logo

Which brings us to the new ‘Simmons’ logo introduced by Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB).  I worked for Simmons, and later SSB, for eleven years beginning in 2007.  During that time, we did extensive research on brand personality.  Interestingly, the authors of the article used similar brand personality measures to the ones I used to measure brand personality when I worked for SSB.  We both based our work on Jennifer Acker’s five personality dimensions of excitement, sincerity, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.  (For anyone doing brand equity work, I highly recommend Jennifer Acker’s foundational paper “Dimensions of Brand Personality”.)

The new Simmons logo was introduced as part of a new line of products targeted to Gen Z and Millennial consumers.  These consumers have been abandoning traditional purchase channels in search of new and better experiences, primarily a new and better purchase experience.  The legacy brands, such as Serta and Simmons, that are tied to traditional retail channels have been losing these consumers to the up-start brands such as Casper and Tuft & Needle.

For the purposes of this posting, I am going to put to the side the decision to use the 150-year old Simmons brand for this line.  (I am also going to put to the side, but can not help but mention, the risky decision to feature the color yellow on a mattress.)  Because I’ve just summarized an article on logo symmetry, let’s examine the new logo in the context of the article.

The Simmons logo has undergone numerous changes throughout its 150 year history.  However, if we just stick to the logos used within the memory of the majority of today’s mattress consumers, we see that the logo has generally been symmetrical.  The name ‘Simmons’ itself, with an ’s’ at the beginning and end and with a preponderance of symmetrical letters, lends itself to this type of logo.  The new design inserts a distinctly asymmetrical design element. 

In the absence of any other brand information, the research would suggest that a symmetrical logo would rate higher than an asymmetrical logo on the personality attributes of sincerity, competence and ruggedness.  And, as we discussed above, an asymmetrical logo would rate higher on the personality of excitement.

The question arises as to which of these dimensions would be most appealing to the Gen Z mattress purchaser.  Despite all the research that has been published on Gen Z, there is little in the public domain that specifically addresses their preferred brand personalities.  However, we can draw some conclusions from some of the research that has been published.

In their book “Marketing to Gen Z”, Jeff Fromm and Angie Read include an entire chapter on Gen Z’s search for “Brand Me”.  Fromm and Read conclude that Gen Z consumers, who they call “Pivotals”, search for brands that are unique, authentic, praiseworthy, and engaging.  One could argue that at least two of these adjectives translate best into the dimensions of excitement (unique, engaging).  Consequently, Simmons’ move to a more asymmetrical logo would appear to be a good one if they are trying to appeal to Gen Z.

Unfortunately, the new logo will not be judged in isolation.  The Simmons brand exists within the memory of the parents of Gen Z.  The brand exists online in the form of numerous reviews, articles and advertisements.  From the research we learned that asymmetrical logos can amplify the perception of a brand as exciting only if it already has that personality.  Unfortunately, that is not the case here.  Consequently, Simmons should not expect that changing to an asymmetrical logo will do much of anything to change the personality of the brand.

Summary

Serta Simmons Bedding recently unveiled a new initiative to attract Gen Z consumers to the 150-year old Simmons brand.  This effort included the introduction of a new logo that, among other changes, made the logo more asymmetrical.  Recent research suggests that the more asymmetrical logo could, when considered in isolation, provide the brand with a more exciting personality favored by Gen Z consumers.  However, a deeper reading of the research suggests that any impact will be much more muted as significant information on the brand beyond the logo is widely available.

Before we end, I must stress that I have only evaluated the new logo on one design element, it’s symmetry.  There are several other design elements, including color and iconography, that likely play a greater role in how a logo will be perceived.  I trust that my former colleagues at SSB have done their due diligence.

Further Reading

To read the full study, AMA members can access it through this link: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243718820548. 

For a summary of the research by Jonathan Luffarelli, follow this link: https://www.ie.edu/insights/articles/can-a-symmetrical-logo-be-bad-for-your-brand/. 

For information on the recent Simmons 2019 rebrand, follow this link: https://www.furninfo.com/Furniture-Industry-News/11264/

For information on the Simmons 2012 rebranding, follow this link: https://www.furnituretoday.com/business-news/simmons-recharges-brands-with-new-logos-repositioned-beautyrest-line/

To read Jennifer Acker’s paper “Dimensions of Brand Personality”, follow this link: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/publication-pdf/Dimensions_of_Brand_Personality.pdf

For more information on Jeff Fromm and Angie Read’s book “Marketing to Gen Z”, follow this link: https://www.harpercollinsleadership.com/9780814439272/marketing-to-gen-z/