{"id":2646,"date":"2016-07-16T04:01:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-16T04:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/?p=2646"},"modified":"2016-07-16T04:01:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-16T04:01:12","slug":"mastercard-new-logo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are MasterCard Changing their Logo After 20 Years?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>\u00a0The big financial services organisation, MasterCard has made the decision to refresh their logo\u00a0after 20 years. MasterCard has made the decision to change their brand mark to reflect their increasing global reach and to fit more appropriately within the digital space.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h1>1) The new MasterCard logo<\/h1>\n<p>MasterCard\u2019s brand mark has been adapted slightly over the years to get to the stage it\u2019s at now. It has enabled them to create a strong brand identification, strengthen their brand globally and build on the brand&#8217;s image through ongoing communications.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2651\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-1.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-1\" width=\"652\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-1.jpg 652w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-1-380x214.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The good news is the new logo has not changed entirely. It still has the interlinking red and yellow circles (showing their connection, unity, togetherness) but all of the elements are seen to be slimmer, flatter and overall less fussy, with the name underneath the two circles.<\/p>\n<p>The main change is in the way in which the name is now written \u201cMastercard\u201d without the capitalised &#8220;C&#8221; and in some instances, even just \u201cmastercard\u201d all in lower case.The idea behind this strategy is to give less importance to the word &#8220;card&#8221; as today it&#8217;s just one type of payment amongst other digital payment solutions.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KW4fLE6OyQk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1>\u00a02) A hard sector<\/h1>\n<p>There is a lack of trust for financial services firms and especially those of lending firms. So consistent brand messaging and visual identities is the \u201csafe\u201d option for many of these institutions. It helps them to build trust with their audience.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes without these changes, like all companies, brands can become stuck, known for one thing and one thing only. A rigid visual identity did not reflect all in which MasterCard had to offer \u2013 the branding wasn\u2019t flexible enough to be adaptable across a number of platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Quoted in Wired, Ciny Chastain, head of MasterCard\u2019s customer experience and design commented, \u201cIt needs to thrive in the digital space. It\u2019s simplified. It\u2019s modernised and optimised for relevance in an increasingly digital world\u201d.<\/p>\n<h1>3) What\u2019s the point of changing a\u00a0successful logo?<\/h1>\n<p>That\u2019s what we expect many of MasterCard\u2019s customers to also think! MasterCard of course carried out rigorous research to find that it was actually the circles which people identified as their brand. It was the red and yellow that were recognisable and stood out for them.<\/p>\n<p>So armed with this information the mark could be altered slightly to meet their new purpose and fit in line with their overarching strategy.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"google_elide\">Quoted in AdWeek,MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar said &#8220;The MasterCard logo is recognized universally. There are 2.2 billion cards that carry the MasterCard logo. There are tens of millions of merchants worldwide that carry the MasterCard logo at the point of sale. The key for us is the equity in that logo\u2014we have to leverage that going into the future.\u00a0We had to retain the most recognizable elements of our brand, which are the interlocking circles, the red and yellow colors, and the name MasterCard itself. That&#8217;s exactly the path we&#8217;ve embarked upon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h1>4) A\u00a0more flexible brand mark<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2650\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-2-1160x870.jpg 1160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The design of the logo has been supported by their heritage and \u201cbrand story\u201d. For MasterCard the circular elements date back to 1966, the lowercase letters from the 1968 Master Charge logo, the vibrant colour palette of the 90\u2019s etc.<\/p>\n<p>The designers and the team involved have cleverly crafted a new logo with rationale and a story behind it. It hasn\u2019t simply been a change for changes sake. Audiences will be fed this information and communicated to so they also understand and their loyalty to the brand remains.<\/p>\n<h1>5) Will it work?<\/h1>\n<p>Well with all big logo changes there of course has to be a bedding in period. For MasterCard it is a risky move.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I like the simplicity of the design, the modern look is fresh and feels much more suitable to the digital age and generation. Compared now against its older previous logos, they do look old fashioned and out of date which for a growing brand is not something they want to be seen as.<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting to see if their communication style changes to reflect this more simplistic styling.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2655\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-5.jpg 1067w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2657\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-3.jpg 1067w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2654\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-7.jpg 1067w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-260x195.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-380x285.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.thebrandingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/mastercard-new-logo-the-branding-journal-6-1-1160x870.jpg 1160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>References: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2016\/07\/recognize-mastercard-changing-logo\/\">Wired.com<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mastercardbrandcenter.com\/us\/moreabout\/bh_bme.shtml\">MasterCard Brand Center<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/news\/advertising-branding\/mastercard-explains-its-new-logo-both-whats-new-and-what-isnt-172512\">AdWeek<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>P<\/strong><strong>ictures from:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><em>CreativeReview.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0The big financial services organisation, MasterCard has made the decision to refresh their logo\u00a0after 20 years. MasterCard has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"MasterCard has made the decision to change their logo to reflect their increasing global reach and to fit more appropriately within the digital 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