A logo is the most conspicuous part of a brand. It is the logo that makes a company recognizable. That’s why the visible part attracts tremendous investments. Creation and updating of a signature style is increasingly costly.
Let’s see the world’s costliest logos.
Belfast: $280,000
In 2008, Belfast City administration decided to change the city’s logo and spent the stunning $280,000 on the new design – a heart-shaped ‘B’ with the city name written on it. The symbol was chosen to convey a message of love and emphasize the city’s vivid history. According to the City Council, ‘B’ stands for ‘Belfast’, ‘being’, ‘being hospitable’, ‘being bright’, and ‘being part of it’.
Melburn: $625,000
The City of Melburn was rebranded by Landor Associates in 2009. The logo was to emphasize the new vector of the city’s signature style. They charged the city $625,000 for that.
The London 2012 Olympic Games: $625 000
The logo was designed in 2007 by Wolff Olins, a company from London City. The design received tons of criticism for roughness and lack of professionalism. However, its budget reached $625, 000.
Pepsi: $1, 200, 000
In 2008, the Arnell Group designer team updated the Pepsi logo, carried out a complete rebranding, and received a good $1, 200, 000. Nevertheless, some people consider the change to be nothing but failure and just another lost battle in Cola Wars, because they believe the Pepsi logo will never have an eternal identity anywhere near that of the Coca Cola logo.
BBC: $1,800,000
The BBC logo was created in 2007. It featured a globe with the slant colored BBC acronym underneath. That was a crucial step for a major broadcasting company, and it proved to be an effective investment. Today, the new monochromic logo is known worldwide. If BBC continues to use it in 2016, it will be the longest-standing logo in the company’s history (the previous record-breaker continued from 1971 until 1988).
ANZ: $15,000,000
The banking group from Australia and New Zealand made a rebranding, which took a two-year period since 2010 until 2012 and a sum of $15,000,000. The sum embraced the new marketing strategy, logo, and signature style. Being the largest bank in New Zealand and the third largest one in Australia, ANZ made a fair investment in the rebranding, which fully justified the effort.
Posten Norge: $55,000,000
Posten Norge is a Norwegian mail service provider. In 2008, the company launched a full-scale 300-million-krone rebranding campaign, which produced a new logo and advanced marketing strategies. Posten Norge successfully created a positive and highly recognizable brand.
Accenture: $100,000,000
Landor Associates came up with a simple yet powerful logo for Accenture. In 2001, Andersen Consulting broke up with Arthur Andersen, changed its name for Accenture, so it had no choice but to go through a rebranding. Unfortunately, the new trademark wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny.
British Petroleum: $211,000,000
The British Petroleum logo was designed by Landor Associates in 2008. The rebranding cost amounted to $211,000,000.
Definitely, it is not only about the logo. Also, it had to embrace a change in the entire set of symbols: office rooms, documentation, plants, gas stations, trailers, etc.
This is what Landor says about its work: “The Helios mark was to symbolize our new unified company. Brave and vivid, it reflects identifiable natural shapes and energy, which present BP as a leader in the use of eco-friendly technologies, whose goals extend far beyond the oil sphere”.
Symantec: $1, 280, 000, 000
This one is the most expensive brands in the world. It was its crazy budget that earned it its place in history. It failed. Yes, such things do happen too.
As you can see, big money is as likely to make a big success as it is to go down the drain. It is a matter of luck. The finest thing is that a cheap or even free logo can make quite a bang and gain popularity.
