While some brands try to keep their logos consistent over time to reinforce their history and identity, others may want to change to prove that they are still relevant. Fast Company recently presented us with the story of Jazzercize's latest rebranding, which it says comes from a desire to stay current and move away from the associations with its origins in the 1980's aerobics boom.
Although the company is still trying to enforce the same core values of energy and intense workouts, Jazzercise is chiefly interested in promoting a more aggressive style that invites new customers in. The font it has adopted for this logo is harder and sleeker, almost suggesting the sharpness of the Gillette logo with its diagonal slant and sharp edges.
In a press release from the company, Jazzercise's CEO and founder said that the revamped logo is supposed to encourage newcomers to revaluate the company. But the brand identity website Brand New, one of the sources referenced by the Fast Company piece, criticized the old and new logos.
"Both options are forgettable and generic, but the new one is more so, blending in with every fitness venue/trend/thing ever," the website states. "My guess is that Jazzercise is trying to align itself more with the Crossfit craze and needing to amp up its hardcore-ness. Execution-wise, I guess the new logo is not terrible."
There's a large difference between "not terrible" and "major improvement," and an effective rebranding should focus more on the latter if it wants a strong response. When changing a company logo that will appear across all promotional pieces, businesses should consider using custom screen printing to get a good idea of how this new logo looks.