Consumers are subjected to thousands of brand logos every week, but the vast majority of them fail to make an impression. To counter this, quick-service companies invest a sizeable amount of time and resources creating the perfect logo design that persuades customers to visit their stores.
Smoothie King believes it has created a logo that will do just that. After 40 years in the beverage business, the brand is revamping its image and trying its luck with a fresh, contemporary brand logo.
“We have the best product in the market, a very strong name, and a good opportunity to build the logo and the design,” says Tom O’Keefe, president and chief operating officer of Smoothie King. “When we look at the domestic prototype and the consumer research, it is a perfect time to make the changes.”
O’Keefe believes the new logo will attract a broader base of consumers and better portray Smoothie King’s brand culture.
“We think there is more opportunity in the female demographic, so we’re looking for more of a balance so that [the logo] is equally inviting to both males and females,” he says. “Also, we are actively promoting and inspiring people to become more active and healthy in their lifestyles, and we think the movement of the crown says that.”
The new logo features a red crown hovering over the words Smoothie King. But O’Keefe says there is more to the logo than what is first apparent. The points of the crown are actually three people, representing a sense of community, he says. To the right of the crown, the third person appears to be extending a hand for others to join. And the “i” in the word king pays homage to the crown by having a crown point as its dot.
The brand also found that the new logo’s fluid nature is more popular than the rigid look of the old one.
WD Partners, the design and management consultant behind Smoothie King’s new logo, impressed O’Keefe with its ability to collect a wide array of research and to produce creative and meaningful designs. Smoothie King collected more than 6,000 surveys and hosted four focus groups to fully understand consumers’ thoughts on brand reimaging.
Having rolled it out at a franchisee conference last week, O’Keefe is optimistic that the new logo will be a positive change for Smoothie King.
“I thought the feedback we got was tremendously positive,” he says. “I think that our folks were ready for a change, and if that’s any indication, then I think that we will have satisfied the consumers desire, and it will validate the research and the work that we put in.”
By Marlee Murphy
