Great points- Gap scores well for understanding digital media and managing in a fast paced environment. I kind of liked the new logo :-)

You are indeed correct that Gap did the right thing when they released the new logo to the public before deploying it. The fact that they did makes me wonder two things: 
 
1) Did they have a feeling it wouldn't go over well? 
2) Did they do it to generate publicity? In other words, did they deliberately release the monstrosity to generate buzz? 
 
I agree that not all publicity is good publicity. I'm also a fan of Occam's Razor" title="">. As such, I believe that the likeliest explanation is that they just messed up. But the cynic in me wonders... 
 

My apologies for the botched HTML link to Wikipedia's page on Occam's Razor. I was trying to give everyone a resource for learning what it is if they didn't know.

As a friend of mine points out in a recent blog post (http://ps.peteshelly.com/?p=834), if Gap was doing a soft launch of their logo we would have seen it on their Facebook Page and other online presences. The new logo was only seen on their website. There would have been no additional costs to also deploy the logo on Facebook (which would have been a better place to do the test launch).

'future HBS brand/social media case study' all over this! Trick - all the people tight with the old brand are feeling enraged and/or engaged - this is great if they go back to the Gap in droves. A company doesn't undertake a brand change after 40 years unless they think they need *new* people to connect w/ the brand? Pepsi people were still Pepsi people after new Coke, but were there an new "old Coke" people when new Coke went away??? I'm motivated to check the case studies!

Yes, social media is a great tool for market research. Almost an ongoing focus group. Once enough follows have been gotten, then the trick is to listen and evaluate the results.

I suggest also you, other than through the GAP on facebook as well ok

Billy 
 
I agree with you on so much of this but I cannot help but thinking that they missed a big opportunity here to turn it from the logo to their current marketing/promotional efforts. They have the launch of the 1969 jean, the recycling of old jeans tied to it for a 30% coupon plus the FB mention for an additional 10%, the daring denim look photo and a few others. They had us listening but dismissed us. Push it to what you are doing especially with the holiday season approaching.  
 
People are scaling down but yet we all need clothes and jeans are a part of that.  
 
@SuzanneVara

Great points! 
 
I feel that Gap did a very good job with handling the situation, and managed to turn a clearly miffed part of the audience back on the positive side. 
 
All in all the brand has gotten a huge amount of online visibility, both from their customers as well as the social media industry.

I think Gap handled their situation far better than Digg.com handled their website redesign disaster. Gap listened to its consumer base and saved time and money by reverting back to their old logo.  
 
Digg did the exact opposite, which is odd for a website that relies on traffic from social media outlets. The result was Digg's traffic plummeting 24% because they didn't listen to the social media comments by their users. 
 
It is amazing how much social media is changing the consumer/customer relationship.

Felt like a stunt to me. Which is awesome for The Gap brand managers, but I know from personal memory that the current logo is NOT 40 years old.  
 
Congrats, Billy! This article has perpetuated this BRAND MYTH for the lucky retailer. :) 
 
Below are a some commercials from the late 70s and early 80s I remember well... 
 
1981: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCEBoOy0ne8 
 
80s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEokBOm7bnE&feature=related 
 
80s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weBZK5EeHQk&feature=related 
 
peace- 
seanrox 
 
 
 
 

I don't think this was a stunt, unlike some rumors I've heard. Mostly because if it was a stunt, wouldn't they have just continued along with the crowd sourcing idea? But instead Legal pulled the plug (according to rumors) and they had us all ready and willing to devote time and energy to logo development, for free! (or at least for goodies). If it was a stunt, Legal would have been pre-warned and have already given it's blessings. 
 
Of course, this all hinges on the idea that Legal was the ones who pulled the plug. 
 
@KateDavids

I agree generating buzz at the same time they want feedback from their consumers. It is nice that they want to learn suggestions from the people who they serve. :)

Feel I have to be a contrarian on this post. If GAP was foolish enough to produce a new visual identity without the benefit of focus testing it with real customers -- whether in person or online -- they should be looking for a new agency. I think what GAP failed to do is to truly understand the difference between brand and branding. They changed their logo without the benefit of spending time in advance to change the story or the brand pillars on which the story is based. Without that work in advance, it's just a pretty picture -- or in this case, not so pretty a picture.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I think the key takeaways is that social media can be used in many forms. Mostly, its an educational resource. In my opinion, those that listen the most (as opposed to doing all the talking) end up winning in the end. Also, publicly handling situations via social media shows everyone, even those not originally involved, how the company operates. Transparency in social media is a huge plus if you can go that route.  
 
 
 
Big players aren't the only ones who can benefit from using social media as this type of resource. How can you do this for your business? 
 
 
 

There is brand marketing and logo development is likely no longer the top of the marketing process (or budget resource utilization). Changing the skill set and job description of the CMO is the only way to achieve this objective.

"With Christmas just around the corner, the buzz generated over their new logo could boost their holiday sales" 
 
Really? People debating and discussing their logo on the internet is going to boost holiday sales? Please connect those dots for us. 
 
Also HubSpot - please, please, please remove the script on your site that includes the "read more" and auto-pastes the URL. It's obnoxious and makes it so difficult to actually interact with your content. Makes me not want to link here at all.

@Nick - I think there is a good possibility that they were aware that the logo wouldn't go over well, but that social media was a safe place to test it. With that in mind, I also think they realized either way they'd win from a publicity standpoint. 
 
 
 
@Doug - I agree and believe listening in social media is the it's most effective use. People love talking and love being listened to even more! 
 
 
 
 
 
@Suzanne - I agree that I'm not sure they fully took advantage of the situation, especially in pulling back the campaign to have their logo created by a fan. We'll see if 3-6 months the effect this surge of buzz has had. 
 
 
 
@Justin - Handling situtations publicly looks great for Gap. I wish more companies would do this. 
 
 
 
@Patti - I believe Gap was taking a risk, but a calculated one. With big risks come big reward. Instead of having an opinion from a chosen focus group and with limited opinions they got feedback from thousands of people - for free. Also, I feel as though opinions from people who know they're answers are be critiqued will always be biased. I do agree with you that it doesn't look like they did anything to actually change their brand (their story) before the logo. 
 
 
 
Adam - "could" was the key word in that sentence. Bottom line is we don't know if this will utimately be a success of failure for Gap, but in my opinion people talking about your brand at a time when clothes are being bought above the normal rate will be a good thing.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Billy, 
 
Ironically, Gap gets to play the role of protector of its customer base by going back to the old logo. 
 
In the end, I believe the attention they received (just in time for the Christmas shopping season) helps.  
 
I find it all to be quite cynical.