Consistent or Not Consistent with Logos? That is a Question.
NAB Convention #3: Google changes its logo every day. Is there brand confusion? Is there brand erosion? Is it branding? Are we thinking too strictly about logos conforming to a style guide and not enough about how people consume our logos? Deep questions to consider over coffee. 
I believe we’ve all become too uptight when it comes to logos. It is a nice rule that we all need to follow certain guidelines, but when opportunities arise to enlighten and excite our brand, we need to seize the day, like Google does.
I saw one of these moments at the NAB convention. The Starbucks, an incredibly restrictive brander when it comes to their logo and look, bastardized their logo in the convention area. It caused me to take a second look. And it made me smile. And it caused me to take a photo.
Now that is a logo with pulling power. Not because it was consistent, but because it wasn’t consistent with the brand. It was consistent to the environment. It was zagging when everyone is zigging. I love Starbucks. Do I love them less because of a logo change or do I love them more now? I’ll finish my latte and let you know.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.