How not to rebrand your global brand: the airbnb monologue

Airbnb has a new logo and it’s making waves. Wipeout – that’s what I’m calling it. Sure the brand is brilliant, and the agency did its homework. Here’s a quick run-through of what the agency and brand think they’ve done and what the people of the ‘innernet’ say they’ve done.

Creating a marque anyone can draw is what London based agency DesignStudio says they did.

They believe: the marque, named Belo encompasses values of belonging and is imbued with four meanings of People, Places, Love and Airbnb. Me thinks it should have been called ‘BELOW’.

first signs of the shit hitting the fan…an identity crisis

Our yearlong process failed to recognize another companies logo..no worries, airbnb is curvy, more humane…

The end result is a symbol we hope people feel compelled to share, one that accepts we are all different, one to wear with pride. People do feel compelled to share. Like this tumblr…

Here’s what Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said they’ve done. “Belonging is the idea that defines Airbnb…we’ve created a new marque for Airbnb inspired by our community. It’s an iconic marque for our windows, our doors, and our shared values.”

SURE YOU HAVE…

The marque is designed to be as clear and simple as possible. SURE IT IS…

Bird is the word!

Instantly iconic but easily reproducible. EASY TO REPLICATE…

And to reflect this they’re inviting their users to customize and update it to suit their own needs…Crowdsourcing? People are inherently creative…

ONE LOGO TO SATISFY EVERY NEED….“They opened up their creative process and let us in, and ultimately the close partnership led to the best possible solution for the Airbnb brand and community.” YES Mr. Head of Brand Creative @ Airbnb…THEY HAVE.