New year, new you? GM and Kia redesign their logos
Brand identity is a huge talking point for every automaker. Over time, though, companies undertake new marketing campaigns to keep that brand from getting stale, particularly when huge changes are afoot in whatever industry they participate. Whether you’re necessarily on board with it yet or not, that seismic shift is coming with EVs. General Motors is prepping a flood of new electric models in the coming years. To that end, the company unveiled a new corporate logo Friday, set to drive home their vision of a zero-emission future.
“There are moments in history when everything changes,” said GM global chief marketing officer Deborah Wahl. “We believe such a point is upon us for the mass adoption of electric vehicles. Unlike ever before, we have the solutions, capability, technology and scale to put everyone in an EV. Our new brand identity and campaign are designed to reflect this.”
The new General Motors logo, shown above, is the first brand new one for nearly half a century. The look we currently know, with “GM” in capital letters on a blue background, first emerged in 1964. GM is launching an updated version of its GM.com website January 11, with a greater focus on autonomous driving and electrification.
How Kia’s changing its look
Kia, for its part, unleashed a new slogan and logo this week as well. “Movement that inspires,” is the tag line, with a “handwritten signature” logo to boot. Marketing speak aside, the company’s goals are broadly the same. “Kia’s new logo represents the company’s commitment to becoming an icon for change and innovation,” said President and CEO Ho Sung Song. “Our new logo represents our desire to inspire customers as their mobility needs evolve, and for our employees to rise to challenges we face in a fast-changing industry.” Not quite as on-the-nose as GM’s statement, but again Kia’s taking on EVs and changing its brand image to reflect that ambition.
The company has yet to reveal a more detailed look at its strategy moving forward. However, it does plan to share more on that philosophy as well as its future product lineup on January 15. Basically, the event will elaborate on the company’s “Plan S” long-term strategy, first debuted last year.
We’ve commended Kia in recent years for its cars, like the new Telluride, so we’re looking forward to seeing what the company has up its sleeve moving forward.
