Facebook changes logo, reveals video ad revenue sharing plans

Dive Brief:

Facebook quietly pushed out a new logo Wednesday with the idea of making it more modern, friendly and approachable, and maybe more importantly, more smartphone-friendly.
The overall branding for the new logo is still white lettering on a blue background, and the most obvious change is more white space and a rounded "a."
Facebook also made a change to its video ad business, introducing a revenue-sharing model for its video publishing partners.

Dive Insight:

Facebook made several splashes this week with the announcement of a tweak to its newsfeed algorithm that puts an emphasis on video content, and then news of the social network testing out a new video ad pricing model.

Midweek, the social network changed its logo, and the difference is so subtle it probably didn’t register with most users. The old logo was created in the Klavika typeface and new logo is a custom typeface. According to Facebook creative director, Josh Higgins, “Now that we are established, we set out to modernize the logo to make it feel more friendly and approachable.”

There might be a deeper reason for the change than just “modernizing” the look – as more and more users access the social media platform via mobile devices, the new logo renders better on backlit smartphones where more white space and clear lettering helps prevent fuzziness and improves legibility.

Separately, also on Wednesday, the company announced it will begin sharing ad revenue with video partners. The new model seemingly targets YouTube's clients, pushing Facebook further into the social video network category. Fast Company points out the new tactic is similar to YouTube's profit-sharing model and is aimed at the same brands. Under the new mechanism, Facebook will keep 45% of the revenue from those ads, and give 55% to partners, which is identical to the split YouTube offers.

"We hear [from media companies and other video creators] they get a lot of value from the distribution and promotion of their videos on Facebook . . . and we think this product will amplify that," Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships for Facebook, told Variety.