Dive Brief:
- MasterCard is unveiling a new logo this fall, according to Adweek. The new look is a simplified version of MasterCard’s iconic red and orange theme.
- The logo comes courtesy of design firm Pentagram, which was also behind last year’s revamping of Verizon’s logo.
- MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar told Adweek the redesigned logo was based on modernizing the brand and optimizing the look for the web with a simpler design.
Dive Insight:
Rebrands don't always go according to plan—something that a long line of brands (see: Uber, Tropicana, and Pepsi) can tell you. While new logos are usually made with the best intentions, consumers don't always see them that way.
MasterCard is willing to take that risk—even if its means moving away from the logo everyone knows.
"The MasterCard logo is recognized universally," Rajamannar told Adweek. "There are 2.2 billion cards that carry the MasterCard logo. There are tens of millions of merchants worldwide that carry the MasterCard logo at the point of sale. The key for us is the equity in that logo—we have to leverage that going into the future."
MasterCard hopes to retain the nuts-and-bolts of its iconic look—the overlapping red and orange circles—while modernizing and simplifying its look for the digital era. The company moved its Mastercard branding outside of the circles and put it in lowercase lettering, changes that make the logo more flexible for vertical or horizontal use.
The rebrand also reflects the evolution of payments away from traditional credit cards and toward more digital options, according to MasterCard.
"We wanted to signify that the card is just one type of payment. With the evolution that is happening [in digital payments], the card is no longer the most important element," Rajamannar said. "We wanted to de-emphasize it, and so we've taken away the capital letter C."
