By Alyssa Udall (@udallyss)
Remember AOL–the internet access, instant messaging and email service that ran rampant in the Internet’s earlier years? Where have they been all these years?
AOL has turned to providing content rather than internet service in order to stay afloat. With this change has come a new look and new logos. Yes, logos, plural. These new designs are creating quite a buzz in the social media world, as people gather together to either love it or hate it.
The new branding technique includes a new, lowercase version of their name, which now reads “Aol.” This play with capitalization is reminiscent of Apple’s “iPhone”, “iTunes,” etc and is meant to showcase AOL’s features, such as Aol.shopping and Aol.music.
However, the true story in Aol’s makeover are their logos: from a goldfish to what looks like a fluffy ball of cotton-candy, shaped like a human brain, Aol is truly moving in another direction, aesthetically.
What’s the lesson to be learned here? Whether people like it or hate it, re-branding your business in this drastic matter will get them talking… a lot. Now that their new look has gone viral, sparked controversy and spurned debate, Aol can be assured that their new brands and services will be noticed. What a powerful internet marketing device… but I guess that’s just the power of social media people! Harness it, or be swallowed up like a little orange goldfish.