Gap thought it would be a good idea to change its tired old logo. People didn’t like the new logo, so the company says, Oops our bad, you come up with a design. Wait, never mind, we’ll keep the old logo.

How could a company so misjudge its brand and its customers every step of the way? And by the way, why did people go crazy about all this? Was the new logo that bad, or is something bigger at play here?

If you go back to the beginning - back to when Gap ruled casual clothing - it was a challenger brand, an upstart with a point of view. It wasn’t an edgy point of view. It was a simple, achievable, yet aspirational promise of what casual clothes and a casual lifestyle could be. It was a spirit as much as a look, and everyone wanted it.

Over time, Gap’s core audience that they knew so well started to age out and a new generation came into the fold. In an effort to keep its core fans and appeal to a younger audience, Gap bought Banana Republic and launched Old Navy. But in the process, it gave all its personality and spirit away to these new siblings.  What does Gap stand for now?  Nobody knows.

The only thing that remains from the days when Gap stood for something is the logo.  It may have thought that changing the logo would be a symbol of re-evaluation, signaling that something new was happening.  Except, nothing new is happening…in the customers’ eyes -just more of the same clothing that doesn’t connect with the spirit that attracted them in the first place. Getting rid of the logo was instead a signal that something they cherished would now be gone for good.

I’m glad (as a very loyal, long-term Gap customer) that Gap management returned to the old logo. Now they must somehow return to what the old logo stands for, which is the essence of their brand.

My two wishes for the Gap management team:

1) Start by reconnecting with your challenger brand origins and sacrifice. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Big brands have the resources to make no choices, but the price they pay is a weak emotional connection, and therefore weak loyalty, profitability and a dependence on promotions to generate sales. Choose an audience, become a part of their lives, and loyalty and profitability will follow.

2) Remember how to live your brand. Back when you ruled the mall, every aspect of the brand experience, the clothes, the store window, the staff’s appearance and demeanor - and yes, the logo -sent the same message. What happened?

Decide who you’re going to be, then be it through and through. Then, if your logo doesn’t reflect who you are, change it. Make it a symbol of your new brand’s life, not just your old brand’s death.