Google Doodles

29.10.2009 | Marketing, Design

A few weeks ago, many people were a bit confused when they opened their web browser. They did not see the logo they are used to see on their starting page. Above the Google Search field, Google replaced its brand with a barcode. When Google normally adapts its logo, users still recognize Google's logo. Because of the barcode's nature, people could not this time. Is this good for Google's brand?

The first so-called holiday logo or 'Google Doodle' was published in Aug 1998 to inform users that the whole Google team is out-of-office: if something is wrong with our page, we cannot fix it. We are at the Burning Man Festival. Hence, the original purpose of these adaptations was for corporate communications. Already the second logo adaptation was to wish Google's users a happy Thanksgiving. From Nov 1998 onwards, Google institutionalized these holiday logos to celebrate a certain event in science, history, or society.

According to Interbrand, the Google logo is the 7th most valuable brand in 2009. For this reason, marketing managers would generally advise against any logo adaptation. Google changes this famous brand very often. According to Michael Lopez, the man who draws these logos, he does not have a specific guideline, which event is published next. Still, Google adapts its logo wisely and achieves basically three things:

Publicity: every time Google publishes a logo that does not make sense, bloggers and media write about it. The mystery about a Google Doodle in Korea is one example for this.

Localization: holiday logos are also published on local Google pages to celebrate a local person, an event or national day (example).

Refreshment of the brand: by surprise, users are reminded of Google's brand, since something unusual appears on their starting page. While looking at it, users discover the Google letters in it again and are actively memorizing it once more.

Lopez does great work, in my view, as he takes a piece of modern art, a machine or a famous spot on earth and merges it with the Google logo. As Google's legal statement does not allow is to publish our favorite Google holiday logos, here are the links:

Google's 11th Birthday Oktoberfest Qi Xi Galileo Orsted Perseids Moonlanding Pinocchio Miracle at Berne Tetris Popov Pollock

www.google.com/logos/oktoberfest09.gif

www.google.com/logos/qixi09.gif

www.google.com/logos/galileo09.gif

www.google.com/logos/orsted09.gif

www.google.com/logos/perseids09.gif

www.google.com/logos/moonlanding09.gif

www.google.com/logos/pinocchio09.gif

www.google.com/logos/miracleatberne09.gif

www.google.com/logos/tetris09.gif

www.google.com/logos/popov09.gif

www.google.com/logos/pollock09.gif