Baskin Robbins Tries the “Hail Mary” of Marketing: Launch a Rebrand

90% of rebranding campaigns are lazy marketing. That’s not a researched number, it just seems like it could be true. I was originally ready to dismiss this new rebrand from Baskin Robbins as more of the same thing. Reading more about it, there’s some interesting nuance here that might actually help them achieve a brand rejuvenation. Along with the new logo (which retains the familiar “31” integrated inside to represent a different flavor for each day of the month), the brand is selling merchandise and introducing creative new trending flavors like Ube Coconut Swirl.

Baskin Robbins is just one of many iconic consumer brands putting design front and center as they simplify their recognizable logos. Some do offer a much needed facelift to an aging brand. Others remain unnecessary exercises made to fuel the ego of a new CMO. How can you tell the difference? Here’s one thought: let’s go back and see how many of these brands have retained their logos five (or maybe even three) years from now. Brands shouldn’t be like flavors. If you’re trying a new one every few years, there’s probably a deeper business issue that a new logo is unlikely to fix.