On my first visit to Sedona, Arizona, I drove past a McDonald's and was surprised to see that the famous Golden Arches were turquoise. (took the photo shown here).
Having studied brands for many years, the change in color caught my eye. The Golden Arches have been the famous symbol of this global fast-food hamburger chain and seeing this, I wondered if this was the only location that the well-known symbol is a different color. (Yes.)
Wikipedia gives this brief summary about the change: "The McDonald's in Sedona, Arizona is the only one in the world with turquoise arches. They are not yellow because the city thought they would mesh poorly with the surrounding red rocks. The first color McDonald's offered was turquoise which the city accepted."
What does this change say about their brand recognition? One of the main goals of branding (for 'big' brands as well as for women business leaders) is to create an identifiable visual mark (logo) that makes your business distinct; this includes consistency in the mark's color. But does this change in color hurt the McDonald's brand? It actually seems like good example of effective brand development. For approximately 60 years since the introduction of the golden arches, McDonald's has maintained a strong presence and consistent marketing of their "M" mark. At this point of their brand recognition, it makes sense to say that no matter what color the mark, it will be recognized simply by the unique shape of the "M" that we are all so used to seeing.
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