Loading...

Minding their Ps and Qs

For the first time in 14 years, QVC is redesigning its image. The television shopping network recently launched a new logo as part of atotal integrated marketing campaign (the first of its 21 years) that aims tooverhaul QVC’s identity from the ground up.

The changes to the updated logo are hardly subtle. QVC went all out, changingits straightforward, plain red letters to a bold, teal Q that surrounds theclassic, simple QVC and resembles a ribbon ready to unravel. The new look hopesto appeal to QVC's target 35+ female audience by urging them to grab thatribbon, unwrap and enjoy the metaphorical gift that the network delivers. Design blog Brand New approves, noting "despite the unwatchable content (at least for me), thenew logo surpasses any expectations I may have had about QVC."

QVC’s new logo coincides with an entire campaign based on the first of its threecall letters. “We’d really like to own the 17th letter of the alphabet,” Jeff Charney, the chief marketing officer for QVC told The New York Times. Consequently, the letter appears everywhere from thechannels' catchphrase “iQdoU?” (“I shop QVC, do you?”), to a line ofconsumer-friendly Qture products, to the creation of its first nationaltelevision ad featuring QVC shoppers and the tagline “Merci Beau Q.”Highlighting the distinctive Q to emphasize the social shopping experience,"said QVC president Mike George, aims to tap into “smart, savvy shoppers” and get them thinking aboutthe “excitement and feelings” associated with shopping QVC.

Are those feelings enough? Companies like QVC should cautiously approach basingmarketing initiatives purely on dominant pop culture presence, warns AdAge(free registration required for article abstract). Once the initial Q frenzywears off, will all those crazy Qs be enough to keep consumers' interest in anage of online shopping?