'Why change something when...': Experts weigh in on Godrej group's logo row

The controversy around the new logo unveiled by Godrej Industries Group and its similarity to Guerilla, an integrated agency based in Queensland, has drawn sharp flak from marketing experts. The issue has been playing out on social media with multiple users contending it also resemblance to food brand, iD Fresh.

The unanimous opinion is about the lack of due diligence by Godrej Industries Group, leading to a tricky situation. The iconic signature of its founder, Ardeshir Godrej remains, while the new logo is a part of Godrej Industries Group, the new entity formed after a separation in the family.

According to Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, there are a couple of issues at play here. "Why would anyone change something when it’s working? The Godrej name stands for a heritage, a diversified set of businesses that stand for quality and trust.” he says. Bijoor thinks if had to be changed, the option “must be stupendous.”

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Designed by the group’s in-house team, the debate around the lack of research stands out. “They have taken the minimalist approach with the logo. When you embark on an exercise of this scale, it is critical to do your due diligence right to make sure you do nothing wrong,” maintains Bijoor. In his view, this is a case of a brand logo disaster.

At the core is the worry on infringement. “With AI and back checks, we can go back in time by 200 years. Unfortunately, this issue has been treated casually without any cross-checks, something that should have been done given it was designed internally,” points out Bijoor.

In a statement, Godrej Industries Group said it discovered numerous other marks using simple geometric compositions. “A half circle, rectangle and circle combination appears across dozens of identities in multiple countries in varying sectors ranging from software to service agencies to medical devices. Resemblance in the category of geometric logos is not just common, it is structural and is found across many brands and logos,” it went on to add.

The question now comes down to what happens now. The company, in the statement, maintained that it has confirmed both the originality of the work and that “our brand identity system is clearly distinct from any other brand, we concluded there is no ethical or legal impediment to the use of the GI identifier.”

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Salil Vaidya, Fractional CMO & Founder, Korero Marketing Communications, a digital-first brand management and communications agency, says the trend of bringing in design and creative services, especially for such critical work, within a corporate fold may do justice to rushed timelines. “But it surely misses out on an outsider, expert perspective and more thorough diligence,” he explains. To him, the option is clear – rather than stubbornly hold on to the new identity, the company should move to remedy and rework the design quickly. 

In the process, the larger story of modern brand design is worth a discussion. “There is an increasing convergence toward minimal, fluid, digital-first identities. In such an environment, visual similarities across logos are not entirely unexpected and, in isolation, are not necessarily a strategic concern,” says Madan Mohapatra, an independent marketing consultant. According to him, a logo is just the entry point, not the full identity system. “The real test of the Godrej rebrand will not be whether it resembles something else - the bigger challenge lies in balancing modernization with the preservation of deep-rooted trust, familiarity and the legacy. If the new identity continues to evoke credibility while signaling future readiness, it will have done its job,” he thinks. To sum up, Bijoor has a quick fix solution. “My advice is to go back to the old heritage logo,” he says. Maybe that is the way to do it.