The logo has received mixed reviews by various internet blogs. Some people think that the new logo is more modern and shows that Netflix is moving away from being just a movie platform. It represents their move into original content such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Others feel that the new logo is a downgrade from the original that takes away the cinema feel but brings nothing in return.

Netflix’s logo change follows a trend of numerous companies changing their logos or other aspects of their brand identities. Some have received positive reviews while others have lost customers due to the change. One example of an excellent rebrand is Old Spice. They targeted a new demographic with an innovative strategy and saw sales skyrocket. There are also examples of rebranding mishaps such as the ill-received Gap logo redesign which only lasted for one week before the original logo came back.

So this begs the question, when should a company rebrand? There are positive and negative factors to consider when you are making any changes to your company’s brand identity. Is it worth the cost? Is it worth the risk that employees and customers may not accept the change? Will this new change bring in the clientele your business is looking for? Does this change better represent how you want your business to be perceived?

You may want to change your branding if your current brand is boring or stale, if it has a bad reputation, if you are changing services or target audience, or if there is a change in ownership/management. But always remember that any change you make may alienate your current clientele and hurt your business.

A company should always do its research before settling on new branding. That may be what Netflix is doing by only revealing their new logo design on a promotional piece. They may be testing the waters to see how the general public feels about the change. We will just have to wait and see.