FlyerJ

It's a big maple leaf, rolled out with today's intro to the 767.

An airline with a maple leaf for a logo. Gee, that seems oddly familiar for some reason? Like it's been done before, maybe?

Polar Man

is there a link to the picture?

FlyerJ

It's on all of the photos of their new 767 that they pushed out today with the first aircraft's arrival -- and today's PR said the new maple leaf logo will move to the entire fleet.

If you can't find a photo ... imagine if Air Canada's maple leaf logo got together with the Westjet chevron logo and had an illegitimate love child. That's it!

TheGreatestX

Stupidest thing I have ever read. WestJet is a Canadian airline, they should have a maple leaf logo. Air Canada doesn't own the maple leaf.

FlyerJ

Really?? So every Canadian company "should" have the maple leaf as their corporate logo then, eh?? RBC and Manulife and Porter Airlines and Sobeys and, heck, Ashley Madison should all drop their unique visual identities and - as Canadian companies - make the maple leaf their corporate logo? But just use different colours in the leaf?? Stupidest thing I have ever read, right back atcha.

A logo is a key part of an organization's unique brand identity. One of the basics is that it should be unique and distinctive in its market. And seeing the logo should create an instant connection to the company (ie one company only!) in the consumer's mind.

Delta and United are both American based airlines ... so would it make sense for them to adopt AA's US flag livery but use different colours? No, of course not, because that would be ridiculous. But your logic of "a Canadian airline should use the maple leaf as its corporate logo" would say they should all do just that. (And AA doesn't own the American flag, just like AC doesn't own the maple leaf.)

Westjet's planes already prominently display the Canadian flag, with the word "Proudly" nicely displayed above it. That's awesome. Changing your logo to a baatardized version of the national symbol - and one that's already used by your direct competitor as their logo - is a poor branding decision.

knotseh

So are you talking about the maple leaf on the right of the T from this twitter pic/post?
https://twitter.com/WestJet/status/636805457059819520

to me the regular westjet logo is still on the tail

FlyerJ

Conflicting messages from Westjet in yesterday's communication. One piece said the maple leaf is "the" new logo and would be rolled out to the entire fleet eventually. Another said it's "a" new logo that will be on the 767s only. (If that's the case, though, it'd be odd to not have a consistent visual identity -- other than special marketing liveries like Mickey)

aerobod

The key reason for the maple leaf logo on the 767s is the brand recognition of WestJet being Canadian in non North-American markets, people surveyed didn't often see the small flag logo near the door. If the brand recognition surveys in foreign markets are positive due to the logo on the 767s, it will likely be used more widely.

FlyerJ

Hmmm. Interesting.

So why is Westjet's nationality now seen as such a critical brand attribute? (Hardly anyone notices or cares that KLM is Dutch or Delta is American or Copa is Panamanian or...you get the idea). Do they theorize that they're losing revenue because people think WS is flagged elsewhere?

I'd have thought that WS would be more concerned about other brand attributes that are actually unique to WS, no?

aerobod

Being identified as Canadian vs other nationalities in certain markets brings a friendly, open and caring image that is in line with WestJet's brand values.

YYCguy

I also get lots of questions from guests from the USA, in particular, but also from other countries, regarding the ownership of Westjet, as in "Is Westjet owned by Southwest?" or "Is Westjet owned by American?". This logo helps identify that we are fully Canadian in our ownership and roots.

FlyerJ

But wouldn't that other airline that already uses the maple leaf as its logo be Westjet's main competitor on those overseas markets?

Why focus branding on "being Canadian" when your biggest competitor is also Canadian? I'm struggling to understand how that lifts WS's brand or revenue against their main competitor.

At best, it sounds like they're using this new brand identity to say "hey, we're also a Canadian airline". Not exactly the most compelling value prop...

FlyerJ

Is argue that (a) while a tiny proportion of customers might be interested, few probably truly care about the nationality of the company -- especially when making their purchase decision, and (b) there are better ways of accomplishing this than using a logo that is essentially already that of your biggest competitor, albeit with different colours.

aerobod

There is nothing to understand about lifting the brand vs Air Canada, as this is not the primary reason for the logo evolution. WestJet has always been proud to be Canadian, it is just that the logo near the aft door has not been very noticeable. Of course, stating that we are also a Canadian airline is the point of the logo change, nothing I can see that is wrong with that. The era of there being a monopolistic flag carrying airline for each western country has long since past. An argument could also be made that no Canadian airline should use the maple leaf on their aircraft, as a private company should not be able to take advantage of a national identity.

From any marketing metrics and case studies done over the past 10 years, WestJet has been able to maintain a profile higher than it's size. I wouldn't doubt that the evolution of the brand internationally can also be successful. Without positioning WestJet in foreign markets as an airline that flies to Canada, a major opportunity is lost in associating "I want fly to Canada" with "I should check WestJet's schedule" for those who don't use OTAs to book their travel.

robsaw

Yes, precisely.

Yes, exactly; to gain recognition in those foreign markets that Westjet is the alternative to AC for Canadian destinations.

Yes, exactly, for the purposes stated above.

How does a logo represent a "compelling" value in any case? The most common airline naming and logo represents that:
1. They are an airline.
2. Something geographical about the airlines origin/market area.

Your counter-argument isn't exactly compelling.

Regardless,

The logos are rather different in the style of the leaf with the Westjet stylized leaf incorporating their tail livery.