UPS REDESIGNS LOGO
United Parcel Service Inc. said it is changing its famous brown logo, designed more than 40 years ago, to reflect the company's evolution from its package delivery origins to become a multi-service transportation and logistics provider.
The redesigned logo does away with the familiar bow-tied parcel that sits atop the UPS shield and replaces it with a gold swoosh across the top of the shield. As part of UPS's re-branding effort the phrase 'Synchronizing the World of Commerce' will become part of the logo scheme on the company's aircraft and trucks and be included in new advertising. Brown will remain the primary color representing UPS, but the company said complementary colors would become part of the design of packages and company assets.
Interestingly, UPS has not accepted packages with bow ties for several decades because the string can get caught in high-speed sorting machines.
Swapping old logos for new will be a costly proposition for Atlanta-based UPS, as the logo appears on more than 88,000 vehicles, 257 large jet aircraft, 1,700 facilities around the world, 70,000 drop-off and retail access points, more than 1 million uniform pieces and more than 3 billion packages annually.
UPS will spend $20 million to repaint its assets this year, spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said in an interview.
UPS timed the logo announcement to coincide with its annual management conference last week and this week's mailing of the company's annual report to shareholders.