Will Nokia’s Corporate Identity face a Change in Future

In a bid to increase its market share globally and redefine its brand identity through reinvention, Nokia has most recently signed an agreement to enter into a deal whereby it will sell all its services business and devices as well as license its patents to Microsoft. By establishing a partnership with the mobile phone brand, the software giant aspires to increase the growth of its profit and share in mobile phones through enhanced activity, quicker innovation, and unified marketing and branding approach. For the mobile phone brand, this deal is likely to have a significant impact on its earnings alongside strengthening its financial position and providing a formidable base for future investment in the domain of its continuing business.

Although the transaction is likely to close in the first quarter of 2014 following some custom closing terms and regulatory approvals, Microsoft has already thrown light on what the purchase can signify for future Nokia phones, especially the Lumia phones. The software giant has already taken the onus of reshaping the corporate identity design of the mobile phone brand. Most recently, Microsoft released a full page print advertisement announcing the planned purchase of Nokia. The headline of the advertisement implying that the Microsoft family is set to get bigger and smarter is surely eye-catchy and is clearly acknowledged as a regular corporate statement.

So, where lies the catch?

Well, it is certainly not surprising for a company to make key announcements through newspaper ads, but there is one curious aspect in the advertisement that instantly grasps attention. It is the elimination of the inscription ‘Nokia’ from the Lumia 520 that has been pictured in the advertisement. Usually the logo of the mobile phone brand appears at the center-top of a particular model. However, to communicate the message through this particular ad, the logo was digitally removed. In addition, the apps were also replaced with the focus being maintained on Microsoft’s brand as against Nokia’s.

A sign of things that might come

While the advertisement is sought to put across an underlying message by some, others view it as nothing, but an exaggeration of a simple thing. The reasons are pretty simple:

For now, the Nokia 520 and all other forthcoming devices will go on to feature the Nokia inscription, at least till the time the deal is approved by various agencies involved in the same, which is least expected anytime before early 2014.

Secondly, it’s too early to comment on any marketing or branding approach as Microsoft hasn’t made anything clear about the path it may take with the Lumia/Nokia brand. However, it’s clear that Microsoft will certainly look forward to reduce branding redundancy and present a new ‘avatar’ of corporate identity design.

Therefore, it can be clearly ascertained that its too early to talk about any sort of redesign in terms of developing a fresh corporate identity for the brand. It might be possible that Microsoft just acquired some artistic license for developing the ad and it would be too early to draw any conclusion regarding Microsoft putting a mark on the Lumia range and developing a re-branding route.