The Google brand is agile—is yours?

An ever changing logo helps customers connect with the Google brand

Pay close attention to the Google home page and you will notice that the Google logo changes.

For instance, during these Beijing Olympics the image has incorporated various symbols of sports and China. One day a high jump replaced the “l” in Google; another day a twisting dragon dunking a basketball stood in for “oog.”

Among Google employees, these designs are called Google doodles. Dennis Hwang, a one-time Google intern, started creating them in 2000. With little effort, lots of talent from Hwang and a healthy dose of serendipity, the doodles have emerged as a powerful branding tool for Google.

“Over the years doodles have become one of the most beloved parts of Google,” a Google spokesperson told Ragan.com. “Some users have described how they started their own Google logo collection, and some simply tell us how the logos bring them smiles through the day.”

Forget Coke bottles and Nike insignia, now collectors are amassing digital Google logos. That is a success story for the tech giant. It might also be the future of corporate branding.

The advent of the doodle