EVOLUTION OF THE VOLKSWAGEN LOGO
A brand is the strongest and the most vital asset for any company. However, in the pressure of generating sales, companies often forget that a brand is much more than just a tagline, a logo, a positioning statement, a slogan or an advertising campaign. A brand is those and much more. It is a promise and claim of performance and distinction. It鈥檚 who you are and how you do business. There is so much parity in the market today making the brand and its communication more important than ever before. Times are changing and so is the audience. Sensing this, a number of brands have evolved over time. One such brand that has refocused its communication is Volkswagen. The brand has a rich legacy. The connection it establishes is uniform across the young and old. It is classic yet cool. Its brand name means the 鈥楶eople鈥檚 Car鈥?in German and its brand slogan 鈥淒as Auto鈥?means 鈥楾he Car鈥?in English. The company was founded 77 years ago on 28th May 1937 in Germany under the name, 鈥楪esellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH鈥?
But the history of the brand can be dated back to 1933. In an auto show in Berlin, Adolf Hitler expressed the idea of an affordable car for the people. This was done to support the idea of building a super highway, 鈥楢utobahn鈥? One year after Adolf Hitler took charge of Germany; he invited Ferdinand Porsche, an Austrian automobile engineer to design the people鈥檚 car. As Porsche was of Austrian origin, Hitler asked him to apply for German citizenship. In response to this Porsche gave up his Czechoslovak citizenship and joined the National Socialist German worker鈥檚 Party. The peculiar round shape of the car was inspired by a sketch made by Bela Barenyi in 1934 for a French car magazine. The company was established in 1937 in Walburg and which simply became 鈥榁olkswagenwerk GmbH鈥?in 1938. The initial logo comprised of the 鈥楴azi鈥?flag designed in the shape of a swastika symbol.
Furthermore this symbol also signified an ancient Nordic symbol called 鈥楪infaxi鈥?a binding in ancient rune that supposedly granted victory in any battles fought. The initial ads were in sync with the mission of KDF (Kraft durch Freude), 鈥榮trength through joy鈥? which showed pictures of family and friends relaxing and going for a holiday in the car. Also, the print ads show friends and families visiting forests, hill stations. However, before world war this particular logo was modified slightly since it resembled the image of a pedestal fan. After the world war ended, the British army took over the control of the damaged factory under the supervision of Major Ivan Hirst. It was under him that the re-establishment of the line took place in order to build and repair all the machines so that the factory could be brought back on its feet. One remarkable achievement during this period of 1945 was the unearthing of machine parts from the debris in the factory.
These parts were then used to build over 2000 vehicles. In the subsequent year, Britain further increased production to 10,000 vehicles, also going on to change the name of the company to Volkswagen. The name of the factory town was also altered to Wolfsberg, which was inspired from a local castle present in the town. It was then that they renamed the car as Beetle. During this period, the design around the circle of the logo was also done away with. But as the war ended the British decided to hand over the reigns of the company to another experienced manufacturer. However, major car makers including Fiat and Ford refused to take 鈥榝ree control鈥?of Volkswagen. Thus, with new zeal and vigor and with the help of the then U.S. Marshall Plan, Volkswagen became a feasible and flourishing business. The car was given a new glossy paint job and a luxurious interior.
