People are terrible at remembering logos

Do you think you could draw the Apple logo from memory? If the answer is yes, chances are you’re overconfident.



According to a 2015 study from UCLA , only seven out of 85 surveyed college students could accurately replicate Apple’s simple design—and almost all of the participants were Apple users themselves. The reason? Our brains often choose not to absorb unnecessary information unless we set out to memorize it, which means that we’re shockingly bad at remembering even the most ubiquitous logos in the branding world.



Based on new research into the sticking power of various healthcare logos, household medicine and hygiene suppliers are certainly not faring any better. 



[Image: Tebra]



The research, conducted by healthcare marketing company Tebra, surveyed consumers across the U.S. about a series of logos from medical providers, products, and common consumer brands. Walgreens, Advil, and CVS emerged as the most recognizable brands respectively, with Walgreens clinching the top spot among all generations and across genders. There were some notable demographic divides, though: Women were able to identify menstrual brands two times better than men (surprise!), and Gen Z was 24 times more likely to recognize mental health brands than their Boomer counterpoints. 



But the truly revealing data emerged when Tebra charged 111 respondents with drawing healthcare logos from memory. Asked to reproduce the logo for the dental hygiene brand Crest, participants generally struggled to capture the design’s notable features, which include a shining red “C” followed by simple blue letters. Some of the artists clearly panicked and jotted down the first idea that came to mind—including a star and a smiling moon, a 2D tube of toothpaste, and an oblong pink shape with the words “Crest Toothpaste” inside. 



[Image: Tebra]



Given that the Crest wordmark is relatively straightforward, other brands presented an even greater challenge for the survey-takers. Most respondents remembered that the multivitamin company Centrum’s logo includes a rainbow line (with some notable exceptions, including one entry that appears to be the Audi logo), but Tebra noted that the line’s placement “seemed to stump many.” And when participants were asked to remember the look of Nature Made, Centrum’s competitor, things really started to fall apart. Submissions ran the gamut from bright green letters and dark red rectangles to a simple illustration of an avocado.



[Image: Tebra]



The new data from Tebra suggests that the logo misremembering phenomenon can stem from several sources: overcomplicated designs, frequent rebranding, and a nostalgia among consumers that means “old branding dies hard.” 



[Image: Tebra]



“These findings illustrate the importance of distinctive, memorable branding in the competitive healthcare market,” Tebra concludes. But, as their research demonstrates, even the most successful healthcare companies shouldn’t expect glowing results from customers on a logo pop quiz.