Will a New Logo Cheer Up America’s Home Builders?

[Erik Sine]

Will a New Logo Cheer Up America’s Home Builders?

October 22, 2009, 11:39 AM ET

Wall Street Journal

By James R. Hagerty

The housing market remains in the dumps, but that hasn’t prevented the National Association of Home Builders from introducing a fresh logo as part of what it calls “a sophisticated new branding strategy.”

The trade group’s new logo features its NAHB initials in red, white and blue under a roof. That replaces a logo that included a drawing of an eagle that could be viewed either as soaring into the skies or as having been crushed beneath the wheels of a cement mixer, depending on the angle.

An NAHB spokeswoman declined to say how much the NAHB paid to develop the new logo. But, she said, “the new logo is part of a rebranding process that began three years ago and is an ongoing effort. This is the first rebranding of NAHB in the association’s 67-year history.”

Old Logo

New Logo:

The collapse of many small and mid-sized home builders has reduced membership in the NAHB. In August, the NAHB said the number of member companies had fallen to about 190,000 from a peak of 256,000 in May 2007. The loss of fee-paying members has forced the Washington-based trade group to cut its staff by about 25% since last December to around 300 people.

The NAHB hired the consulting firm FutureBrand to help it with its branding strategy and logo. The trade group quoted Steve Beck, FutureBrand’s co-CEO, as saying: “The strategic foundation of this program will enhance NAHB’s ability to effectively communicate its diverse lines of business, and the brand identity system provides NAHB with a unique and compelling brand expression.”

Even so, the NAHB will use up its stock of materials bearing the old logo before dipping into the new business cards and letterhead, the spokeswoman said.