Circa 1945. The world is breaking out of the catastrophe of the World War. One of the warriors of the war returns home and envisions the idea of nurturing healthy young people through sports. Kihachiro Onitsuka’s Onitsuka Co., Ltd., which was started in Japan in 1945 and later named ASICS, an acronym for the Latin expression ‘Anima Sana in Corpore Sano’ meaning ‘You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body,’ burgeoned into a brand like no other.
The brainchild of a war veteran with an altruistic mission of inculcating healthy lifestyle habit among youngsters not only made ASICS distinct but also put forth a compelling brand story. Decades after, even following expansion that entailed sports equipment beyond shoes, ASICS’ motto, Sound Mind, Sound Body remains indelibly etched in the brand’s DNA.
With strong contenders like Adidas, Nike, Fila, Reebok among others, ASICS has been able to create its own coterie of followers. What makes the brand truly unique is it focus essentially on product development rather than designing social media strategies and churning out competitive marketing strategies. Staying true to its core, ASICS runners, especially marathoners, and health fanatics remain the brand nucleus and products are designed to produce them the best. This, over the years, has helped the Japanese brand produce a dedicated follower of its own. Even in an age rampantly driven by social media and out-of-the box campaigns, the only strategy the brand rooted for has been staying true to is values. Rather than devising marketing campaigns and advertisement to outsmart its rival brands and carve a niche, ASICS has gone the traditional way by focusing on quality of the products offered. Instead of expanding to an all-inclusive brand, ASICS’ strategies and social media platforms have only targeted people who are dedicated to sports.
Thus, rather than looking for a worldwide spectrum, ASICS has upheld a ‘community-focussed’ image for itself. Even after more than 7 decades, ASICS has been fulfilling Onitsuka’s dream of producing sound mind in sound body.
In 2003, Asics updated its logo to reflect a more modern approach.
When the original ASICS logo, which has since become iconic, was introduced in 1977, it featured a sleek, edgy symbol to the left of the company's bold lowercase logotype, which was rendered in a custom sans-serif typeface. The logo's fluid lines symbolise movement and speed, as well as the brand's thoughtful philosophy and values, which include health, success, and well-being. The ASICS logo's dazzling blue colour scheme reflected the brand's reputation for dependability and trustworthiness, while also inspiring feelings of liberation, lightness, and friendliness in the wearer.
The ASICS logo, one of the most instantly recognisable in history, consisted of a stylized letter "A" in lowercase, Fran as a diagonally oriented oval with the upper portion of the letter's end bent and sharpened, and ASICS as an uppercase stylized letter "A".
Despite the near-perfection of the company's logo, which had been linked with the brand for more than two decades, ASICS elected to modernise the logo in 2003, maintaining the renowned emblem same but updating the colour palette and type of the letters.
The new ASICS logo incorporates an italicised sans-serif typeface, strong lines, and solid progressive shapes to express a sense of vitality and energetic movement. The use of contrasting shades of blue emphasises luxury and expensiveness, emphasising the brand's strengths and enhancing the logo's overall appeal. Additionally, it signifies the company's expertise, competence, and strength, as well as its dependability and commitment to its clients.
Links:
https://www.asics.com/nz/en-nz/blog/article/celebrating-the-history-of-asics https://ecommerceiq.asia/eiq-brand-series-asics-athleisure/ https://1000logos.net/asics-logo/
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