Lisa Merriam

Too Much Spoils the Brand: Google Over-Doodles the World Cup

bbc_news_magazine-google-doodles-merriam-interviewGoogle Doodles have become part of the Google brand. BBC News Magazine interviewed me about how whimsically changing the Google logo defied standard “brand police” rules about brand consistency.

Too Many Google Doodles

During the World Cup, it seemed Google had a new Doodle every day. While some change works for Google, too much defeats the purpose. A new Google Doodle no longer surprises Google users and thus no longer gains the attention it once did. It’s like saying “boo!” to a child one time too many. Pretty soon you get no reaction and if you keep doing it, you actually become annoying. Google Doodles are a great, fun aspect to the Google brand–if done in moderation. Over-Doodling the Google brand turns it into an uninteresting scribble.

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