Sabian's New Logo

[AzHeat]

They still are..!

And, lets also not exaggerate too much about that new campaign..

I mean, ok, maybe they could have used a few different words here and there, but, lets also not act as if their campaign is about promoting to steal bags from vulnerable old grandmas or something like that..

Never said or implied that. While I do like some brands - shoes and jeans that fit me better than others, cars that don’t break down when looking at them wrong, drums and cymbals that move me more than others, I’m not a brand loyalist. You’ll never see a Ford peeing on a Chevy logo or Android eating an Apple sticker on my cars, just because I blindly follow one or the other.

I’m never convinced there’s one be all and end all product to anything. If a company clearly doesn’t want you, why stick around? So many things these days are all about polarizing a group to move them to do something or pretend to be something. I’m having no part of it. If it doesn’t bother you, fine. Not asking you to change. I find the campaign strategy demeaning and damaging. Sorry, can’t support that. Sell me cymbals, not an attitude, a bad one at that. Sabian isn’t the only ones doing it. Some car companies spend more commercial times smoking tires (bad attitude) than actually selling you on the features or safety of the car itself. Haven’t looked at any of those either.

 

[Mongrel]

Never said or implied that. While I do like some brands - shoes and jeans that fit me better than others, cars that don’t break down when looking at them wrong, drums and cymbals that move me more than others, I’m not a brand loyalist. You’ll never see a Ford peeing on a Chevy logo or Android eating an Apple sticker on my cars, just because I blindly follow one or the other.

I’m never convinced there’s one be all and end all product to anything. If a company clearly doesn’t want you, why stick around? So many things these days are all about polarizing a group to move them to do something or pretend to be something. I’m having no part of it. If it doesn’t bother you, fine. Not asking you to change. I find the campaign strategy demeaning and damaging. Sorry, can’t support that. Sell me cymbals, not an attitude, a bad one at that. Sabian isn’t the only ones doing it. Some car companies spend more commercial times smoking tires (bad attitude) than actually selling you on the features or safety of the car itself. Haven’t looked at any of those either.

Thanks to your post...It just dawned on me what was really going on with their ad campaign and how it was registering with me (and apparently others?)...

I just don't want to be associated with them. Pretty simple actually. Like they suddenly decided to become that gang of losers you remember from school...lol. That freakazoid group who took over the corner of the cafeteria and would throw milk cartons at you when you got up to throw out your trash and wipe their nose on their sleeves....lol.

Yea-THEM.

Sorry...I didn't have time then and certainly don't have time now for that...lol.

Suddenly finding it so funny I am laughing in the dark as I type this...but that is exactly how I am seeing it.

Too many cool kids at the other tables....Zildjian, Paiste, Meinl...

Funny indeed.

 

[equipmentdork]

I’m never convinced there’s one be all and end all product to anything. If a company clearly doesn’t want you, why stick around? So many things these days are all about polarizing a group to move them to do something or pretend to be something. I’m having no part of it. If it doesn’t bother you, fine. Not asking you to change. I find the campaign strategy demeaning and damaging. Sorry, can’t support that. Sell me cymbals, not an attitude, a bad one at that.

This is close to where I am. I don't get a feeling like they want my business anymore. No response to my email, not even a "we received your inquiry" thing. Obviously, things have changed.

The attitude thing is contrived and ridiculous, the logo, well, no need to overstate, and overall, the new approach makes them sound idiotic. They're not fooling anyone, nor are they impressing anyone, and I simply have no interest in being associated with that.

I realize that many disagree and/or don't care, which is fine, but that doesn't invalidate my opinion. It wouldn't have taken a genius to know that this would have been divisive. There's no shortage of controversy in the drum world, and this is just more of it, unfortunately.


Dan

 

[BertTheDrummer]

It's extremely unlikely that the new ads & logo will cost them business

Actually it did, it cost them my business and I'm probably actually the demographic they should be targeting too since I'm in my mid 30s and not a die hard brand loyalist to any brand. I'm old enough to have income to purchase such things but young enough that I will still be buying more product for a while in the future.

Anyway, I was in the market to get some cymbals but all of their new ads and logo and stuff just put me off completely. So instead of spending $1k+ on Sabian product I went elsewhere. However, do I matter in the whole scheme of things? Probably not.

 

[Lennytoons]

Actually it did, it cost them my business and I'm probably actually the demographic they should be targeting too since I'm in my mid 30s and not a die hard brand loyalist to any brand. I'm old enough to have income to purchase such things but young enough that I will still be buying more product for a while in the future.

Anyway, I was in the market to get some cymbals but all of their new ads and logo and stuff just put me off completely. So instead of spending $1k+ on Sabian product I went elsewhere. However, do I matter in the whole scheme of things? Probably not.

They lost me too. It was not so much the logo (although it is awful) but the idiotic attitude and childish ad campaign. They squandered years of goodwill and brand loyalty from many of their customers. I am loving my two new Paistes though.

 

[Ruok]

The latest Modern Drummer mag showed up the other day and was curious to see the latest Sabian ad. It was "Unhinged? So what."

I literally had a feeling of disgust sweep over me. I was already disturbed with the whole rebellious attitude thing, but this just heaped more stomach turning feelings on top of that.

 

[Trigger]

Hi there. I'm a graphic designer by trade. I've worked for Google, Spotify HSBC among others and I've been in some of the best branding agencies in the world, (like wolff ollins) and I can say without a shadow of a doubt this agency they have used has no idea what they are doing.

Their website alone is not designed well, which is always a huge red flag. Their copy is extremely amateur and their 'attitude' is just bizarre.

This logo is terrible for a few reasons. The first is a modern logo has to be recognisable at a vareity of sizes. This only works in a larger size because the writing is so thin. It's also completely unbalanced. A logo doesnt have to be symmetrical but it should be visually balanced. The biggest problem here is that the designer clearly had no idea who the target audience was, and has an outdated view of what a drummer is, or what drumming entails. Based off the attitude of their website, the agency thinks drummers are all playing at the warped tour. I could keep going about how tonally and visually this rebrand has completely missed the mark but honestly this logo speaks for itself. It is terrible and its doing massive damage to the perception of the brand. This is the exact opposite of what you want a rebrand to. Sabian would be smart to revert it, like The Gap did when their rebrand didn't work.

Also, I would specifically go out of my way to not buy these cymbals because of that logo. I like my drumset to look nice.

 

[Jeremy Bender]

After the smoke finally clears from this first world problem drama, it will make for an interesting case study in business and also psychological manipulation in marketing.

 

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Hi there. I'm a graphic designer by trade. I've worked for Google, Spotify HSBC among others and I've been in some of the best branding agencies in the world, (like wolff ollins) and I can say without a shadow of a doubt this agency they have used has no idea what they are doing.

Their website alone is not designed well, which is always a huge red flag. Their copy is extremely amateur and their 'attitude' is just bizarre.

This logo is terrible for a few reasons. The first is a modern logo has to be recognisable at a vareity of sizes. This only works in a larger size because the writing is so thin. It's also completely unbalanced. A logo doesnt have to be symmetrical but it should be visually balanced. The biggest problem here is that the designer clearly had no idea who the target audience was, and has an outdated view of what a drummer is, or what drumming entails. Based off the attitude of their website, the agency thinks drummers are all playing at the warped tour. I could keep going about how tonally and visually this rebrand has completely missed the mark but honestly this logo speaks for itself. It is terrible and its doing massive damage to the perception of the brand. This is the exact opposite of what you want a rebrand to. Sabian would be smart to revert it, like The Gap did when their rebrand didn't work.

Also, I would specifically go out of my way to not buy these cymbals because of that logo. I like my drumset to look nice.

I am entirely in agreement with you. The new logo is absolutely dreadful and looks like the scrawlings of a child.

 

[larryace]

So what would do more damage at this point, rebrand again, revert back to the original, or stay the course?

They sort of painted themselves in a corner. If you are going to push that "attitude"...if you drop it....you never had the attitude.

I'd go back to the original with a major apology and a statement that they messed up. Admit fault and try to pick up the pieces.

This could sink the ad agency that came up with this.

Imagine being those guys? Not much sleep I'm guessing.

 

[AzHeat]

So what would do more damage at this point, rebrand again, revert back to the original, or stay the course?

They sort of painted themselves in a corner. If you are going to push that "attitude"...if you drop it....you never had the attitude.

I'd go back to the original with a major apology and a statement that they messed up. Admit fault and try to pick up the pieces.

This could sink the ad agency that came up with this.

Imagine being those guys? Not much sleep I'm guessing.

They have left themselves very few options. Will likely just have to gradually phase it out, hoping everyone will forget. Alternatively, they could come up with a new midrange line, with its own “play on the old logo” logo, promote the hell out of it, leaving the attitude at home and eventually with this familiarity make it common across the lines.

Sort of like the Hyundai to Genesis transition. No one would have accepted a high end Hyundai if they threw it into the line. They came out with a car named Genesis that had a bit of a different attitude, then added a second model, then started dropping the Hyundai name from the line.

Up to now, drummers were thinking of cymbals as a sound choice. Ets see...do I want something dark, bright, trashy? Now it’s do I want those things, and a new tattoo that offends everyone and pretend I’m billy bad @55, or should I just go with Istanbul or Bosphorus or any other brand focusing on only their sound?

I quite like what they have done with their new AAX line. But then you flip the cymbals over and your reminded you don’t fit the profile.

A first world problem considering other parts of the world, but we didn’t start it!

 

[equipmentdork]

So what would do more damage at this point, rebrand again, revert back to the original, or stay the course?

They sort of painted themselves in a corner. If you are going to push that "attitude"...if you drop it....you never had the attitude.

I'd go back to the original with a major apology and a statement that they messed up. Admit fault and try to pick up the pieces.

This could sink the ad agency that came up with this.

Imagine being those guys? Not much sleep I'm guessing.

That ad agency is a bunch of ignorant narcissists who can barely speak the English language. I'll bet they're sleeping just fine.

I have made a second attempt to contact Sabian, again not using the invective and frustration I have expressed here, because I find it easier to believe my first email bounced into cyberspace than that they blew me off 2 weeks ago. I did confirm contact with someone.

As a longtime customer and champion of the brand, I reject that the overwhelmingly negative reactions are not being seriously considered by the company. Early on, someone posted on the FB page, "You guys are on the wrong train" and Sabian posted a GIF of someone waving from a train(I think it was Harry Potter) as it pulled away. Seriously?

I need neither an apology nor a slap on the back, but I DO need some explanation as to what is going on. There's few feelings worse than not being heard. All of this would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

It would make sense, after having taken the pulse of various social media accounts, to at least reconsider their direction or at least modify it, like perhaps, I dunno, stop using simulated F-bombs? Really, though, they have walked into a room and farted and refused to accept that they have done so as people wince. They need to open a window or people are going to walk away.


Dan

 

[Lee-Bro]

When the Star Classic drums came out in the early 90s, I was a Tama dealer. The Hoshino rep explained to us that SC would be a separate line from Tama and be in production along w/ its own branding, marketing, etc that's different from Tama's. Tama's traditional lines @ the time were: Artstar Custom, Artstar ES, and Rockstar. The "badges" on the SC drums said "Star Classic" and a Tama was merely fine print on them. Same thing for the bass drum logo heads.

Fast forward some years and SCs lines have been paired down and folded into Tama's lines, wearing Tama badges and logo head.

All this being said, IF Sabian were to walk back from this branding, I could see this logo/attitude becoming another line of Sabian cymbals. Maybe it evolves over a few years as they figure out what sound profile goes w/ this attitude and you have the "Unbound" (with its unique logo) along the AA, HH, AAX, HHX, etc. with the traditional (and hopefully smaller).

 

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

With all this said, I'd just rub the logo off and send a picture to Sabian saying that I'd fixed it for them...

 

[Vintage Old School]

I would say that it's the mature and experienced drummers who won't be affected by the logo and marketing, certainly not enough to actually switch brands (assuming they weren't inclined to do so in the first place.) They will muse about the campaign, but the serious Sabian fans won't make a change as long as the product remains the same.

It's extremely unlikely that the new ads & logo will cost them business, and the real question being will it grow their business. I think the worst that will happen is... nothing. At worst, this will be an exercise in marketing strategy that didn't work out. They'll keep moving forward as they have since they started, and in a few years we - and probably Sabian - will chuckle at all this hoopla.

Bermuda

Agreed.

Years ago Harley-Davidson almost went under financially. It was an unlikely group that kept Harley afloat--yuppies. Or as the diehard loyalists referred to them as--RUBs (Rich Urban Bikers). The hardcore bikers
found the Factory's new marketing catering to the latte crowd reprehensible, but truth be told, Harley needed an influx of new customers just to stay solvent. And while it was a passing trend for many of these
yuppies to ride a Harley as opposed to living the biker lifestyle, Harley-Davidson survived.

If this new SABIAN logo and marketing campaign attracts both younger and new drummers to broaden their customer base, it's a win-win for everybody regardless of what the old guard feels about their newest logo.

 

[AzHeat]

Harley was almost out of business, so they had to do something. Sabian was consistently growing to my knowledge. Don’t need a new logo to sell to the kids. They were buying B8 Pros as is. Actually. That’s a great place for the logo. I can’t imagine looking at a Vault or Artisan, then flipping it over and getting yelled at!

 

[beatdat]

The expression "don't judge a book by its cover" has a tagline to it, which is "but the cover can help sell the book".

Sure the cymbals may be the same, but I don't think Sabian's doing itself any favours with its new look.

Would love to be a fly-on-the-wall in their boardrooms right about now.

 

[Vintage Old School]

Harley was almost out of business, so they had to do something. Sabian was consistently growing to my knowledge. Don’t need a new logo to sell to the kids. They were buying B8 Pros as is. Actually. That’s a great place for the logo. I can’t imagine looking at a Vault or Artisan, then flipping it over and getting yelled at!

Agreed. But every corporation at some point has to gain and maintain a younger consumer base through marketing and rebranding.

 

[AzHeat]

Agreed. But every corporation at some point has to gain and maintain a younger consumer base through marketing and rebranding.

100% agree. Sabian's logo needed a refresh. One of the things I liked about the HHX Evolution look is they downsized their logo. It gives the cymbal a classier look IMHO. It says our cymbals speak for themselves visually. Now each carries with it a bullhorn! Then you have the marketing driving it home. Not big into cars and trucks with GIANT fonts on them either.

RAMDamn! Yeah, I can read...turn off the lights!

 

[bermuda]

100% agree. Sabian's logo needed a refresh. One of the things I liked about the HHX Evolution look is they downsized their logo. It gives the cymbal a classier look IMHO. It says our cymbals speak for themselves visually. Now each carries with it a bullhorn! Then you have the marketing driving it home. Not big into cars and trucks with GIANT fonts on them either.

Don't forget that everyone's logos - drums too - got bigger so they could be seen from a distance, such as from the audience at a concert, or on TV where the drummer is usually in the background. Sure, the model/series can be smaller, but the brand name has to remain large.

Bermuda