Days Inn Rebranding
This past February, Days Inn unveiled its new logo to 1,800 of its managers and owners. The new identity helps support the chain’s “A Promise as Sure as the Sun” brand promise and, to boot, because the shape is nearly identical, it won’t break the bank: “We kept what was good and powerful in our logo — the unique and familiar shape and the warm yellow sun — but freshened up the look,” says Chris Trick, VP of marketing.
“By preserving the shape of the logo we were able to keep signage replacement costs at a minimum since there is no need for franchisees to replace the physical signage container if still in good condition.” The old logo clearly needed a refresh, the dark frame made it feel like one of those motels where you could be murdered in your sleep or in the shower; the typography was uninviting and stodgy; and the sun looked more like a 50% off! starburst than an actual sun.
What are your thoughts on this?
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March 6th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I do like it better than the original, but I can’t help but think of a banana sticker.
March 6th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Looks pretty awful. The type reminds me of Dannon yougert…maybe a lil bananaish too…or maybe trailmix…or a granola bar. Really works great for some kind of food i think
I’m completely turned off.
March 6th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
A nice touch but they failed miserable with the font.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:03 am
the new one is so awful….too much elements for a logo! too much colors, the sun, the shadow…the font….!!!!
i don’t think that change was a good idea….
March 7th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Reminds me of Nestlé’s re-brand. Too close. And it looks like a logo for a dairy product.
Too much, perhaps?
March 7th, 2007 at 2:49 am
nice direction, but they overshot it a bit i think. unecessary gradient behind the sun, too many colors, overall too busy.
March 7th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Why are logos moving away from flatness? I don’t understand.
March 7th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Looks like Web 2.0
March 7th, 2007 at 10:46 am
I like it. It’s a very refreshing direction to take the logo. The old one is dark, tired and too corporate. The typeface (please don’t call it a font) is nice. It has a little bit organicness to it with rounded corners but it still legible at long distances, which is important in signage. It’s a nice touch to use the old shape to take advantage of exisiting infrastructure. It’s an important consideration when rebranding a large chain.
March 7th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Raisins anyone?
March 7th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Too shiny maybe?
I like the fresh look though
March 7th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Looks definately food-ey.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Most Days Inns ARE places were you can be murdered in your sleep.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Not for me. I think they tried too hard to save money on the new signage.
March 7th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
@David:
…because printing in 4C is much cheaper than 2C. Right.
But if that were in fact the case, this would be a nice sample of karma. 
I’m not sure if I like this. It does look much more inviting than the old logo, but legibility at long distance (which would make sense for a hotel) is suffering from all that noise. Does have a Web2.0-ish touch to it.
March 7th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
For a brand so iconic on American freeways, it would have been nice if they did something much better.
March 7th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
oh yeah…it looks like a web2.0! KeyLime…you’re right!
March 7th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Taking all the other comments into account I think the best way would have been to stay in two colors, but change black to blue and use the new sun shape, but don’t incorporate all those gradients and noise. I’m not happy with either typeface.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
This takes the scary, generic-looking black and yellow and brightens it way up.
Yes, the type sits awkwardly in its space. Yes, the gradients are a bit over the top. Yes, it does feel like it’s selling comfort food (are comfort or food bad things for a budget motel?)
Its design isn’t going to satisfy designers’ standards, but I think it gets the job done despite its drawbacks.
A budget logo for a budget brand–what’s wrong with that?
March 8th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Not bananas. Raisins were closer.
Anybody think of…this?
http://www.sunrype.com/images/logo.gif
March 11th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Over art directed.
The typeface has been skewed–that or it’s a free download.
It reminds of a space program logo from the 70s.
Sign-age costs should not be a consideration when re-branding. Most box signs require a new piece of plexi or vinyl.
Colors look like gradients so costs will be added to collateral pieces.
I especially love the yellow as it grips the edge of the border of the stamp itself. That will be fun when its put on multi-colored background.
Hmm, and so on.
Overall, it looks like a lot of opinions went into it.
The name remains the strong. I’ve always liked that.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I agree with Jake. Why are logos moving toward Web 2.0 look & feels. Many of the logos I like for their simplicity and crispness are flat and uses solid colors.
April 8th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
i think the change is huge and can imagine it acually making a big difference in overall business because while many say this logo is “too busy” it displays exactly the right amount of everything, the text is great and the sun is welcoming.
May 9th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
umm…where do you start
lowercase in that face looks terrible.
blend for a corporate id - terrible
bad colours palette
the new points of the sun look less friendly than the original
looks cheap
etc
etc
etc
June 15th, 2007 at 9:45 am
It’s a smart refresh. Seems more alive and vibrant, more appropriate for the 21st Century than the typical flat, 2 dimensional, logos. Trade rags say it was done by a new branding company, Verse Group.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Way too much going on here….
March 7th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I’m a GM for Days Inn in Atlanta and the NEW logo is GREAT! Guests LOVE it and people that have not stayed with Days in the past are now comming in. The Logo is FRESH just like the NEW aminities that come along with it. New Breakfast, New Shower experance, New bedding and so on…
It’s wonderful when a company after 38 so odd years can freshen up and come out TOP of the game still..
April 15th, 2009 at 7:08 am
The old one is much better. Simple but effective