Online readers of the Detroit Free Press logged on last week and were greeted with a surprise: No more traditional Olde English typeface known as "Blackletter".
Instead, readers found a custom typeface: Unify Sans and Unify Serif, to be specific. And a blue circle, which is the look of USA Today.
And that's exactly what the owners of the Free Press want, because the venerable Detroit paper is owned by Gannett/USA Today Network. Immediately, howls of dismay and outrage went up on social media.
How should a company handle a logo change? And why does it matter so much to consumers? Matt Friedman of Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications, based in Farmington Hills, joined Stateside to answer those questions, and provide some analysis of the decision.
Listen to the full interview above to hear why Friedman has more of a problem with the communication than the actual change itself, how he thinks the situation should have been handled, and what concerns he has about the Free Press going forward.
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