Nationwide, the Columbus, Ohio-based mutual insurance and financial services organization, has used a series of distinct brand marks since its founding in 1926 as Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. The company adopted the Nationwide name in 1955, and that same year introduced its first N-and-Eagle logo, along with the tagline “In Service with People.”[1]
Design and History
In 1962, Nationwide reconsidered its logo and slogan, moving away from the sharp treatment of the original N-and-Eagle mark. The company brought in the advertising agency Ogilvy, Benson and Mather in 1963, which proposed the “Nationwide is on your side” slogan in 1964.[1] Following an extensive review by Ogilvy and Nationwide’s Graphic Arts department, the N-and-Eagle was reintroduced in advertising in 1968, with the standard coral/orange color dropped so the “N” could reflect the style of each marketing campaign.[1]
In 1990, Nationwide selected its first official corporate color, called “process blue,” to project a single, unified identity across its family of companies.[1] In 1999, the company introduced a new logo known as the Framemark, a blue frame with white “Nationwide” lettering. According to a Nationwide spokesperson, the blue frame was intended to “symbolize ease of access and customization,” inviting customers to picture themselves in the frame.[2] The Framemark was described by the company as “a blue frame that comes to rest over a person in action, symbolizing the many different ways Nationwide can be a part of a customer’s life.”[1]
In September 2014, under CEO Steve Rasmussen, Nationwide announced it would unite all of its products and subsidiaries under the single Nationwide brand, dropping names such as Harleysville Insurance, Scottsdale and Allied Insurance.[3] To highlight the shift, the company introduced an updated version of its classic N-and-Eagle brand mark, replacing the blue frame logo.[4] The refreshed mark “harkens back to the company’s heritage and the famous 50-year-old tag line, ‘Nationwide is on your side.'”[5] According to the company, research showed the N-and-Eagle was its best-known brand asset.[3] The new logo debuted in advertising featuring Peyton Manning on September 4, 2014, and the transition continued over the following 18 months across advertising, real estate, digital platforms and agency signage.[6][3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The N-and-Eagle mark, originally adopted in 1955, combines the letter “N” with an eagle, a symbol of the company’s heritage.[1] The 2014 refresh was described by the company as an updated version of this classic mark, designed to align the entire company behind its most powerful brand asset.[6] The earlier Framemark, by contrast, was explicitly designed to symbolize the many ways Nationwide could be part of a customer’s life, with the frame inviting customers to picture themselves within it.[1][2]
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