Facebook creates new logo as it seeks to distinguish company from its social network

The social media giant has created new corporate branding and a new logo for Facebook Inc. to distinguish Facebook the corporation from the company’s popular social network with the same name.

The new logo – which is the word Facebook spelled out versus the white or blue “f” Facebook has used for years – will appear in places like the login screen and the settings page of Instagram and WhatsApp. Facebook began this effort earlier this year when it added “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook” to both apps, but the new branding makes the message even more pronounced.

The point is to ensure that people who use those products know they are owned by Facebook, said chief marketing officer Antonio Lucio.

“All the research that we’ve had from Generation Z and millennials was all very emphatic as to that they need to know where their brands come from,” Lucio said in an interview. “We needed to be more transparent with our users in showcasing that everything is coming from the same company.”

Lucio said most people do not know that Instagram and WhatsApp are Facebook-owned – he cited a Pew research study that found only 29 per cent of Americans knew Facebook owned both apps. When people find out, Lucio said it improves that person’s perception of Facebook as a company.