News & positions

PRESS RELEASES EVENTS REPORTS / PUBLICATIONS 07 February 2014

AIM-BEUC initiative on Smarter Logos, Better informed consumers


At a Roundtable chaired by Malcolm Harbour, with senior EU officials, on 19 February, AIM, the European Brands Association and BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation presented their joint research on logos. The purpose of this initiative is to provide consumers with better product information for non-advertising purposes.

Logos are often more eye catching than text and provide a lot of information in limited space. If designed well and tested for effectiveness, they are a very good tool to convey use, quality, health, safety or environmental information or direct to it.

However, according to a Eurobarometer survey, EU-wide logos are often unknown to a large number of consumers or known but misunderstood. This is worrying as the information conveyed can play a role in consumer choice and may be meant to induce a certain type of behaviour, including safe use.

Malcolm Harbour MEP, Chair of the IMCO Committee and moderator of the Roundtable stated: “It is an honour to be invited to such an inclusive meeting with a wide range of interests represented on a very important subject. We agreed on criteria to develop effective logos for the benefit of consumers. We also identified further work to be done so that consumers are better informed”.

Veronique Scailteur, Chair of AIM Consumer Committee, indicated “Enhancing knowledge is one of the four pillars of the EU Consumer Agenda . In line with this policy objective, AIM and BEUC are committed to continue their cooperation and exchange to improve consumers’ information”.

Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, explained that “Logos exist in all forms and shapes. Consumers are often unfamiliar with them, misinterpret their meaning or are even confused by their message. There is a large body of literature on design and testing of logos. We urge that any new logo which is part of an EU law is tested within a representative group of users. Only this could guarantee its added value”.

Link to the press release.

Link to the summary.

Link to the e-version of the brochure of the initiative.

Link to the bibliography detailing the sources consulted by AIM for this research.

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