What price branding?

How much do you think the Google logo cost? Nope, you’re not even close.

$0.

The original Google logo was designed in 1998 by Sergey Brin, one of Google's founders in Gimp. It has been fine-tuned since (several times) but the original concept was kept intact. The Next logo was designed by Paul Rand for Steve Jobs in 1986, for $100,000. Times must have got tough. Rand also designed Enron’s logo - for $33,000, in 1990. The original Twitter logo was designed by Simon Oxley for $15 in 2009. It was recently updated for more.

The BBC logo cost $1,800,000 in 1997. (ouch). But the Nike tick cost just $35. The Nike logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1975. The price only included the logo design, which was later refined. But the original concept (just as with Google) has been kept intact. Later, Nike gave 500 shares of stock to the designer. They are now worth over $600,000.
The 2012 London Olympics logo $625,000 was designed by Wolff Ollins in 2007. The Glasgow 2014 Games logo price tag is $95,000, which Marque Agency received for just the logo design. Other prices here are for the entire branding package.

And the Coca-Cola logo? Not $5m. Not $2m. In fact, not $2. Another $0, like Google. The Coca-Cola logo was created by the bookkeeper of    Coca-Cola’s inventor, Dr John Pemberton. Frank Mason Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo's cursive script in 1885. The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid-19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period.

Pepsi, on the other hand, paid $1m for the new logo that the Arnell group created in 2008. And the ANZ Bank paid $15m to have theirs updated in 2009. Accenture paid $100m for Landor Associates to create their new logo in 2000...which means that the City of Melbourne got theirs for a bargain - $625,000 to Landor Associates in 2009. And BP? Well, the first prize you probably never want goes to them: $211m for a redesign in 2008.