• by Tanya Gazdik , May 2, 2014

PayPal, the 16-year-old online payment company owned by eBay, is launching its first global brand campaign and a redesigned logo.

This is the first time PayPal has updated its brand identity since 2007 and the new look goes “far beyond” an updated logo, says David Marcus, PayPal’s president.

The brand identity, developed by San Francisco design firm Fuseproject, reflects PayPal’s simplicity, convenience and security, redesigned for today’s dynamic, mobile-first world. It includes simplified forms and fresher colors, while building on the recognition of the current logo and signature double “P” shorthand for PayPal.

The new identity will be applied globally, online and to all of PayPal’s core applications, including checkout buttons, apps, PayPal Here devices, marketing materials and sales collateral.

It also will appear in PayPal’s new global brand campaign: “Powering The People Economy.” The multi-channel campaign, developed by Havas Worldwide, breaks in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.

The tagline is “a celebration of who we are,” says Christina Smedley, vice president of global brand at PayPal.It’s populist, inclusive, empowering — inspiring action and inviting people of all stripes to join in.

“It celebrates the moments that make our life just that little bit simpler and more magical,” she says. “But more than that, it’s an expression of what we stand for as a brand and what we want for the world as a whole. No matter if you are a merchant or a developer, a consumer or an employee."

The company currently has more than 148 million active accounts in 26 currencies and across 193 markets, processing more than 9 million payments daily.

The timing of the new logo reflects the growing needs of the mobile, real-world and online businesses that use PayPal and the company’s position as innovator. The look and feel are designed for a world moving from desktop and mobile today, to a future where almost any device can deliver payment, including smart watches and connected eyeglasses.

The new identity includes a stronger wordmark of the word PayPal set in modified Futura type, a new monogram of PayPal’s double Ps, more vibrant colors, and a dynamic angle graphic.

The font used features a softened edge to emphasize that PayPal is a human, approachable brand. While blue has always been used in the logo, new colors — a rich indigo “Pay” blue and a vibrant “Pal” blue — were selected to look better in today’s high-definition world. The Ps in the monogram overlap to emphasize the connection between people when they use PayPal.

The other common theme of the redesign is forwardness; the words and letters remain in italic — like the former logo — to reflect a forward-looking, visionary company.

The TV spots and print include a main character surrounded by hand-drawn elements. It is the company's first TV ever in the U.S. market.

“We see our global brand campaign as a story,” Smedley says. “The entire story embeds us in culture, and each chapter addresses a PayPal benefit we want to educate our audience about -- from our basic offers and security, to availability and merchant partnerships.”