For a few years now, Citigroup has been informally referred to as “Citi”, and the red umbrella brought over from Travelers by Sandy Weil very quickly transitioned over to arc in some sub-brands. According to the New York Times, they’re going to make it official:
The new name and look, which follows a 14-month review of the bank’s brand, will be presented to the Citigroup board this week, according to several executives close to the process. No final decision has been made and it could still undergo some minor changes.[...]
By shedding the suffix “group” as well as the red umbrella, Mr. Prince is severing the bank’s most tangible ties to Mr. Weill, Citigroup’s patriarch, who made the old Travelers Group logo a key term of that company’s landmark 1998 merger with Citicorp and who is rarely seen without a small umbrella pin affixed to his lapel.[...]
Now it appears that the umbrella will be folded up altogether. Citigroup executives said that outside marketing research suggested that the umbrella had no resonance for bank customers in the United States, especially since the Travelers insurance businesses had been spin off. Outside the country, a bank executive, the symbol is associated with insurance as well as with bad luck in certain Asian countries.
Whether or not Citigroup retains the rights, or sells it to another company, remains a question. It is also unclear what will happen to the 16-foot, 5,300 steel umbrella that sits outside the investment bank in Lower Manhattan.
I wonder if Jay Fishman over at Travelers might be willing to buy the logo (and the umbrella) back.