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The John Deere logo is probably recognised by anyone in agriculture, but a 2014 Top 100 of Global Brands and their perceived values produced by Interbrand showed JD was even recognised by the greater public, coming in at 79th position with a value of $5.12 billion.
Surprisingly, there were no other recognised brands with an agricultural leaning other than Caterpillar, probably better known for its construction equipment, that came in at 61st with a value of $6.8b.
No surprises then to see Apple as the most recognised brand (value $118b), Toyota 43rd ($43b), Mercedes 10th ($34.2b) and Ford down at 39th ($10.8b).
Interestingly, the readily recognised ‘leaping deer’ was first registered by Deere in 1876 when it was more locally known as The Moline Plow Company, its core business producing about 60,000 ploughs a year.
The original trademark showed a deer bounding over a log – a huge mistake by the designer because it featured an African deer not the Native American white tailed deer that appeared in later versions of the trademark.
Deere has updated its logo about six times since the late 19th century. The last change in 2000 was to a deer with its hind legs planted firmly on the ground, signifying the heritage and roots of the company, while the leaping deer with raised front legs captured the essence of a company moving boldly into the new millennium.
What’s certain is that the next time this logo gets a tweak it won’t cost $26 million and will always feature the leaping deer.
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