Know any good designers? Mountain Bike Action Magazine needs you...

I noticed this thread in the MTBR.com forums bashing Mountain Bike Action (MBA) Magazine and figured I'd pile it on too. Why not take your medicine in one dose, right? Well, actually I meant to post this a while back when I wrote about cycling logos, but I got distracted and the MTBR thread reminded me...so here it goes...

A few weeks ago I wrote about 8 great cycling logos after being inspired by an article in an issue of MBA. In that very same article, however, MBA analyzed it's own logo. They admitted that they don't like it. In fact, here's what they said:

The MBA wrecking crew doesn't like its logo. It's old. Like 20 years old. It is frozen in time, and that time happens to be the eighties. Change it? Update it? No way. With about half a zillion magazines on the newsstand...there is no way we are going to mess with a logo familiar to millions of riders.

Huh? You know your logo is hideous and yet you choose to do nothing about it. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

So let's break this down. MBA's logo is:

1. Ugly
2. Outdated (think leg warmers and pegged jeans)
3. Not well liked

They cite as a reason not to change the "millions of riders" familiar with the logo. First of all, this is quite an exaggeration -  the largest cycling mag in the U.S. has just a hair over 400,000 readers a year, and I'm certain MBA does not have that kind of reach. Nonetheless, I get their point, they believe they have brand equity that manifests itself in the logo.

Ok, now couple that ugly logo with their disastrous Web site and amateurish print layout and you've got one train-wreck of a magazine.

You can't tell me, MBA, that you are realizing significant growth in your circulation (I can't seem to find your circulation figures anywhere). I'd venture to guess that your circulation is sliding along with most every other print publication out there.

Therefore it is time to be bold and go where many others have gone before you. It would not be the first time that an established player in an industry refreshed its design and emerged stronger than before. (In fact, take a look at the Brand New blog if you need some case studies and inspiration.)

I haven't even broached the subject of content or Web strategy, but I've ranted enough for now. I'll leave that to subsequent posts on the subject. Don't worry though, you're not the only one...this is an equal opportunity blog.