Verizon changes, simplifies corporate logo - and T-Mobile's Legere taunts carrier after

So long, "Big Red." Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) unveiled a new, cleaner corporate logo that does away with the red "Z" and the giant red check mark above its name that had been a part of its logo since the company's inception, and instead embraced a smaller red check mark after the word "Verizon" in simpler black lettering. Verizon said it changed its logo "to go along with our renewed purpose" as a company.

Verizon's new logo. 

The logo change comes just a day after search giant Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) significantly altered its logo for the first time since 1999, and the shift also drew a mocking response from T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) CEO John Legere.

"In a world that is constantly changing and introducing new technology, our customers rely on us every day to deliver the connections that matter to them," Verizon said in a statement. "We make it possible for today's always-on consumers to watch videos, listen to music, navigate city streets and stay in touch across the globe. Simply put, we deliver the promise of the digital world and we need a logo that expresses our purpose in a way that is truly ours."

The carrier said the new branding is "more than just a new look" and that it "marks the beginning of the next chapter to distinguish Verizon in the minds of consumers and signals our revitalized purpose of delivering the promise of the digital world -- simply, reliably and in a way that consumers want."

As Verizon notes, the new logo retains Verizon's colors and the check mark "and transforms them for a new era." Verizon introduced its new brand identity to its employees yesterday and plans to unveil it publicly at its headquarters today in Basking Ridge, N.J. As CNET notes, in October 2014 Verizon hired a non-telecom veteran, Diego Scotti, to serve as its CMO. Scotti previously served as the marketing chief for clothing chain J. Crew.

Legere wasted no time in mocking Verizon, tweeting out the company's new logo and replacing the red check mark with a magenta-tinged one. Under the new Verizon logo Legere laid out what he sees as Verizon's unsavory business practices and added the check mark to the end of each.

Legere said of Verizon: "screws over customers," "data overage penalties," "keeps all your unused data," "hefty fees for international roaming" and "no early upgrade options." Each of those critiques ties to a specific T-Mobile "uncarrier" initiative that T-Mobile has marketed against Verizon and other carriers.  

For more:
- see this Verizon release
- see this The Verge article 
- see this CNN Money article 
- see this CNET article 
- see this Bloomberg article 
- see this The Next Web article

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