The Reading / Listening - Company Logos - Level 5

The credit card company Mastercard is removing its name from its logo. It will follow Apple and Nike in having a logo that has no writing. Mastercard traditionally used a logo that had overlapping yellow and red circles with the word "Mastercard" written on them. It has decided to drop the word "Mastercard" and use just the two circles in a wordless logo. The new logo will be the symbol on its credit cards and in stores and at sports events. The company said over 80 per cent of people instantly recognized the new symbol without the word "Mastercard".

Mastercard did much research for more than 20 months on how recognizable the new wordless logo was. The logo is part of a wider strategy to move from being a credit card company to a digital payments company. The world is full of well-known logos that have no words. Apple's bitten apple logo and Nike's swoosh are examples. Most logos of apps on smartphones are just symbols. A design expert said a small logo on a phone or watch needed to be powerful. He said: "You're trying to optimize for a very small piece...of glass....A 10-letter name is kind of a monster."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Company Logos - Level 4 or  Company Logos - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.businessinsider.com/mastercard-new-logo-drops-name-2019-1
  • http://fortune.com/2019/01/07/mastercard-drops-its-name-from-company-logo-post-text-future-target-nike-apple/
  • https://www.wsj.com/articles/mastercard-drops-its-name-from-logo-11546858800


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. It will follow Apple
  2. having a logo that
  3. overlapping yellow and red
  4. It has decided to drop the word
  5. two circles in a wordless
  6. the symbol
  7. sports
  8. instantly recognized
  1. "Mastercard"
  2. events
  3. has no writing
  4. the new symbol
  5. circles
  6. logo
  7. and Nike
  8. on its credit cards

Paragraph 2

  1. Mastercard did much
  2. how recognizable the new
  3. part of a wider
  4. a digital payments
  5. well-known logos that
  6. logos of apps on smartphones are
  7. a very small piece
  8. kind of a
  1. just symbols
  2. strategy
  3. monster
  4. research
  5. wordless logo was
  6. of glass
  7. have no words
  8. company

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The credit card company Mastercard (1) ___________________ name from its logo. It will follow Apple and Nike in (2) ___________________ that has no writing. Mastercard traditionally used a logo that had (3) ___________________ red circles with the word "Mastercard" written on them. It has decided to (4) ___________________ "Mastercard" and use just the two circles in a wordless logo. The new logo will be the symbol on its credit cards (5) ___________________ and at sports events. The company said over 80 per cent of people (6) ___________________ new symbol without the word "Mastercard".

Mastercard did (7) ___________________ more than 20 months on how recognizable the new wordless logo was. The logo is (8) ___________________ strategy to move from being a credit card company to (9) ___________________ company. The world is full of well-known logos that have no words. Apple's bitten apple logo and Nike's swoosh are examples. Most (10) ___________________ on smartphones are just symbols. A design expert said a small logo on a phone (11) ___________________ to be powerful. He said: "You're trying to optimize for a very small piece...of glass....A 10-letter name is kind (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

ThecreditcardcompanyMastercardisremovingitsnamefromitslogo.It
willfollowAppleandNikeinhavingalogothathasnowriting.Mastercardt
raditionallyusedalogothathadoverlappingyellowandredcircleswithth
eword"Mastercard"writtenonthem.Ithasdecidedtodroptheword"Ma
stercard"andusejustthetwocirclesinawordlesslogo.Thenewlogowillb
ethesymbolonitscreditcardsandinstoresandatsportsevents.Thecom
panysaidover80percentofpeopleinstantlyrecognizedthenewsymbol
withouttheword"Mastercard".Mastercarddidmuchresearchformoret
han20monthsonhowrecognizablethenewwordlesslogowas.Thelogoi
spartofawiderstrategytomovefrombeingacreditcardcompanytoadig
italpaymentscompany.Theworldisfullofwell-knownlogosthathaven
owords.Apple'sbittenapplelogoandNike'sswooshareexamples.Mostl
ogosofappsonsmartphonesarejustsymbols.Adesignexpertsaidasma
lllogoonaphoneorwatchneededtobepowerful.Hesaid:"You'retryingt
ooptimizeforaverysmallpiece...ofglass....A10-letternameiskindof
amonster."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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_____________________________________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________________________________

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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