Walk inside any West 49 store, and you’ll quickly be overwhelmed by logos. But among the scripted Quicksilver marque, the blocky Billabong letters, the Siamese DC emblem and the heart crest of Roxy, you won’t find a West 49 marque. Why? Because the mall retailer doesn’t have one.

Instead, you’ll see multiple treatments of “West 49” “W49,” including stencilled and digital images, and images silk-screened onto tops and tees. According to Sam Baio, the chain’s president and CEO, “Logos are earned; they’re not just placed.” Recognizing the power of corporate symbols, particularly in today’s brand-centric universe, Baio has requested logo concepts from a select group of artists and designers.

Wearing branded clothing (thus identifying oneself through brands) is back in style, says Gary Ludwig, creative director, Canada, for Interbrand. “We’re seeing more of this kind of thing where people will adopt [brand/corporate] graphics as shorthand to express their affinity. You’ll see [their favourite logos] on Facebook pages or they’ll make YouTube mash-ups. Sometimes they’re pro, sometimes they’re con. Either way, it’s making a statement about their value system.” For proof, check out BrandTags.net, a site that invites users to tag logos with a word: Apple, for example, symbolizes “innovation,” while Nike is linked to both “sports” and “sweatshop.” H&M, meanwhile, is “cool” while BlackBerry represents “work.”

Ludwig says that young people have grown up surrounded by brands and don’t mind supporting their favourite businesses.

Recent research from the University of Maryland shows that even subtle exposure to logos has the potential to influence brand choice. The research found that university-age subjects would process a logo without realizing they saw it. “So by repeatedly exposing people to the Dasani brand [the emblazoned bottle was used in the studies] each subsequent exposure should be easier to process cognitively, and this is what leads to [the subjects] choosing Dasani later on,” says Rosellina Ferraro, the study’s lead researcher. Another part of her research showed that whoever carries the logo reflects the product. In other words, a popular person equals a popular brand.

That insight confirms what many marketers already suspected, which is why West 49 sponsors athletes like pro skateboarder Pierre Luc Gagnon—who its customers would likely idolize—to wear West 49 gear. And outdoor wear company Helly Hansen recently tapped Eubank, Calif.-based UPP Entertainment Marketing to get its “HH” logo on celebrities. Marshall Rutman, marketing manager for Helly Hansen, says that Fergie, Pink, the Jonas Brothers and other <0x00FC>ber-hip stars have been photographed in Helly Hansen gear.

While consumers were once quick to cry “sell out” when a celebrity began promoting products, attitudes have changed says Jeff Roach, vice-president, marketing strategy at Y Syndicate. “The youth market now, and pop culture in general, we’re finding are more open to seeing logos... seeing their idols and icons hawking products and being in commercials. Selling out is less of an aspect than it used to be.”

What’s more, new research methods are providing marketers and their agencies with additional impetus to invest in their logos. A German study tracked the brainwaves of subjects as they were exposed to brand icons, and the researchers found similar results between well-known logos and feelings of reward. And Dayton, Ohio-based Greg Silverman, global practice leader, analytics, Interbrand, says that within the last two years it has become possible to estimate the impact a logo will have on revenue. Before, attempting to measure logos would have seemed like quantifying love or friendship, says Ludwig. Now, adds Silverman, “You want to get a measure of what that logo is delivering in terms of meaning.”

As for West 49, “[the new logo] will be accepted as soon as people associate it with West 49, which will happen through advertising and placement and so forth,” says Baio, who says the new logo will be chosen within three to six months. “The icon will be the dot on the ‘i’ for us.”