The future of Nivea: what is the value of the color blue for the group?

The fate of the Nivea blue remains uncertain. The trademark office had registered the color as a trademark, the Federal Patent Court ordered its cancellation. On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided that a new traffic survey about the awareness of the color should first be obtained.

Awareness of over 50 percent is the minimum requirement for trademark protection for Nivea-Blau. The cancellation of the cancellation order does not provide more than a breather. The BGH rated the 75 percent awareness required by the Federal Patent Court as too strict. However, this does not suggest a new, looser line by the BGH. The branding ability must still be checked on a case-by-case basis; all circumstances are to be taken into account and the required degree of awareness in each case is to be determined flexibly.

Is the Nivea blue tumbling on the edge?

So the question remains why Milka and Langenscheidt were able to consolidate their colors as a brand while the blue of the iconic Nivea cream is stumbling on the edge. One reason could be the no longer very stringent brand strategy. If you look at Nivea’s current product range, you will find a multitude of different colors and shades of blue. The classic blue of the Nivea cream, established in 1925, is usually only found as a small logo, overlaid by the white Nivea lettering. This may explain why the once dominant shade of blue only produced an association with Nivea in 55 percent of those surveyed in an initial traffic survey. And this despite the fact that the traffic survey was criticized by the BGH as being methodologically inadequate. The test persons were not only presented with blue color cards, but blue ones with a white border.