How Firms Compete With Hidden Messages

Have you noticed the arrow in FedEx’s logo?

Especially because, in class, we have been looking at how oligopolies compete, I appreciated what this BusinessInsider slideshow said about their logos:

A competitive market structure shapes business behavior. For oligopolies, that means sending your message to many millions of consumers. Through a logo and other forms of mass market advertising, oligopolies need to distinguish their product from the goods and services sold by just a few other large, similar firms.

In class, while we identify 4 basic competitive market slots, really, we have a continuum, ranging from most to least competitive. At the far left end, you could start with russet potatoes, then have your barber, after that a local supermarket and then maybe Coca-Cola (I know that we just made a huge leap.), FedEx and then, closest to the other end, your local electricity company. Perhaps, when Amazon arrived, the position of booksellers shifted to the right on the scale.