A friend and fellow fellow entrepreneur recently asked for advice regarding brand strategizing. His simple question resulted in a discussion regarding the difference between a brand and a logo.
While his logo was spot-on, he lacked the branding to support his logo. In fact, the only thing connecting his business cards, fliers, newsletters and all manner of marketing materials was his logo. Had the logo not been stamped on every piece of digital and paper material, I wouldn’t have known they each pertained to the same company individually. None of the material had a consistent connection with the business and when I mentioned this to him, he replied with, “it should be enough that my brand is on everything.”
Your brand is not synonymous with your logo. The confusion regarding my friend’s marketing data stemmed from the false assumption that a brand and logo are one and the same. While your business logo is (and should be) on every piece of material and digital information generated by your company, your logo is not without its limitations. In fact, your brand goes far beyond your logo as it further explains the message your logo symbolizes.
A well designed logo is the cornerstone of your brand identity, capturing the essence of your brand tone. It can evoke a specific emotion in your ideal customer while explaining what you do in a simple, memorable format. The best logos are smart, simple and adaptable to changing times.
Your logo should:
- Match your business. If you own a construction company, a bumblebee, for example, would not be a strong indication of what you do and the services you have to offer.
- Be timeless. In other words, consumers won’t look at your logo and think it was designed in the ‘80’s. Your logo should be applicable to all generations regardless of decade.
- Be cost-effective. It shouldn’t cost extra money to reproduce it because it is intricate and detailed in design. Keep it simple!
- Be legible. Use fonts that are easily read from a distance and up close. If your logo has words incorporated into it, they should be clear and easily read.
- Have its own look. Be sure your logo doesn’t look similar to someone else’s. For example, if your logo is a check mark, consumers might think you represent Nike.
- Be visually appealing. Your logo needs to look sharp whether printed in color or in black and white. If it looks great in color, but its characteristics are blurred when printed in black and white, it isn’t a good logo. Also, be sure your logo can perform well on any scale, whether a one-inch print or billboard scale.
Your logo is a crucial representation of your business as it is often the first impression for consumers, but there are a few things your logo cannot do:
- Market your company. You must still perform all the tasks outlined in a solid marketing plan because you cannot sit back and relax, expecting that a good logo will do all of the work for you. Realistically, a well-designed logo will enforce the efficacy of your marketing efforts.
- Tell your entire story. You cannot share the whole of your company’s story via a logo. This is why it is imperative to utilize strong marketing tools such as a company website and social media.
- Redefine you. Companies often think that a new logo will save or fix their business. Unfortunately, the success of your company ultimately depends on you. If you are unwilling to make changes as necessary, don’t depend on a new logo to save you.
Ultimately, your logo is not for you. It’s for your audience and it doesn’t need to be flashy, large or exciting to you. In fact, you might despise the color red, however if that is what appeals to your target audience, then red it is. There are thousands of Fortune 500 companies with boring, unexciting red logos.
Your logo should be a sign of your confident design choices and must be coherent with each component of your business. A consumer might not remember the name of your company, but will come to recognize you by your logo as it is the most visible representation of your business and a vital contributor to your bottom line
