Branding, Branding, Branding
Do you ever wonder why it is that you can identify some corporate symbols almost instantaneously, even without any accompanying text? Think about the Nike “swoosh” or the Apple “fruit” symbols. They don’t even have to use the name of their company in the logo, and yet consumers like you and me understand exactly what they stand for. You may think to yourself, “Those are some great logos that probably cost a lot of money and were created by expensive design agencies.” But do you know that Nike’s logo originally cost $35 and was created by a student fresh out of design school? It goes to show that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on an elaborately designed logo in order to create a successful brand. The real secret is consistency.
By being consistent in your approach, you begin to develop powerful associations between your product/service and the look/feel you want to achieve. It doesn’t happen overnight, however. It took many years for Nike to be able to use the “swoosh” by itself, and it took a consistent use of the logo by repeatedly tying it into the consumer perception that they were looking to achieve. Their logo is so simple, and yet somehow they have managed to get us to associate a few curved lines into something that almost looks like a fast, stylish and powerful sneaker itself. That is the power of something that has been consistently relayed into the collective psyche of consumers.
The best part is, you don’t even need an elaborate logo to be successful at branding. It just needs to be memorable, so that the next time you see it something lights up in your brain. When they get repeated over and over again, that connection becomes stronger. There are even brands with poorly-designed logos that manage to be successful through consistent use – think about your local news shows as an example. I bet you can name nearly all of your local news channel’s numbers if you had to. I have 22-News, FOX-61, and ABC-40 in my area. None of their logos are particularly attractive, but I know their brands because I have them drilled into my head 100 times a day. The silly part is that none of those numbers even indicate the correct channel on my cable lineup, but that’s a whole different story altogether.
So what is the lesson for marketers? No matter how much you spend on your new logo, the real bang for your buck is when you use it consistently and often. Make sure that your logo is on EVERYTHING that could possibly go to potential customers. Use it as a signature in your emails. Make sure it is on faxes, memos, letterhead, business cards, and envelopes. Get that logo on every proposal you send out. And make sure that it is used consistently on each medium according to the branding you want to portray. It may take a while, but a small repeated investment will have major rewards.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:19 am
A logo gives the brand an identity. People aasociate that particular logo with th brand name. The price you pay is nothing as compared to the manifold benefits that a potentially good logo design can give to a brand.
Company Logo Design
February 9th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Hi Alfred- Thanks for the post, and I agree that a great logo brings with it many benefits to a brand. However, I think that a consistent brand strategy gives meaning to the logo, not the other way around.
I think the key to your comment is when you say “potentially” when referring to a logo. A logo itself is a component of the overall branding, and only through good branding practices, such as consistent and repetitive use, can it unleash its potential.
I don’t disagree with you that a great logo design has its benefits, but I think the overall branding practices are what give the logo an identity. You can create a unique, creative, and memorable logo, but if it’s used improperly it’s often ineffective. The same logo used with a well-developed and easy-to-implement branding strategy has more of a fighting chance.