Big Branding, Small Package
Sometimes the seemingly small things, like your company's logo, can have a huge impact on your business. Your logo has a space on everything your company creates: from products to literature to signage and stationery. Of course, the logo alone won't sell your product or service. But your logo makes an immediate and (hopefully) lasting impression on those who come in contact with it. A strong logo can go miles to promoting your brand. But a poorly executed logo can also impact your brand – just in a negative way.
Fortune magazine recently
even had a little fun with logos when it pitted big-brand marks like Google, GE, Nike and McDonald’s against each other to see which would truly stand the test of time. Their conclusion? Target's "to-the-point" logo beats all.
So what are some of the ways to make sure your company's logo is telling the real brand story?
Think impactful, simple and distinctive
Memorable logos can serve as mini-advertisements, subtly reminding your customers about your products or services. Think of a slick, silver apple with a bite missing from its right side and a perky leaf jumping from the top. Or think of a black or white, energetic, upward-moving swoosh. Are you instantly reminded of Apple and Nike, even if you only see those logos in your mind's eye?
What makes these logos so strong? In part, it's because these brands defined what they stood for and then pursued that focus relentlessly and across all touchpoints. But it also comes down to simplicity. Strong logos are, above all, simple. But they are simple in design, not in meaning. Each logo needs to tell a story about the brand it represents, but it needs to do that in the most crystallized way possible.
When the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh went through a rebranding exercise, they came to Brady Communications in search of a new logo that would showcase the museum's fun, friendly brand personality. After exploring hundreds of possible solutions, our designers realized the answer was in front of them the entire time. The second and third letters of the word "Children's" made the statement they were looking for: "hi." The logo quickly evolved into a series of brightly colored accents on the letters h and i within the words "Children's Museum."
Stand out from the crowd
With consumers grappling with more market noise and imagery than ever, every company needs to work diligently at sending a strong, consistent brand message to the marketplace. And an eye-catching, distinctive logo is just one more tool that can help you distinguish your brand from competitors and get customers to take notice.
When Factor X, a brand of the Hedstrom Company, wanted to develop a new marketing strategy, one of the first things Brady Communications did was update their logo. The old logo's message was slightly confusing, skewed to a younger audience and lacking impact with their new target audience. We retained some equity of the established logo, but added a little attitude and made refinements that would appeal to a more sophisticated consumer. The bold use of color and a large X emphasized the brand's association with extreme sports. The successful logo set the tone for all future point-of-sale designs and marketing campaigns.
Details, details, details
Things like color choice and logo shapes can detrimentally impact your brand if they're not well-thought-out. Orange, for example, can create a sense of energy and enthusiasm for your brand, but an overly intense orange can lead people down the road to anxiety. Global brands need to be even more careful as they work through a logo design or redesign process. In the United States, red can mean power and passion, but in Turkey, it symbolizes death.
Stay objective
Those involved in the logo development process sometimes mistake personal taste for professional attachment. This could involve choosing a horseshoe shape because the CEO likes horses or going with bright red because it’s someone's favorite color. Thinking like this can cost a company big. After all, who wants a beautiful logo that has absolutely nothing to do with the company's brand? Indeed, using a logo that doesn’t represent your company's brand essence can inaccurately define your company to customers and build the wrong association, which makes it even more difficult for your marketing team to showcase the brand's true values.
Sometimes, it really is the small things that have the biggest impact.