Branding is a powerful concept – it doesn’t just include big companies, any business can have a brand but you can also be your own personal brand.
The first thing about a brand which comes to mind is usually the logo. Whilst a good logo is part of your branding, it is not your brand.
Let’s go through these terms for a clearer understanding.
The markets these days are quite busy offering similar products. And so increasingly people show higher engagement into a brand and return to it if the brand shows a more personal side. Because we have a craving for connection and want to satisfy the feeling of belonging and gain a sense of happiness.
A personal example is the British online company “Anything but Plastic”. They offer sustainable products featuring other brands. I have been ordering Denttabs (minty toothpaste in the form of solid tablets) for 2 years now. On their website, owner Jenny says what each product does, what it contains but also gives an honest review. For example, one solid hair shampoo bar didn’t work that successful for her hair but everyone is different and you could still give it try. This already gives me a feeling of honesty & authenticity.
When I received the parcel, everything was in plastic free packaging and you get a little note with your name personally written on it to thank you for ordering and making a difference to their small company and the environment. It all adds to the feeling of satisfaction and why I keep returning and trying out other products.
But let’s view one more example with a brand giant to illustrate a brand: Let’s say hypothetically we are in a room where people discuss what Amazon means for them. Some people think it’s a brilliant set up, they offer 175 services (goods, streaming videos and TV, delivery, groceries, music, Alexa…). They made it so convenient for customers to buy almost anything online from them and through one of their add-ons they made same day delivery famous first. They clearly focused on an enhanced customer experience.
There are also people who have a negative opinion e.g. Amazon’s buying power makes it hard for small businesses to compete at the same prices or reported negative working conditions in their warehouses. Undeterred, they are a dominator on the market.
The reason for this example was that people have an opinion about the company, be it positive or negative. It has been formed through a sum of customer experiences across their touchpoints – e.g. how easy it is to navigate their website, their delivery conditions, their adverts on TV or YouTube, news postings about the workers’ conditions in the warehouse.
The term brand can be summed up to this:
“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Amazon’s first black & white logo from 1995 actually resembled the river Amazon with their website at the bottom. They transitioned through the years to the word mark with the orange smile added from 2000 onwards. That was already 21 years ago! They added a visual element for their prime offering so the logo is flexible for the branding. Other than that their main logo hasn’t changed much. They did make a recent change of their secondary logo on their app because some people saw something offensive with it – Ecosia (a search engine which plants trees) it if you like.
I have to confess something in relation to Amazon’s logo. Before researching the years and facts for Amazon, I myself had forgotten if Amazon’s logo on their website was black with an orange smile or blue which I seem to remember from Prime… Or do you know which colours the Google logo has, bonus points in the right order? I admit, I would loose points in that knowledge quiz.
In fact a survey from Crowdspring from 2017 revealed that only 16% of people correctly recall famous logos. Some people for example have the Apple logo with a stalk in mind.
As a logo is a graphic element, it only takes consumers 10 seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo, but it takes 5-7 impressions for consumers to recognise the logo.
Therefore we can’t solely rely on the logo reflecting our brand. Coming back to Amazon, if you only consider the logo combined with it recognition alone, they would have a lower brand ranking than they actually have. In reality, they rank as the most valuable brand according to the Annual global annual report 2020 from Brandfinance.
The question is now, if most of us consumers don’t recall the logo correctly, we don’t need to put much effort into the logo, right?
On the contrary, you should put attention to your logo! Here’s why: Because the logo is usually the first impression the consumer sees. It is therefore important to have a clear & concise logo which fits the many requirements of displaying it. There are differences between formats in print & digital and of course logo variations for flexible use.
Imagine the logo is blurred – what impression would you have of the company? The audience will remember your blurred logo but for all the wrong reasons and not engage with it i.e. not buy into it. It might be tempting for small businesses to diy their logo in the beginning of their business. Sure, there are online logo generators out there.
They generate a logo without knowing your story, your values, your vision.
They are not vector-based programs which means you can’t scale the logo and for professional branding you need to have logo variations. This limits the customisation considerably.
For the digital and printing requirements having your own logo should come with several logo formats for print and digital. Logo generators don’t offer this.
You also can’t trademark the logo, if you use e.g. Canva, they own the logo you created.
Apart from these disadvantages there is the aspect of generic design with those fast online generators. In the sea of competitors, it’s important to stand out, to show something different.
Whilst it is can make financially sense to use Canva it comes at a cost. When the brand stagnates and you then look to hire a professional you’ve effectively paid more, not just financially but the short term generator gratification led to more stress than intended if your brand is not communicated clearly.
Investing in professional brand design makes a big impact on your business – from stronger connections with your audience to conveying the quality of what you do.
Professional logo design should have these features:
I believe a unique brand message which includes your logo, patterns, colours and tone of voice comes from your story and connects better with the audience.
If you want to grow your business into something more, then you need to look into investing into your brand to grow it.
BRAND: Your brand is the feeling people have about your offerings (products/services).
LOGO: A logo is an icon or wordmark or both which identifies your business. It makes a first impression on your brand. It is part of your brand and used in visual communication.
VISUAL IDENTITY: the collection of visuals and sensual devices that form part of the brand:
BRANDING: the actions you take to build a certain image of your company i.e. giving it a name, the promotion of a product or service through advertising & distinctive design.
