Your Logo + Your Brand Are Not The Same Thing
Building a business is demanding to say the least. There are no short cuts, it’s hard work. Your task list of jobs becomes never ending and some days will feel like you’re well and truly stuck in the trenches, yet the good news is, the good days always, always outweigh out the bad.
Whilst we love nothing more than building brands, all too often we’re asked to create logos with the view that they will build the foundation to catapult brands into the starry stratosphere of success. Good design does not automatically equal good business. Whilst the logo to any business is of huge importance to represent all your great work, it’s simply not going to get very far down your vision board without a solid brand behind it with clear roadmaps for success, giving it the foundation it needs to grow from.
We’ve seen far too many brands with some of the most well designed logos not achieve they set out to accomplish because they failed to communicate clearly what they were truly about across all touch points of communication and relied on their identity without building a strong brand around it. Accomplishing your business objectives will not solely come down to your beautifully crafted, bespoke logo and here’s why:
Your LOGO and your BRAND are not the same thing
A misunderstanding when it comes to logos that we often see, is the idea that that your logo is the brand. In reality though, it’s very much just one small aspect of your brand when building your identity.
We always say; do everything with intention and consistency when it comes to working from your logo so that your audience aren’t confused. Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal consumer looking at your brand - if you start using different imagery on your website to what you’re using on your social and write in different fonts, change up your colour palettes and have different tones of voice applied to everything, your logo will just get lost and the connection won’t be made.
2. Your brand should evoke the very best feelings
We all want to feel good. We’re all seeking positive connections that make us happy, aren’t we? You wouldn’t actively seek out something that made you feel confused and lost. Well the same applies to branding. When you think of branding, really think about how it makes you feel and what you experience.
Give people different experiences at every stage and you may as well show them the door. They won’t be able to connect easily and understand all the different strands to what you do as it just becomes confusing. They’ve seen your logo, they like what they see, then they see your social and it’s different to the website and the name is slightly different to your email…. you get the point. You want every aspect to be on crystal clear and consistent so that you continue to give only the best experience from your website, to your business cards, letterheads - the whole shebang.
3. Weak strategy
Slapping a pretty new face on a business that lacks strategy, story and smarts does nothing.It actually makes things worse because you set your customers up with false expectations and they’ll only walk away feeling let down. Branding shouldn’t replace good strategy and smart planning — you need the trifecta!
4. Your story needs telling, then telling again + again
Storytelling is a fundamental human experience that unites people and drives stronger, deeper, better, genuine connections. From the earliest recorded history, storytelling was a method used by cavemen to communicate, educate, share and connect, so it’s fair to say it’s pretty important! You may invest in that logo, but if you’re not speaking directly to your ideal customer in the way that’s reflective of who you are as a brand, you’re most likely speaking to no-one. It’s also worth remembering that whilst you may feel like a broken record, not everyone will have heard your story so keep telling it.
5. Know Your WHY
‘Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and then realise it was leaning against the wrong building!’ People actually look at your visual branding; in fact, it’s the first thing they generally see. If they are planning on investing money in you, especially if you are selling a premium product or service, they also look at the way you do business and what values you exude. People want to do business with those aligned to the same causes they are passionate about. So make your ‘why’ extraordinarily clear.
In summary, your logo is of great importance and of course needs to look the part, but if you’re not communicating with your audience in the best way for your brand, then it potentially won’t have the reach and success that your business deserves. Make your audience love truly, madly and deeply with your brand, for life.
If you’re looking for help with your brand, or refinement of your current identity - drop us a line!
