01 Sep 09 Your Logo vs. Your Brand

Many people believe that their logo is their brand, and that they should make it as large, prominent and flashy to stand out from the crowd as much as possible- you know- to get noticed!

And that is why many advertisements fail.

What often gets lost in the ‘branding’ process is that your brand is much more than a cute logo, or your face, or how you write your company’s name. I work with many businesses that thought that if they displayed their expensive logo as large as possible people will walk/call/E-mail them and hand them thousands of dollars and say “Wow- you’ve got a very impressive logo- I couldn’t wait to give you my money! Thank you for taking it from me!”

So I ask you- how often have YOU had that conversation with someone you decided to do business with? Heck, when is the last time you paid more than a 20% premium on the “Brand Name” with no other clear differences? My guess is, as the savvy shopper I bet you are… is a long, long time ago.

So what is a brand really- and what builds up real, bankable brand equity?

A true “Talking Logo” is what your customers think when they think about your company. Hopefully, it is what you tell them your brand means- but many brands are simply what customers perceive you as. I know many people who pay a premium to the Sony name- Not because they spent an absurd amount of money on the font they write their logo with- but because the Sony name has a reputation for “Quality, innovative electronics.” So if I have a bit more money to spend on a TV/Computer/Game Console- I might choose to have a couple more features and slightly better quality that I expect from Sony as opposed to the other choices.

A graphical logo we have to be trained to understand, and associate with your brand. This takes countless repetitions and is very expensive to pull off… but for what purpose? If your graphical logo just means you need a size larger Yellow Page ad, billboard or newspaper ad- but the larger size isn’t getting you a single extra client- is it worth it?

Instead of spending time working with a graphical logo, try this instead:

Duct Tape Mad-Libs:

I think we all remember Mad-Libs from our childhood car rides- You just need to fill in the blanks for YOUR company:
I/We ___(Action)____ to/for ______(Target Market)___________ _______(Key Benefit)__________.

So your Duct Tape Mad Lib- if you are a Florist-
We create for homes and brides, delightful scents and images.

How do you know if you’ve come up with a successful Duct Tape Mad Lib?

After you answer the question of “What do you do?” with your Mad Lib, the next question you are asked is:
“How do you do that?”

Tags: advertising, Branding, Mad Libs