Branding is more than just a logo!

“Make it bigger. Make sure it tells them what we do, and how we do it, and where we do it. But make it simple, and of course, pretty. Make it… POP!”

The above statements aren’t unusual for an agency to hear when being briefed on a new logo project. And quite often, the scope of the brief is limited to the logo, when we should be considering how the brand (inclusive of the logo) is working. But it’s understandable, limiting your scope to a logo seems much more concrete than focusing on ‘everything.’

Developing a brand is a world of discovery and opportunity, but it can also be a minefield. Branding, and by extension visual design is much more than “making the logo pretty.”

Effective branding is the sum of the experiences your customer has at every touchpoint with you, or your product/service. Without well thought out and consistent branding and visual design your product may lack the necessary targeting required to generate trust and confidence from your customers. Your product offering might be epic, but it’s irrelevant if you can’t convince people to consider your offer via the brand you’ve created.

With that in mind, if your brand isn’t a logo, then what the devil is it? Is it your product’s features?? Is it your vision and values? Is it the personality of the owners or staff? Is it the reputation or opinion of your clients or customers?

The truth is, it’s all of these things… and more.

A brand is the metaphorical ‘wrapper’ that surrounds what your product or service actually does. It is the ecosystem that creates a perception of the experience your target audience will have with you.

So it’s a little unfair to expect a poor little logo, on its own, to bear the weight of that responsibility. It may be one of the star players on your Brand team, but on it’s own, it can’t do everything!

Let us look at Apple as an explicit example.

The brand itself is by no means held together by a half eaten apple. No, no.

The impact of this multi-billion dollar brand comes from years of customers’ experiences with their products, the company’s tone of voice, and decades of powerful marketing. When you go to their website, walk into their stores, purchase one of their products, the experience is the same: sleek, simple, effective, user friendly and brand focused.

Similarly, Nike as a world-leading sportswear brand is more than its Swoosh logo that famously was designed for a pittance. It’s relentless messaging, consistency and a clear dedication to build a brand around its mission: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” Nike even places an asterisk on the word ‘athlete’ in its mission statement and strengthens its stance by explaining that “*if you have a body, you are an athlete.” That is branding. The Swoosh logo on its own, could never achieve that — but it’s also not supposed to.

A logo is a headline for your brand, but needs all the context to tell the story. And no logo, no matter how well it is designed, can off-set the rest of the ‘experience ecosystem’ your target customer will interact with.

Your brand is the total sum of the one-way, two-way, digital and in-person interactions between every part of your organisation, and your target customer.

So how should you re-think your approach to these projects in the future?:

Keep the logo itself simple. Prioritise!

Prioritise the gaps you are trying to close. Do customers not know what you do? Or why is the ‘what’ or ‘how’ different to the rest? Answering this will guide you to what are the mandatory elements to include in your new logo design. The communication objectives for the logo for ‘Tom’s Plumbing’ (the ‘what’ is obvious) is different to the same company renamed as ‘Waterworks’.

Define the logo’s role in the real-world

Is it about recognition and familiarity? Or cut-through in busy streets? The logo needs to do different things depending on whether this brand is going to be seen digitally, or in a crowded market with signage.

Focus on creating a brand led by the logo, and not just a logo!

I hope we’ve been clear that a logo can be the star, but needs a team around it all working together to deliver. So when you request to see concepts for your new brand, ask for and review the design directions with some ‘in-situ’ representations of how the brand can come to life with the logo. So if it’s a mainly digital brand, conceptualise the brand as a landing page, or an app screen. If it’s a retail brand, maybe a shop-front decal or signage is the way to review it. The logo needs to work on its own, for sure, but in reality, not often.

Include every customer facing touch-point in your re-brand

This is probably the hardest thing to accomplish unless you own the business. The reality is that the greatest branded environment can’t make up for horrible customer interactions. So while the look and feel is important, consider how to persuade your employees to represent your shiny new brand, before you ask your customers to believe in it.

No matter what your objectives, a rebrand is an amazing time for any business. It is a time filled with opportunity and risk. Both considering who we want to be, and also being realistic about what we are, and can be. But through it, we should remember what we are trying to create, or asking our agency partners to deliver. Our brand is everything, and everyone in our business.

We’re all responsible for making sure those who work with us and for us know exactly what we stand for, and what makes us truly unique.

So don’t expect so much, from such a little thing. Look beyond and around the logo, focus on your brand as a whole, and how every member of the team can help you win.