You Need More Than Just a Logo: You Need a Brand

Every company needs a logo. It’s part of an overall business identity and is something that’s used across all types of marketing and promotional material. But your company needs a lot more than just a fancy logo – it also needs a brand.

One thing is for sure: logo and brands are not the same. But what exactly is the difference between the two and why should you focus on coming up with a brand for your business? Let’s look take a look…

What is a Logo?

A logo is a company’s basic identification and is a recognized symbol. The meaning of a logo comes from the product or service of a company that it symbolizes.

Certain important traits make a logo effective. Ideally, a logo should be simple, memorable, timeless, versatile, and appropriate. People should be able to easily identify a company simply by looking at their logo. Certain businesses do this quite well, such as McDonald’s, Nike, and Apple to name a few. These logos incorporate all of the traits that logos should have.

What is a Brand?

A brand is an emotion that is evoked in a person when they have some form of interaction with a company. While a memorable logo is important, a brand goes even further.

Your company’s brand is the image behind the goal of your business. As such, it’s your brand that becomes your personality which is then associated with how the public perceives your company. You can create your brand, but your target audience is actually the one that develops it. That’s why it’s so important that your brand’s foundation is laid effectively by staying in accordance with the image and aspirations of your business.

Your brand should be ever-present and follow a specific strategy. While your logo is used for identification purposes, your brand should be established with much consideration about how your audience will react to it.

Again, Apple is a great example of solid branding. The company’s logo is simple and easy on the eyes and is associated with the business and its brand. Their brand image is easily communicated to the target audience.

Branding For Small Businesses

It can be challenging to come up with excellent branding for small businesses. For these entities, it’s all about developing a positive perception through the use of clear, relevant, and consistent communication. It’s these traits that foster a positive experience for your audience.

To make the leap from a logo to a well-established brand, you need to fully grasp and communicate your company’s vision.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post where we discuss brand guidelines, what they are, and how to use them to create a strong brand for your business.