A Successful Launch is More Than a Beautiful Logo
Give your brand the chance it deserves.
When we think of legendary logos, a few come to mind: McDonald’s, Mercedes, Subway, Apple, Target. These are companies we’ve evolved with, companies that have virtually mastered the tricky, ever-changing puzzle known as marketing. Creating a cool, classic logo that fabulously reflects the brand it represents is hard work; but, once that work is finished, never assume the rest will magically fall into place – you’re just getting started.
Do you know how they say “beauty is skin deep?” Well, your logo is the face of your brand and your story is the soul. When we hear “the snack that smiles back,” we automatically think of Goldfish. The same concept applies to your logo. Each brand should have an assortment of logos – a primary, secondary and tertiary (both in which have small variations from the primary for diversity of use), and finally, a [water]mark (a simple and condensed logo option).
To put these in context: A mark is the perfect addition to a branded Instagram post, and the primary logo plays a starring role on a website.
Marketing is a process, and creating a logo is a part of that process. The secret to building an impactful brand is appealing to your audience through storytelling – strong visuals, a fitting tone, the perfect color scheme, the right fonts, and creative deliverables. You can have a super cool logo, but if your tone is lackluster, you’ll lose the chance of bonding with your target market (after all, first impressions matter). You could have reached Michelle, a connected vlogger who frequently uploads unsponsored product reviews. Michelle was initially drawn to your logo after seeing it on Instagram. However, when she clicked onto your website and scrolled, she found herself unimpressed by your copy.
Yes, it happens that quickly.
Let’s look at Domino’s pizza, a well-known company that’s been around since the 1960s. Their logo is iconic, and it’s always remained the same (with some minor revisions here and there). Domino’s, an established brand with a great logo, sells a product everyone loves: pizza. Not everyone loved their pizza, though. Their dough was flavorless, their service was subpar, and many preferred ordering from other pizza chains, such as Pizza Hut and Papa John’s. So, they decided to completely rebrand, keeping the same logo but changing everything else. Now they have an excellent product (in our humble opinions) and use cutting-edge technology to give customers the best experience possible. This is why you need to have a strong foundation first; a great logo can only take you so far.
On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Apple: another iconic brand with an iconic logo. Their logo is nothing crazy; it’s simply an apple with a bite taken out of it. When you sell a truly superior product and already have strong marketing, sometimes your logo becomes an icon without even trying. (No, I’m not saying you should slap a random orange square onto your website and call it a day.) Think about the story you want to tell, make it good, and go from there. But, easier said than done, we know.
“Well, how do I begin to tell a good story – won’t a trendy logo fast-track my brand’s success?” It will definitely give your brand visual appeal at first, but if your processes, product, and/or services aren’t sound, it won’t get you far.
Think of a color you love. Does it mean something to you? What images and textures make your face light up with excitement? Who’s your greatest inspiration and why? You are unique, and uniqueness is what makes for a killer story.
Tell us your story, and we’ll give your brand a voice loud enough to reach the right people (don’t worry, we’ll design a really cool logo for you, too).
