Before we even dive into to see the difference between the logo and the brand. Let's get a hang of what do they individually mean? So first we will explore
What is a Brand?
What is a Logo?
Logo Vs Brand
What is a Brand?
A brand is basically the psychological underpinning of customers with your company. Simply put, it's what the customers' perception of you as a whole.
The set of tools you might have used to create an indelible mark in the consumer’s mind over a period of time and the unforgettable interactions you might have done with your audience(brand experience) define the brand image you as business owners (your company) have.
The brand makes your Business
Success and failure of a business depend, to a great extent, on the overall experiences of the consumers with your company. Remember your childhood days when you insisted on buying ‘Gems’ chocolates? Without having any idea of these marketing and branding tools you went for such buyings in the past. What provoked you was the overall perception you had for this very product: its packaging, wrapper design, and the colourful candies inside and moreover the scope of plenty to share and expand your circle.
Think about the followings:
Your take on these has come a long way from the small and lasting experiences these companies have left in your lives. Your association, adherence, or agnostic attribute towards the companies decide the quantum of business they do. Who will ever want to bring down the bottom-line? So try to impress upon your present and future buyers in all possible way you can, starting from your direct to indirect interactions.
It may seem difficult but not impossible to leave an ineffaceable mark in your audience’s mind.
Starting from the way you deal with them to your website design, promotional campaigns, billboards, buying and selling experiences, customer services and whatnot. All put together makes your brand.
A good brand and branding strategy always draws consumers and drives good business.
Step into a Volkswagen showroom any day and ask the salesperson to tell you more about the fleet of cars, you will for sure, listen from them about German Engineering.
Why so? It's about the association. German Engineering has created that image in people’s mind which entails best of quality, reliability, innovation, and robust mechanism. And this makes business.
However, any gaffe in the entire flow of customer interaction with the company can lead otherwise. The brand is earned over time.
Brand Identity
Once you create a brand of your own, the next step is to establish its identity. Identity is to be always unique and to be so, detailing will be of paramount importance so as to create a strong and lasting impression in the consumer’s mind.
Your brand identity can never be left to chance, every minute details should be thoroughly examined and used, for example, your logo, colour palette, typography, and of course your publicity on the same.
Colours affect the way we see things and change the entire perception of people towards a certain product. It impacts and influences the buyers' mood and taker’s attention. So also the font, pattern, design, and text as a whole, that go with it. To be ahead in the race you need to be competitive, adaptive, distinctive, and pre-eminent in the field.
Logo and its Importance
Brand identification starts with a logo. It's the tangible element that combines or individually uses a symbol, a simple text pattern, a typographical wood-mark or any distinctive design for recognising a particular company, product, institution, or any business entity. Because it carries the role of brand recognition, it is an extremely strategic instrument.
With this, you make your first and forever impression. You use it everywhere be it on signage, letterheads, promotional pamphlets, advertisements, stickers, graphic design and even on uniforms. A small but powerful visual impression keeps the customers glued to a company both at conscious and subconscious levels.
The logo is not necessarily the be-all and end-all of your organisation but it is strong enough to cruise your company through smooth and tough tides. It is like the stepping stone of your brand and the very foundation, your brand identity and business prosperity, to a great extent, depends.
All Good Things Come in THREEs
There are basically three key characteristics on which logos are made and become effective:
1. Simplicity
‘Simple is Beautiful’, there is no denying the fact. To make your logo appealing, you need to keep the logo design simple in the first place. All good logos are simple for many reasons:
Memorability
Usability
Longevity.
One can appreciate a logo and use it endlessly if only it's simple. Think of a complex electrical circuit structure. Ask yourself is it something that you can remember forever?
How many of us remember the logos of our schools and colleges and how many of us remember that of the same of the companies like Apple, Nike, or Airtel? It's because of the simple reason of their complexity and simplicity respectively.
Simple logos are easy to remember. Simple logos are also easy to use.
2. Suitability
A logo is not the carrier of a company. It should not talk about what a company does or is. But it must reflect the essence of an entity. Mental connections are easy if there is the appropriateness of the logo with the vividness of a company.
The three-pointed star logo of Mercedes-Benz represents the strength and prevalence of Daimler engines on the land, on the sea, and in the air.
The four ceiling rings reflect the four manufacturers of Auto Union. This Audi emblem signs the association of the brand Audi with others: Horch, DKW, Wanderer.
The Unilever logo with a big blue “U” comprises several icons each having its unique connection with the business.
3. Notability
If you are like anyone, you are lost in the sea of similarity. Stand out and be distinctive. Total innovation may not be possible and, to be candid, not even required. But it should not have attributes of all, it will seem to be a copy-cat.
Your logo should stand out in the crowd and should talk about how differently you perceive things. If your logo represents your company in the way you want it to, then your work is done.
Logo Vs Brand
One is the character, the other is the content of the character. One is the face and other the soul. Yes, you got it correct. When the logo is meant to create the customer-company-connect, the brand is for the customer-company-alliance.
The logo is the window through which customers can get a look and feel of your company but the brand is the gateway through which they can get into your company and would like to be there for long. The logo is one of the threads that make a brand strong. The brand is whole while the logo is a part.
Importance of Logo for Branding
The logo is the first point of identification of a company’s products and services. It's a strategic visual catch for brand recall, brand association, and brand reliance. A well-designed logo can boost branding, here is why:
Brand Identification and Brand Recall: A logo helps in creating a visual identity of a particular brand and people can always associate themselves with a company through this.
Consistency over multiple platforms: A logo is one of the constants over a myriad of communication channels.
Reflection of Professionalism: A well-crafted logo builds the professional image of a brand. Its unique feature binds people across all segments and helps build brand reliability.
Distinguishing Factor: It makes an industry stand out in the crowd.
Boosts Brand Loyalty: It propagates positive vibes through which people stay connected with a particular brand and hence is a great tool for boosting the loyalty of potential clients.
A logo is an indispensable part of a brand. Its distinctive feature adds value, establishes brand recognition and identification and represents an industry across all platforms and thereby strengthens the brand association. An appropriate logo, standing in tandem with the essence of an organisation, is what makes a brand top-rank.
Logo Image Source from: Google