The Brand Series: Your Logo Isn’t Cuttin’ It

A LOGO IS NOT A BRAND

We know. We just dropped fighting words. You may love your logo—it may have even been the first thing you did to kick off your brand! So, before you swing on us, let’s dive right into it. We promise to show you how to evolve your brand and ensure your logo doesn’t carry all the weight.

Imagine you’re dating someone. They’ve got the best style you’ve ever seen. The random pops of color make you smile, and their demeanor seems chipper, light, and accessible. So, you say yes to a date! While you are on said date, you notice their hygiene is terrible. Their breath smells horrible, and you see they didn’t wash their clothes. You also notice their hair is matted and unwashed. But, you say oh well…I like their personality and stay. Throughout the date, they are rude to the staff and make fun of the servers behind them when they leave the table. You are now looking for the nearest exit, and I'm glad you gave them your burner number. Before you can make your grand escape….you notice their phone open to a message sharing with their pal. They’re bored on the date and want to pursue some form of intimacy—the audacity.

THE ASSESSMENT

Your date’s clothes got your attention, but the person failed the vibe check.

The following was subpar at best:

— Hygiene

— Personality

— Emotional Intelligence

— Effort

— Humor

— Empathy

We bet all of the above lackings mean their style is now irrelevant to you. The cherry on top is seeing them looking to “score” while doing nothing to nurture the connection point. In this case, the great style is an example of the “logo,” and the other pieces of your experience with them represent a complete brand. Furthermore, think of the “looking to score” aspect in relation to the brand that is always sending you “20% off” texts every few weeks while doing nothing to nourish the journey with you as a customer/client. Ugh. We’ll refer to this as the “you up?” texts from the person we hope you’ve blocked. No, you aren’t up, be Sleeping Beauty. You deserve better.

Here’s how we look at Branding: It is all of the pieces…not just the “nice style”, aka the logo.

A BRAND CONSISTS OF

— Logo(s)

— Website

— Voice & Tone

— Values/Ethos

— Color Palette

— Brand Strategy

— Product/Service Effectiveness

— Customer Nurture Path

— Imagery & Graphics

Some of us know our favorite friends by their scent, signature laugh, and energy before we see their faces.

A good brand will keep you in a long-term relationship with customers/clients long enough to be just as identifiable as that good friend. Through the relaunch of our blog, we’ll use “The Brand Series” to share how to build a good brand. If you got an email to alert you about this launch, you all set to get these gems delivered right to your inbox. If the gram, pin, or another networking group brought you here, sign-up for updates below. Our next drop is DIY Branding, and it’s the down-to-earth, actually actionable touch you deserve.