A logo doth not make a brand
If we had a penny for every time we’ve heard a business owner, or executive mention how ‘awesome’ their branding efforts are because their staff uniforms are recognisable out in public because of a) the logo on the back / front, and b) the colour (sorry, we’ve likely seen about five other companies whose staff have the same uniforms); or because their logo is recognisable… well, we would be millionaires.
Absolutely, logos are an incredibly component of all brand frameworks, in particular the visual brand identity. They are often the first branded item that a person sees and will inspire brand recognition from that point out. The right logo can say many things about your brand without saying a word: values, personality, trust, integrity, excellence.
The logo is the visual foundation of a brand, from the colours used to the graphical components used in branded materials, and often, the tagline, which speaks to the purpose of the business and the value, or experience, customers can expect to receive. See, already we have uncovered there is more to a brand than a logo. Colours. Taglines. Graphical elements. Fonts used. A symbol.
But wait, there’s more.
A brand is, at its heart, the reputation of a company. It is the sum of a number of different elements – the sum of thoughts, feelings and associations. These are created from both tangible (the visual elements such as the logo), AND the intangible. So, let’s talk about those intangible elements.
The intangible elements are those that connect customers on a deeper level. The way a company communicates via the words they use, the way they express themselves, their responsiveness to customers, the images they use, the way their staff interact with customers. These are articulated through a brand’s personality traits and brand promise, which are articulated through a brand’s tone of voice (way of speaking and the language they use).
What is a brand promise: the set of human characteristics you attribute to that brand. Or, put another way — it's how you'd describe a brand if it were a person. These traits set one brand apart from others and make it unique.
A brand's personality shines through in brand messaging, images, and overarching marketing campaigns. Brand personality is the essential foundation for brand identity and brand marketing.
Importantly, elements of brand, such as the personality, values, promise and tone of voice are all developed before the visual identity (ie logo and colours) are built. Why you ask? All of these provide an overall view and feel for the brand and the visual identity is the visual, ie tangible, manifestation of those come to life.
It is only when all of these items come alive through every single touchpoint a customer has with a brand: the website, a shopfront, any marketing collateral (flyers, brochures etc), the customer service experience, the purchase experience, the product / service, the packaging, the after-purchase experience, ongoing communications between the company the customer; does a brand really come to life and create a memorable interaction with a customer.
For example, Volvo. Yes, the car brand. What do you think of when you think of the Volvo brand? Sturdy. Long-lasting. Older customers. Reliable.
Well, would you be surprised to know Volvo has a responsible, trustworthy, reliable, family-man personality. The brand positioning of the Volvo brand is firmly connected with sincerity and competence. Let’s take a look at their logo.
What do we see? Solid. Dependable. No-nonsense. Trust.
We can see how the visual identity of their logo embodies the brand personality traits and position of their brand.
To sum up, a logo is a vital part of any brand, however as you can see, a logo is only one element of a brand, it certainly doth not make a brand.
