The Difference Between Brand and Logo

To begin with, we all know the impact that a logo has on our perspective of a company.

Some logos have stood the test of time and lived to elicit strong responses within us even when we are not customers of the selling company. For example, we hold certain logos with very high esteem, logos such as Nike.

Even if you are not a prospective client of the brand, you surely know the feelings elicited simply from seeing the logo or how customers interact with it.

There is also a basic understanding of what brand means even to the unixpienced eye since in one form or another we are clients of certain brands.

On the surface we do understand that we are clients of brands and that the logo serves as a reminder to the person who has already bought into the brand.

It is therefore critical, to the curious mind how these two differ and also how they work together.

It is now evident from the opening statements that the topic at hand revolves around marketing and that we are discussing tools used in marketing.

If branding is the strategy, then the logo is one of the main tools for that strategy.

One of the main questions when you are trying to solve the problem of a logo is to determine which industry you are working in.

For many years, the industry has dictated the main theme of a logo. Some industries just require a silhouette while others need an image to go along with the text describing the company being marketed for success.

You can always break away from the norm to establish uniqueness but most of the time you should tow the lines to establish your business.

There is a famous story of how apple did the brand and the logo.

It goes something like this. At first, the logo had to go with the words “Apple Computers” to establish in the minds of the user that apple was in the business of computing.

Later on when the brand was successful enough, they would drop the word “Computers” since brand awareness was already established and prospective customers already knew what Apple as a company was already dealing with.

A lesson from this story is to look at how easy both the logo and branding were incorporated into one strategy.

What Logo Really Is?

A logo is usually a visual graphical image that is a representation of a brand. It should be memorable and at the same time relevant to the business it represents.

To the target buyer it should be easily recognizable and have the ability to evoke emotion or memory that is intended by the business.

One question comes to mind when talking about a logo as a visual representation for a business.

Why do you need a symbol to represent your company if you have already done proper branding?

The answer to this question requires an understanding of human psychology and use of symbols. To begin with, people remember experiences that are associated with symbols.

After the experience has been repeated several times, it becomes apparent that the symbol serves as a trigger for the experience.

When someone mentions the symbol, that has already anchored in your mind, you can instantly recall it and image it vividly.

We as humans are very visual creatures and the ability to remember experiences, was really important in the prehistoric times, when this skill helped us survive.

Nowadays is our job as graphic designers to harnest this prehistroic trait and create logos that will be easy to remember and quickly associated with the brand.

How Branding is Done and How it Relates to a Logo?

Branding can be considered to be the practice of creating a value proposition for either a company or products.

It is also the continuous effort to apply marketing and branding where the end result is to differentiate a business and its products from the competition.

The reasons for doing this is straight forward. A company or business has better odds of succeeding if the customers can easily remember it from a whole bunch of other ones when he chooses the product or service that he wants.

To begin with, a brand is built around what the company is offering and how the service is delivered.

Once the company has decided on this, it is important to know how the company or product will be communicated to the future customers.

To begin with the company must analyze how customers are interacting with their products at different levels. This can be analyzed at the personal level and at the online or offline levels.

Another aspect is brand positioning. This means the degree to which a company has spent its resources on differentiating its products and in establishing a psychological relationships with its customers.

When a consumer makes a preference of one product over another, then the chosen product can be considered to have successful pass the brand positioning test.

To succeed in brand positioning, a company must evaluate the level of uniqueness that the product is bringing to the target market, the significance it will have to the clientele and the able to communicate these attributes with appropriate marketing methods.

Another element that is crucial for successful branding is the brand presence. If you have successfully branded your product or service, costumers will eminently connect it with the feature you want to sell.

The logo plays a huge role here and has to be included in all visual communications, because the logo is a key element which costumers asociate your brand with.

Four Factors of Successful Branding

Now that we understand what branding is, we are going to look at what factors make it successful.

The four successful branding factors are:

1. Brand Promise

This is the stage you make a promise to your customers. You are inevitably saying to your customers, “If you buy from us, then here are the benefits”.

2. Brand Perception

This is what customers think of when they see a brand or its logo and connect it with the intention of the company. Priority of marketing department should always bo on maintain a positive brand outlook.

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” -Jeff Bezos

3. Brand Expectations

You have already made a promise and the customer has certain expectations of you. The trick is not to let the customer down and affect the brand. The customers’ expectations must be met in each interaction.

4. Brand Evolution

In today’s market, everything changes blazingly fast so continuous evaluation is the key, so companies should be always on a look out what is new and incorporated it in their everyday business.

Every novelty company uses will ensure it an upper hand on its competition.

Final Words: The Difference Between Brand and Logo

In conclusion, it important to say that brand and logo work together to advance the interests of the organization, the brand serves as the personality of the organization while the logo is a signature of the quality of that personality.