In the world of business, your public image is often one of your most important success factors. The way you present your business should be carefully manicured and planned for maximum impact.
From the way you promote your products, to the way you use social media, everything is a representation of who you are as a company.
Logos are the first impression that a potential client receives about your business. When you are developing a business strategy, it is important to plan for your branding as well and make it cohesive to the message you want to express and the audience you want to reach.
Before a client ever visits your store, or lands on your website, they have often encountered your logo first and it has set a psychological precedent for your business in their mind which is why you should consider using professional logo creator tools such as the ones provided by Logo.com for truly distinguishable designs.
Demonstrating the power of logos and branding
When it comes to the outward image you are projecting, your logo is the most important aspect of your branding.
In many cases, a logo is an asset that becomes associated with the entire brand. The perfect example of this effect is the company Supreme.
While they may sell clothes and odd branded items, their entire business is centered around their logo. In fact, their logo is all they really sell.
Through the combination of public reputation and scarcity tactics, they have built a successful company around putting their logo on random objects or clothes and selling them.
If you’ve heard of private labeling, it is essentially the method of using your brand and reputation to sell the products of others. When you are private labeling, you are taking merchandise that another company has created and simply adding your logo to it to establish it as part of your brand.
This practice is used by everyone from Amazon drop shippers to Fortune 500 companies. Instead of an unnamed generic brand, you are now putting the reputation you have built behind every item. On the very surface of this method, you are adding a logo to a product and that alone is selling it.
Why sports logos are among the most recognizable ones
Logos hold tremendous power, as all symbols do. They can separate tribes and communities and give people something to rally behind.
There is no better example than in the world of sports. When you see a promotion for a big game like two opposing teams facing off for a championship, it is polarizing.
These teams may represent communities, countries, thousands of people, and their way of life. A great example is the New York Yankees logo. While it may be the property of the baseball team, it represents the city of New York as well.
People that live here are prideful and stick with their team through the best and worst of times. You want your logo to have the same longevity.
The Yankees logo has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in the fashion world and transcended its use as just a sports logo. It is trendy just to wear apparel with this iconic logo. From New York to New Delhi, you can find knockoffs of the Yankees logo on hats, shirts, and everything else.
Your business logo has incredible potential, and it’s worth taking the time to craft a perfect image for your business. Of course, every successful brand has its imitators, or people outright selling counterfeit merchandise.
When you spend decades building up a company or brand, the logo itself becomes very valuable, so you must protect your brand or it will be exploited.
A great example is a fiasco involving the NFL team, the Washington Redskins. When their logo trademark was revoked, it was catastrophic for the organization.
Businesses were using their logo freely and selling counterfeit merchandise everywhere. The Redskins later regained their trademark and are back to important matters in the NFL world.
Their first season game is in September, where they are the +235 underdogs versus the Philadelphia Eagles. However, there are tons of fake Redskins merchandise still floating around, and it hurts their business even years later.
Stand out: Creating the ideal logo to represent your business
When you are starting your business, it is common to be adverse to spending a lot on proper logo and branding materials.
I hope by now you can see that this is starting off on the wrong foot, but in the pursuit of getting started in the most cost-efficient manner, the logo and branding are often an afterthought.
But if your product is sitting on the shelves next to similar products with better packaging, it will be passed over time after time.
Creating the proper logo is difficult, and its importance is often overlooked. If you want your brand to have the longevity of companies like Coca-Cola, you need a logo that can survive multiple decades.
It is worth it to pay for a proper artist to do this service for you, even though it can be expensive and you may feel that it is overpriced because it is not clear at first what you are getting.
The creator of Nike thought his logo was overpriced for its time, and yet the simple swoosh logo has become an iconic piece of American business culture.
Your logo can be intriguing, enticing the client to look into your business further. As part of your general branding strategy, it is important to consult a color guide to understand how unique colors represent various expressions and feelings.
Green often represents natural things, business growth, and success. Think of brands like Starbucks or John Deere Tractors.
Blue normally projects feelings of strength and dependability. Many technology companies use this in their logos like Dell, HP, Twitter, or WordPress.
Aside from color, the logo itself can tell a story independent of any other factors. The Apple logo is reminiscent of the story of Isaac Newton and his discovery of gravity when the apple fell from the tree.
The Starbucks logo is a mermaid, bringing forth the tales of sailors lost at sea, spotting mermaids perched atop rocks. Companies across the globe tell an interesting and unique story with their branding, and now it is your time to join them.
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