Your Logo Is Not Your Brand

As business owners, you have been advised about the importance of having a strong brand and how it benefits your business.

However, a lot of people often do not know what a brand really is. For some, they think that it is synonymous to their products, while others think that their logo is their brand.

Just what is branding?

Branding is very difficult to define because it is actually made up of a lot of things. But if you want a simple explanation, think of it as your corporate image. It is what you want your customers to think about when they think of your brand.

Further, your brand should be reflected in everything you do, everything you own and everything you produce. The emphasis on consistency is what makes people have a solid image of your brand.

It’s not your logo.

As we have mentioned before, a lot of people mistakenly takes their logo as their brand. The reason behind this is that branding is often associated with your identity, and identity is usually visual.

Your logo is used to identify your products. This is very much like your name, instead of relying on descriptions such as that stocky guy with the short hair, you are identified as John. Your logo acts in the same manner.

People would not have any associations with a logo unless you work on it. A circle with your name on it is just, well, a circle with your name on it. Inasmuch as people who encounter your name for the first time do not really know you, so will people who sees your logo for the first time.

This is where branding comes in. Successful brands have become so because they are able to dictate just how people feel when they see the company’s logo. For example, what do you think about when you see yellow double arches? Aside from identifying it as McDonald’s logo, you are also able to remember the last time you ate there, how good their hamburgers are, or how clean the place is.