I'll be honest, you can't walk into a group of professionals without hearing the word branding dropped at least a handful of times.
"What is a brand? Does it even matter? My company is too small to need a brand." These are all things we hear on a pretty regular basis.
But we're here to tell you... no, you aren't too small. Brand, or be branded -- if you don't actively define your brand, the market will do it for you. And why would you want no part of defining who you are to potential new customers?
Branding is more than just a buzzword. It's an all-encompassing aesthetic experience. It's the life of your company demonstrated in the details. It's your reputation. And if you're a solopreneur, better yet... it's you!
Ideally, branding should happen at the conception of your company, because public perception can be hard to shift once it's in place. But the times they are a-changing and re-branding is no longer the kiss of death agency's once said it was. Hello, beautiful new logo (more on that in just a second)!
As a general rule, products have a limited life cycle, but well produced and well-managed brands last forever.
Everyone knows what a logo is. It's the visual mark companies use to represent their company; like Nike's swoosh, Starbuck's green mermaid, or Apple's well... apple. But what's branding exactly? Branding is a holistic view of how your customers experience your company. While a logo is only a small simple shape, a brand (when done correctly) includes every single touchpoint your customers have with your company.
Nike's logo is the swoosh.
It's a nice clean simple shape that represents motion and speed.
It's very nice, but it's just a mark - a simple shape.
Nike's branding included its commercials, celebrity endorsements, product packaging, store design, product placement on tv and in movies, sponsorships, in-store graphics, hang-tags, the music in its videos, the design of its website, print ads, technology, product photography, and on and on and on... It's every touch point you have with Nike.
So why does it matter? Why should I care that my Billings Logo Design company Graphic Finesse does branding and not just logo design? Here's why: your customers don't experience your company in the form of a logo floating around them in a white Matrix-like void. They experience your brand through your website, or your menu or your product packaging or your commercials. It's important that the design company that is working on your logo understands that your logo is just a small part of your company's brand.
"Well, that's all fine and dandy Genia, but why are you telling me all of this?" I can hear you thinking. I just want to be clear about the differences between 'logo design' and 'branding.' What Graphic Finesse does for our clients is 'branding.' And it's much more than a buzzword.
Ready to start your branding project? Give us a call! 406-534-9851.
