Branding: Why a logo is only the tip of the brand-berg

A logo is crucial to a company identity, but logo design is only one element in your brand arsenal, and should be the result of a profound company self-evaluation.

Think of your company as a person – an entity in itself. Your logo is your signature style, your slogan is your attitude, your company motto is your ethics, and your personality is your customer service. All parts are equally important to your company brand and your authenticity.

Here are five topics to discuss with your executive group and creative team when developing a brand and marketing plan.

Company Culture
Customer Service
Employee Ambassadors
Future Goals
Who is your customer?

Once you’ve brainstormed the topics, you can begin to work with your creative team to produce a logo, slogan, and brand manual. A brand manual takes the essence of your brand (the logos, colors, fonts, themes and usage rules) and develops them into a company brand constitution.

Top five most important things a brand manual does for your company:

Consistency
Employee Awareness
Reference
Accountability
Legitimacy

There’s an old saying that you can put a suit on a dog but that doesn’t mean he’s now a businessman. The same can be said with regards to your logo. Customers know when you haven’t fully represented the spirit of your company in your brand.

Iceberg photo by Natalie Lucier