Somebody asked me few days back that if you remove your logo from all of your marketing  pieces will it still be relevant ?

When we talk about branding it’s not uncommon for people to mistake their logo as their “branding”. Your logo is only one piece of your branding strategy. Your logo is a symbol that can provide consumers with instant and powerful brand recognition of your business and the services or products that you offer. The “utterly butterly girl “ is so popular that if you remove Amul from its ad, there are fair chances that you will recognize it pretty easily.

Before beginning the process of logo creation be sure that you have developed your brand strategy. Why? Your logo is like a small ad for your company, without the strategy behind it a logo can put across the wrong message and in return weaken your strategy. You want to keep your brand message consistent to help increase consumer recognition.

How do you know when you are ready to move to the process of having your logo created?

• The mission of your logo is to portray the values and goals of your company. Make sure that these are clearly established before venturing out to find a logo designer.
• Be clear about the message you want your brand to convey so that your logo can clearly reflect that message. You must have a strong association between your brand and your logo. Remember it is only one piece of your branding strategy.
• Your logo should reflect professionalism and growth no matter how small your company is.
• If you are designing your logo in-house to save money be sure to market-test your efforts.
• Make sure that the logo you select is not dated but can be used effectively year after year. Keep in mind it is how consumers will recognize your company.

The conclusion of the role your logo plays in your branding strategy can be summed up in the following statement.

Confident branding and a strong branding strategy uses design to communicate a message that attracts the target audience that you want to attract – a message that creates confidence in your brand while differentiating between you and your competitors. Does your logo fulfill this mission? If your answer is no it may be time to consider strengthening your brand strategy and looking at a new logo to re-position your company. Check out some logo examples and history behind famous logos here.

SO STOP SEARCHING FOR LOGO DESIGNER AND START SEARCHING YOUR BRAND MESSAGE FIRST.