Logos Shouldn’t Be Nice
Every business that we meet wants a kick-ass logo. It should meet the top dogs’ aesthetic sense. Everybody should see the logo and say wow. That will help the business right?
Absolutely not. You’ve started your branding project with the wrong mentality.
The truth is, aesthetic senses are extremely subjective. A person who looks at art constantly appreciates different colours than a person who reads comics. A person who grew up with wood around them likes different things than a person who grew up around steel products in their home.
Beauty hits people differently. It will impact every employee, every customer and all your friends in a different manner. Even if it’s a nice logo that everybody loves, it might look too nice for people to want to buy your product.
So, what now? Before we talk about branding, let’s discuss what people want from your business.
Why Do People Buy?
Some people just pick your product due to the price. Some people are rushing and picked the first thing they saw. Some of them may even like the look of your logo.
Crafting a nice logo will help you increase attention to your product or company.
When consumers are in the position to consider, they choose loyalty. They pick the brand they agree with. They select the brands that they feel instinctively at home with. They choose brands that represents themselves and who they want to be.
These consumers deliberate. They notice, and they stay with you. These consumers are the ones who purchase again and again to give you a consistent base of customers.
It’s not just the customers either. Your suppliers have limited spots in who they choose to back. Your employees are judgemental in deciding their support and how long they stay. Is your business worth believing in?
Does it inspire people to feel that instinctively? In all likelihood, not yet.
You need a story, and you need to be very good at communicating it in every way it can be communicated. Text, the spoken word, colours, design, space, experiential and many others.
What Is A Story?
Think of a business or a product like a person. Who are they? What do they enjoy? How do they dress? What are their beliefs? Why do they sell what they sell?
Imagine 2 salespeople. One approaches you to sell a pen. It’s painfully obvious to you that they’re only selling you the pen to meet their quota and make money. Even if you buy it, the likelihood that you would buy the next product they sell is extremely low. No relationship is built. Every product is sold on the merits of the product alone.
The second salesperson can hold a conversation with you. They ask about your family. They know you’re frustrated with the cheap pens you bought at the convenience store. They propose better pens with higher price points because it serves you. The next time they show up with other things, it’s welcomed.
Think of branding as all the accompaniments of that salesperson. Their script, their clothing, their face, their smell and their small talk.
For every product and business, we have a relationship with, it started with a story consumers can relate to. It’s shown through the colour selection, the shape of the logo, the words that make up your brochures and your website.
The branding is not beautiful. It’s meaningful. It’s relevant. It sets the expectation of your business. It impresses people with the points that won’t be disproven when they meet your salespeople and use your product.
Case Studies
For the ease of understanding, let’s start with the biggest and most obvious.
Apple
Does apple have a nice logo? Not to most business founders and directors, honestly. Don’t look at their logo today. Consider the logo journey throughout the years. The story of Apple is the spirit of innovation. The glories of something new, the rebelliousness against the norm, the pains of being the first to do it. Simply put, it’s being different.
They used a fruit as an identity being a technology provider.
They invested in high-quality packaging. They instilled creativity and rebelliousness in their ads. It enabled people’s expectations of wanting to see something different from Apple.
You know what else that branding did? It diminished and destroyed the power of being normal. Every other brand that did things the way everybody else did suffered.
The story made people excited. It made their employees geniuses and gave everybody something to rally behind.
AirAsia
Look at a local brand now. AirAsia. What’s their story?
Everyone can fly.
It’s about making air travel accessible. More than that, it’s about personal improvement. AirAsia trains its flight attendants to become pilots. They focus on the downtrodden. They elevate ambition.
They don’t sell luxury. We make life accessible. We’re you. We’re local. We started from the bottom. We’re relatable. We show our struggles.
We don’t get it right all the time, but we take accountability for our actions.
Price makes us an option. The spirit is what seals the deal.
How Story Builds Consistency
The power of story is to build a strong representation in the minds of the consumers. Marketing ploys change. Today, it can be price. Tomorrow, it can be aesthetics. Next year, it might be quality. Different people might attempt to buy into your brand once to see how it’s like due to a good marketing campaign.
Will they come back? Will they remember you?
One of the key benefits of a good branding is consistency.
I don’t need the logo to know the hallmarks of a Nike sneaker. I recognise the colour palette of Coke. I know the swirl.
If they make a statement, I anticipate something worth it.
Most importantly, with every message, my understanding of them deepens. I build a closer relationship. I know who they are.
I know what to expect.
How Do You Build A Story?
So how can I start building a story?
Understand Others’ Story
Start with understanding what a story is. In today’s world, stories are placed out for the world to see. Look up your favourite brand’s website. Google best brand stories. Get inspired.
Talk To Customers
It’s surprisingly simple. Talk to a customer. Talk to a few. Ask them what they look for in your industry. Ask them what their favourite brand is and why. Get a feel for who they are and what they appreciate.
Move Past The Money
We all want to make money, increase revenue and be recognised. Understand the value of your business to the world and how you can better empower that. Remember the noble spirit you had upon starting in the industry and at the inception of the business.
Find An Agency That Cares
Finally, throw that understanding to an agency that seems interested to build a sincere and strategic story. Argue it out and watch that seed manifest into the beginning of a brand. Brands are not built overnight, so develop the stamina to build the brand the same way you’ve built the business so far.
Conclusion
As a creative agency, we’re eager to see more businesses develop stronger relationships and strengthen their foothold in the market. As a support system, we aim to facilitate and assist businesses in this journey. So, we encourage businesses to aim higher. We understand operations and finance lie at the core of the business.
However, all businesses are transactions between people. People need communication. Your business has many wonderful and attractive qualities. You just need to learn how to make the world understand them and instinctively feel it. Have fun.
