noises from dog n’ moon.

What is the difference between a brand and a logo?

The two words are often confused and used interchangeably. In short, the logo is a part of the brand. The brand is the entire advertised image of a product or company. That brand includes a 1. logogram or logotype (shortened to “logo”) which is an icon, image, or symbol that represents the company or product as well as; 2. the colors, typefaces, and designed layout guidelines outlined by the brand “rules”. When people hire an agency for ”branding” they’re hiring an agency to help define the presentation of the company in print and online media. This branding involves creating “a look” for the company’s materials.There are conventions but no hard and fast rules for branding.

Some companies choose to use their own name written in a specific typeface (font) as the brand. One would see this with retail shops, like Crate & Barrel and Banana Republic. And this seems to be more common with high-end retail and corporations. The name carries prestige, so why detract from it by using an icon? The name and the typeface are the brand.  Other companies choose to use their name written in a specific typeface but featured in a specific layout as the brand. The Gap, with its square box enclosure would be an example of this. Other companies choose to use both a stylized typeface for the brand as well as a logo or icon. Shell Gasoline and Apple are examples of this kind of branding. Other companies choose to build the strength of the brand on the icon itself and are less specific about the supporting typefaces. Target has the circle-target icon, but uses a variety of typefaces in advertising. Nike uses the swoosh, but now offers multiple typefaces to delineate specific sub-brands. Still other companies try to build a brand based on “owning” a specific color. United Parcel Service (UPS) now even advertises under the nickname ”Brown” because of their ownership of that color. Home Depot uses the color orange exclusively in all of its advertising, branding, and in-store signage.

Again, there is no hard and fast rule about how branding should be done- and sometimes, the more risky or less conventional an idea, the more memorable it is. For some, just the title of the company is sufficient (Pottery Barn). For others, being able to use a logo or icon in place of the name is the goal (Apple or Westinghouse).I personally appreciate the use of an icon, simply because it’s a thumbprint that can be applied to products, and it’s as old as the idea of using a wax seal on communicative documents.

Another branch on the tree of Branding is Corporate Identity, which is the specific letterhead, business cards, and business collateral that one would use for official communication. It’s not campaign-based and has no advertising value or goals. Corporate Identity is simply the brand in its most unadulterated form. That’s not to say that Corporate Identity needs to be flat or pedestrian. Corporate Identity can be as designed and flashy as one so chooses. 

Lately, it seems like we’re doing more and more branding and identity campaigns, which is great because I feel like it’s what we do best. And because we do it often, I find myself saying some of the same things to each prospective client. Because branding is not an inexpensive process, it takes some consideration. What I often tell clients is that this process of rebranding is similar to undergoing plastic surgery (please forgive the Southern California metaphor- we’re reflective of our own surroundings, I suppose). Here are some basic rules for putting your organization under the knife. 

1. Define the purpose of the surgery. Were you once beautiful and vibrant but have since started to show signs of aging or wear? Or have you always been unhappy with your looks? • For your organization: Did you once have a strong brand that has since been outdated by passing time or changing tastes and trends? Or did your organization start on a shoestring budget with little or no resources to get a solid identity built? You’ll find that goal-based design is more effective than “let’s-just-see-what-we-come-up-with” design. Setting the purpose of the project helps your designer decide if he or she is only meant to contemporize an outdated brand or if he or she’s going to define who you are to the world. 

2. Research the doctors. You will find that some surgeries can be done in third world countries for pennies on the dollar. While this is great for the budget-conscious, it doesn’t offer much assurance that you’re getting the best of the best (or even the best of the good, or the best of the acceptable, or the best of the licensed…). On the flipside, researching doctors in more cosmopolitan areas may offer assurance that they do hundreds of surgeries a week, but they may be outside of your price range. • For your organization: decide if your designer needs to be part of a powerful and prestigious firm or if your designer needs to be a freelancer that can offer you more one-on-one accommodations. Keep in mind that this is a conversation of grayscale- there are prestigious international design firms, there are kitchen-table-freelancers, and there are innumerable “boutique” agencies and collectives that offer regional prestige and can still accommodate you when you call. I read this John Ruskin quote on a photographer’s website and it sums up quite intelligently what I’m saying…

It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.    

 3. Be realistic about the expectations. Doctors can do amazing things and reality TV has shown us that extreme physical makeovers were all the rage a few years ago. But bear in mind that a doctor can make reasonable fixes- he cannot recreate you. Your plastic surgeon may be able to fix your nose or remove skin blemishes, but he cannot give you working wings or make you a foot taller. Operations can superficially make improvements to the current structure but they cannot overwhelmingly change you into another person. Additionally, while a new nose or flatter tummy might make you more attractive, it may not necessarily make you more agreeable. • For your organization: be realistic about what a designer can do. He or she will be able to build a brand, create the visuals for an exciting campaign launch, and give you some marketing tips for creatively notifying the world that a new you is on the horizon. But your designer cannot change the makeup of your company, cannot make your receptionist take better messages, and cannot make your product more credible if it is a poor product. There is a common misconception that a rebranding effort will relaunch a company in such a way that it will surely become a Fortune 500 enitity within a few years. Any rocket launch involves continous propulsion to get it into the stars. Your designer has basically designed the rocket and told you where to aim it. It will be your business practice that either capitalizes on that or neglects to use it effectively. 

4. Be prepared to live with the outcome. I read an article this morning about a movie star who is ultimately unhappy with the amount of plastic surgery he’s purchased. It’s unfortunate to read that somebody has done irreparable damage to himself, especialy as a result of an attempt to be happier with his own image. Regret is a hard mask to wear, especially when it’s so difficult to remove. • For your organization: The good news here is that design is almost never permanent. And the most embarassing or tasteless marketing mistakes can be controlled with some damage control and a cocktail of humility and nobility. However, I did a rebranding launch for an organization 3 years ago that has since turned into a case study for me. It started as a standard rebranding project, run by a committee of 3 people and officially signed into approval by a 4th overseer. The 3 people involved wanted to do something wild, daring, and progressive with the brand and tagline, so we accommodated and appreciated the chance to think outside the box. This was one of the projects of which we were most proud and wore it like a badge of honor in our client portfolio. Unfortunately, within 18 months, the brand that had once been used as the DNA by which signage, business forms, printed materials, marketing, and swag were born was now defunct, inappropriately used (in spite of a brand manual/ user guide), and awkwardly incoherent. The problem? 2 of the 3 committee members voted against the third who wanted something more conservative. Then those two people found employment elsewhere and left the brand maintenance in the hands of people who had little understanding of the vision and little passion for evangelizing the brand. In short, the work you do in rebranding takes maintenance and effort. If you’re the type to lose steam and change course with passing fancy, consider a design that is either really subtle/conservative or modular, which allows you to keep it fresh. Otherwise, be prepared to nurse the brand until it catches on and builds equity.• In summary, I’m neither for or against plastic surgery. What one human wants to do in the name of self-improvement is out of my jurisdiction. In the same manner, no one can force another into a rebranding project. It’s up to the powers that be to decide if the facelift is necessary, prudent, and beneficial. What I can say without reservation, though, is that when undergoing reconstructive surgery, The knife is only the first of many points of consideration. (Get it?…)

Addison Road was kind enough to reference us in a post about launching your own music project/band. Great advice for those who wanna “make it” in the music business. The business of music. A business that calls for positioning, branding, market research, and a heaping helping of optimism.

So you’re starting a business? Launching a product? Planning to revolutionize your industry? My first question is simple:

Why should I care?

You’ll find that many startups are destined for painful growth due to the nature and/or personality of the owner of the product. And yes, unfortunately, that could be you. Ask yourself these questions:
• “who cares if I have this product?”
• “Who cares if I’m providing these services?”
Be stern and sober with your answers. I’ve often found that many products were pretty good ideas that weren’t revolutionary enough to capture anyone’s attention.

Let’s use a Pub as an example. Let’s say you intend to open a pub in the local downtown area. You’ve checked out the retail spaces, you’ve spoken with knowledgeable friends about your business plan, and you’ve researched small business loans from your local bank or credit union. That represents the obvious protocol to launch a pub. But the next step is to ask yourself if your pub has any particular personality trait or quirky characteristic that will separate it from the hundreds (or thousands) of other pubs in your area. Will a customized drink put your pub on the map (like the Hurricane did for Pat Obrien’s in New Orleans)? Will your pub represent the one and only disco flavored chic lounge in your area? Will your pub have the largest collection of shotglasses from around the world? Will your pub have the highest barstools (so high, in fact, that patrons have to sign an insurance waiver in case they fall from atop one)? After you’ve answered that question, ask yourself if that quirky trait is enough to pull patrons from their routines and convert them into regulars at your place? (Apple computers are so good that die-hard Windows users are reluctantly making the switch, even though the computers are dramatically more expensive and run on an entirely different **read:unfamiliar** operating system. Is your product as undeniably good and does your marketing mesage address that “undeniable goodness”?) Again, be stern and sober with your answers.

Pubs, music schools, coffee shops, tea houses, guitar amplifiers, church services, and musical artists (and any other marketable idea you can dream of) all share the same difficulties when being created and launched. Each one must undergo rigorous questioning regarding it’s viability and sustainability. Is your product different enough to pull me out of my routine and into yours? And if it is, is it good enough to make it my new routine- or will you get a surge of looky-loos and then a slow tapering off of customers? That’s not a business, that’s called beta-testing, and it happens long before you tell the world you have a product for them.

Please keep in mind that having “that special something” doesn’t promise you long-term success. Adversely, not having a memorable characteristic doesn’t ensure an early demise. But lacking the critical element of novelty ensures that your competition will be that much stiffer. The world is full of mediocrity and the business world is no exception to that rule. If your venture lacks flare, it gets camoflaged by a world of mid-tones, greys, and murmurs. If your business is the cleanest, the newest, the fastest, the smartest, the loudest, the most polite, the most personable, the most moral, the most exciting, or the most comfortable, then the contrast of extremes sets you apart from the rest.

So back to question number one: You have a business… why should anyone care?