Brand Promise Part 3: Your New Logo Doesn't Reinvent Your Brand

Republished from the article by Kaley Shorter on blog.parisleaf.com

In my last post, we discovered that good branding involves a balanced effort of give-and-take (with more on the give side). Here, we'll look at the third consideration of your brand promise, about the potential effects a new logo has or doesn't have for a company.

It takes more than a fresh coat of paint to make it at Thunder Road Raceway. Whether you’re developing a new brand or just revamping an existing one, remember that a coat of paint doesn’t add horsepower to your ’48 Ford De Luxe. A new logo design isn’t going to make your business any more or less successful than it already is.

Truth: A new logo design, website design, or visual identity system is an empty vessel that becomes filled with meaning by all the interactions and associations the public will have with the new mark.

In other words, a new logo or visual identity system is an empty vessel that’s filled with meaning by all the interactions and associations the public will have with the new mark.

Consider the Nike logo. When it was first introduced, no one associated it with sports. It was just a rounded checkmark next to some blocky letters. It took years of seeing the logo worn by top performing athletes to fill the Swoosh with meaning.

Your identity system doesn’t have to say what you do. It doesn’t even have to be that attractive. A logo's job is to identify, not to communicate.

If you have a beautifully designed logo, but you’re a second rate company or you make too many withdrawals from your prospects’ and customers’ relational equity accounts, your identity will eventually be seen as second rate. You can have a second rate logo and constantly make outstanding deposits in your relational equity accounts, and your logo will one day be seen as a symbol of greatness.

If you think you need a new identity, take a look at how you’re doing business and what your customers think of you. Maybe the visuals aren’t what need to change. If you’re already doing good business but don’t yet want to invest in redeveloping your identity, start taking steps to make sure you’re using your logo consistently so everyone knows what it stands for.

A new logo, website, visual identity, etc. will not magically change a business, but it does imply that something new and improved is going on with a company or organization. A fresh coat of paint lets everyone know you just fine tuned your engine and you’re ready to blast through the finish line.

That being said, not all rebranded logos live up to their promise. If you actually haven’t fine-tuned your engine or done anything to improve on your actual branding, a new logo not only isn’t going to help you, it could backfire and cause your brand and company image to suffer. Here’s a hilarious rundown of epic logo fails.

Who you are, what your promise is, and how you deliver on that promise are far more important than how your visual identity appears. As we discovered in this 3-part blog series, when considering branding, start with your promise, follow it up with making human connections and delivering on your promise, and top it off with visuals that identify.

For more insights on branding and digital marketing, as well as a handy worksheet to help you pinpoint your brand promise and deliver on it every time, visit our blog at blog.parisleaf.com.