Branding & logo – well they’re the same thing, aren’t they? No!
Though we could write pages and pages on the topic, in short blog speak, ‘branding’ is the personality of your business or organisation and encompasses the services it provides. It is the way you want your company viewed and how your target market – your customers – view you.
It is the character, personality and values you express, shaped by many variables from your customer approach, relationship with them, or even how you treat your own employees. Of course, the design of your logo and marketing collateral will reflect this, but to assume it can be created through a logo is wrong. Branding is a journey, built over time and, whilst marketing agencies can help with this, you must really know how you want your company perceived for branding success and back up your ideals with actions and strategy throughout your organisation to the customer interface.
A logo on the other hand is there purely for identification. It identifies you and your products through a design which whilst reflecting your ‘brand’ is primarily a mark and as such cannot shape the way you are perceived as a company – or what are often known as ‘brand values’.
A logo can be great to look at, clever in design, widely recognised and liked by all but will not necessarily sell your products and services if your brand perception is poor.