Branding has never been a simple marketing process. A great deal of research takes place before a company even starts to make any significant decisions about its branding strategy. Then once the research stage has completed, work begins on marketing endeavors and among those tasks is creating an effective logo design.
Yet after that’s been accomplished, many organizations contentedly reach a stopping point. They think that once they’ve developed that perfect logo design, their company will magically be recognized everywhere the logo appears.
The problem here is that the purpose of branding is to make a lasting first impression every time someone sees your branded materials. Brand consistency is a big part of this and has to do with how your logo appears in printed and digital materials both within and beyond the walls of your office. Following the right steps can ensure your branding efforts don’t vary in appearance or quality. After devoting the time and energy to creating a strong logo, you’ll want to show it off effectively.
Your Logo Should be Flexible
What does “flexible” mean? This refers a logo that can translate well across multiple documents and platforms regardless of its color or size. Make no mistake; this is incredibly difficult. Being able to create this flexible appearance takes some time and usually requires some comparison testing to ensure it works.
Documents to Band with Your Logo
As a crucial part of your company’s marketing campaign, your logo will need to appear in three essential areas, covering all the internal and external bases:
- All Office Documents:
- Advertisements (Digital or Print):
- Digital Collateral:
Whether it’s an HR document, a piece of stationary, letterhead or other official document, your logo needs to be included—preferably in an easily visible spot. Basically, any business document should proudly sport your logo.
Whether you’re commissioning a billboard or distributing banner ads over the Internet, all your advertisements must communicate your marketing message. This means your brand must be easily identifiable in all these formats. Remember your logo embodies your brand identity, and it needs to be easily recognizable, regardless of the setting.
Finally, all your digital collateral should be branded with your logo. This includes email signatures, social media profiles, web pages and select blog posts. Anywhere people interact with your brand online, an easily recognizable logo should be featured. In fact, this is arguably the most important place to brand your documents, largely because it’s where most people will interact with your branded materials.
Don’t Skimp on Logo Design
As you consider your branding campaign as a whole, it may seem that web design, marketing automation and other major projects are more important than logo design, yet that way of thinking would be a fatal mistake. Being positioned front and center in the public square where your customers make crucial buying decisions is how your brand will move from a no-name hopeful to a big-name brand. In short, nothing makes your brand easier to find, recognize, and ultimately respect like smart logo design and positioning. Creativity and consistency can work hand in hand to create a successful marketing campaign that will raise your business’s profile, drive traffic to your site and make you a leader in your industry.