What’s The Difference Between a Logo and a Brand?

What makes a logo instantly recognizable?

Apple.

An iconic logo that is known throughout the world.

But why an apple? Why not a banana? Or a pear? A strawberry? Strawberry fields? Field of dreams? Ooops…..went off on a tangent…

But seriously, have you ever thought, for more than 2 seconds, why certain logos are so instantly recognizable that they have such a clear association between the logo and their products?

Let's take some examples:

Nike – running shoes, sportswear
Apple – high quality computers and mobile devices
Coca Cola – pop, soda, or whatever you call it in your neck of the woods
Ford – cars, maybe not the best quality cars??
McDonald’s – fast food, burgers, fries, Ronald….

But is there anything inherent about the logo, that ties it to the product? One is just a “slash”, three of them are just the name of the company in fancy writing, and one is a fruit. All of them are arbitrary.

How much does color matter?

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%¹.

If you think about it, this is right on point. You can instantly associate a color with each of these well known brands.

Nike – black/white
Apple – gray
Coca Cola – red
Ford – blue
McDonald’s – gold

Brand Recognition

A Symbol

Ultimately, a logo is just a symbol. A way for someone to recognize your company, what you do, and how you do it.

The stronger you build your brand, the stronger the association between that symbol (your logo) and the brand.

Warning: Shameless plug! If you need to create or redesign a logo for your business. We can help. https://adinicio.com/logo-design

So how do you create a brand?

Brand image

45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what it says and how it says it.²

THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is where a brand is created. Not in the design room. Not in Photoshop, or Illustrator. It’s built in the way a company chooses how to treat it’s customers and how it delivers it’s products or services.

Do what you say you’re going to to do. Go above and beyond. Make the best quality product. Deliver the best service. Deliver the fastest service. Deliver custom services to lawyers in a specific suburb of Chicago.

That’s branding!

Creating a strong brand

So by now, you can see that a brand is more than just colors and a logo.

However, there is some importance that goes into choosing a logo to represent your company and your brand.

I won’t go into details here as there have been multiple articles written on the subject, but I will list them below for your additional reading.

So I hope this clarifies, if ever so slightly, what the difference is between a logo and a brand, the subtle distinction, and the importance of establishing your brand as what you want to be known for.

Further Reading

The Basics of Branding – Entrepreneur
How to Create a Killer Brand – Entrepreneur
11 Simple Steps for a Successful Brand Building Process – FreshSparks
How to Build a Brand – wikiHow
How Companies Create a Brand – Investopedia
Building Trust with a Professional Brand – Ad Inicio Digital

Sources
1 – http://www.colorcom.com/research/why-color-matters
2 – https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/2016-1-17-how-to-use-storytelling-for-brand-marketing-success