If there’s one thing that most successful businesses have in common, it’s the fact that they have a logo. Even if said logo is a just a company’s brand name, this image helps a company build brand recognition in numerous ways. Most entrepreneurs understand the power of a good logo before they decide to go into business, and many work with designers to create a winning business logo before launching.
However, it’s not at all uncommon for businesspeople to grow tired of that logo and to want it changed. Some very successful companies have changed their logo around for the purposes of rebranding, but does this mean it always a good move?
Conventional wisdom suggests that a business should stick with its logo. If one of your clients are thinking about making changes, then it’s important that they avoid the trash heap. Instead, think about minor changes which will make the existing logo more attractive, like Apple’s new apple or the improved hue of McDonald’s golden arches.
If you’re clients aren’t tired of their logo just yet, the day may still come when they decide to change it. Below, we will go over a few reasons why clients often most decide to make this change, and whether or not it’s really a good move for them.
Although most businesspeople don’t realize this, they’re seeing their own logo exponentially more than anyone else is seeing it. A business owner is laying eyes on that logo every time he or she develops marketing material, looks at the website, hands out a business card, etc. In a sense, it’s like saying your name a dozen times. After about 8, you begin to think, “’Erick’ sure sounds like a weird name!” This may cause you to want to change your logo, but resist the temptation.
Some business owners believe that their business is directly tied to their logo. Sure, a huge international brand like Coke may do outstanding business in part based on their logo’s recognition, but it certainly wasn’t always like that, and it’s certainly not always the case. Your business being slow means you need a new marketing direction, not a new logo change. When you get a logotype that has become the face of your brand, you should stick with it.
Yeah, business isn’t always exciting. It’s a whole lot like work! So while you’re clients may be used to making changes on their websites, rewriting their mission statements and touching up their links, etc, they may also decide, “Hey, I should change my logo while I’m at it.” If they get that bored, open Photoshop and tinker around with new ideas, but warn them not to replace their logo just yet. Keep the other versions stored and use them for potential updates in case you ever really need a change.
This is a case where it’s probably important to change your logo, or at least everything the logo represents. In today’s age of social media, it’s easy for a brand to become tarnished through no real fault of its own. Bad reviews can go viral in a hurry. So many start-up brands have barely experienced liftoff before having to change things around, and even some established brands have had to refocus.
Venturing into new markets often stands as a solid reason for a logo change. This might not be the case for your clients, but if you’re anything like eBay (story here), then you might realize that the decade-old logo just doesn’t play well with a more sophisticated user experience online via HD screens, streamlined browsers, social media and mobile devices. So targeting new markets may—or, again, may not—require a logo change.
Services like Logosack make it easy for clients to create a winning logo for their brand, and also make it easy to change. But the fact of the matter is that it’s much better to stick with an original, well thought out and personalized logo than to go with something new.
Even if you do decide on changing, those changes should be subtle. Look at a company like NIKE. Instead of changing their main logo, they’ll sometimes just change the shadowing, add another aphorism on top of the old logo for a marketing campaign, or change the color. The end result appears to be a brand new logo, but its actual still the same old NIKE.
The same holds true for a brand like Red Bull. Though the color scheme may change in the background, the two bulls and the lemon-yellow sun remain consistent.
Ultimately, you’re clients should want to stick with their logo because it’s the face of thier brand. How would your loved ones react if you just walked into the house one day with a new face? Probably not well! So, the bottom line: Stick it out with your logo concept, unless you’re planning on some minor changes for marketing purposes.
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