The Strength of a Brand

This year, HALO will celebrate nine years in this business. The logo that we developed back in 1999 has served us really well, even as our business has changed and grown by leaps and bounds. This ride has been amazing, and to celebrate that and new amazing speeches and products that HALO will be rolling out this year, we decided to update our logo to better fit who we are and what we'll be doing in the coming years. In our quest, we enlisted Ben Muldrow, of ArnettMuldrow & Associates to guide us in our creative process (yes, even the experts need expert help), and I did a bit of research of my own to remind myself about the hows and whys and must-haves of a strong brand. I thought I'd share some of my findings with you here, and I hope that as you move forward into 2008, you will take the time to analyze your own brand, your own customer experience and the tools you leave your customers with which to evangelize about your business.

What makes a logo, a small business' or community's brand, strong?

1. It must be a symbol or lettering that is distinctive and unified. In short, all of the individual elements of the image should not compete with each other or try to say to much but instead work closely together both visually and psychologically to portray a unified and strong image.

2. To have a logo isn't enough, it's how you use the logo that really matters. You must be consistent in the usage - always use it and always use it in a consistent visual way. It should appear often. And it should appear the same every time.

3. When you consider a major national logo, such as the Mercedes star, the Nike swoosh or the Coca-Cola script, your mind ties that image to an emotion, a feeling. The Mercedes star makes us feel rich or luxurious, the Nike swoosh makes us feel empowered to "just do it" and the Coca-Cola script logo makes us smile. You can just hear the pop - fizz as the bottle opens can't you? What experience are you providing your customers so that over time they see your logo and start to feel something? What business are you in? What feeling or experience are you selling? What "equity" are you building in that silly little image called a logo that makes it truly valuable to your business?

Here are some articles I found that were helpful to me in consideration of our logo redevelopment. I hope they're helpful to you, too.

Branding is for Cattle: What Really Matters to CEOs

Keys to Branding Your Small Business

The Definition of Branding

What Becomes a Small Business Brand

Finally, keep in mind that Team HALO will be undertaking only FOUR small business re-branding projects in 2008 - one in each quarter of the year. These are significant projects, and we will tackle them one at a time. We love doing these projects, and we do them very well - it is a total business or product makeover. It is an exciting project for you - and it will change your business forever. However, if you're interested in just such a makeover, I encourage you to contact us now to see if your business or product line might be one we want to take on for this type of project. We will be screening applicants and choose our favorites as a team to put on our work calendar. One slot is already taken, so three remain - so hurry!

Oh, and to bring the story full circle - yes, we're almost done with our own brand makeover. The big announcement will be made soon. But start thinking winning team, winning experience. You'll really love what Team HALO has in store for you.

Comments

[scott]

Wow!! hope you get some time to see someone tracking .