The logo vs. the brand

We have at least 16 conversations a week with founders, CMOs, and everyone in between about why a brand world is the crucial context in which your logo must exist. This is where successful brands sow the seeds of everlasting brand recognition and relevance. And it’s often where investment is deemed ‘not necessary’, resulting in a single logo that must carry the weight of an entire brand on its back.

For McDonald’s, the golden arches logo is iconic. 

But so are the yellow and red brand colours.

The bada da da da. 

Road trips. Drunk Ubers home. Big Macs. Nuggets.

The nickname. And then the campaign that piggybacked off a common phrase.

This is a prime example of a brand world starting with the fundamentals (colours, jingle, slogan, logo), and then expanding the brand around popular products, convenience, culture, behaviour, and reputation. The logo is merely a hashbrown amongst an entire McMuffin meal.*

A logo is the identifiable mark that’s immediately recognisable. Mercedes. Nike. Airbnb. But these ginormous names also didn’t start with just a logo. Over decades, they’ve had the marketing budgets and teams to turn a logo into a symbol via campaign after campaign. But because their newspaper ad, television commercial, or billboard signs off with their symbol, there’s an assumption that the logo is the most important and necessary part of a brand.

But what about the colours you saw? The language? The art direction? These are the elements that, over time, make a brand recognisable. So much so, sometimes you don’t even need to use a logo.

So, what’s important for a new brand or a powerful rebrand? 

That depends on what you’re selling. 

First, you must start with a brand strategy to identify the true white space within your category and define your north star moving forward with persona development and positioning.

And then, generally, it’s a wordmark, fonts, colour palettes, art direction, key messages, and of course, a platform. But for others, it may also be an icon (or a logo), tagline, personality, mascot, jingle, or ambassador. 

And what if you were interviewed and asked what your brand’s purpose was beyond making a profit? Could you confidently reply with a ten-words-or-less truth?

This is what we do. And what we did for Everkin.

And Balense.

And Betts.

And Bouf.

Is there ever an argument for only changing the logo? Sometimes. Rarely. When every other part of the brand is still current, relevant, and working, then a logo refresh to match the unique timelessness of everything else is a good exercise.

Like Instagram’s recent wordmark refresh.

Unfortunately, not like McLaren Racing’s recent unveiling.

Do you like your logo but need all of the brand around it? We’ve done that a few times. We’ve also refreshed logos while plugging any gaps in the foundation.

We’ve done it all. Just not yours. Yet.

Shall we?

CONTACT US

*not sponsored by Maccas. But hungry.