Whether you’re starting a small business or your own or you’ve just begun a new job in the marketing department of a large company, you might be wondering about brands, logos and what the difference between them really is. We’ll try to understand the difference between both of them, while also realizing that they are both very important to any organization or entrepreneur.
What is a brand?
A brand is like the umbrella term for everything your business stands for and represents. There are many different aspects of a brand which make up the brand itself and the company. A business with ‘good branding’ will be able to experience many customers and potential clients holding a very positive opinion of it. Poor branding means that people generally avoid the organization and don’t make a point of being associated with it. Most people can think of at least one organization which they would probably be ashamed of being associated with – these types of examples are what we know as bad branding.
A brand isn’t just about reputation, though. It’s also about the way people think about your business and how they connect to it. For example, some brands are known for being “reliable”. Some brands are known for great customer service. Others are known as being very personable and honest.
What is a logo?
By comparison, a logo is just one small part of an organization’s brand. While the brand doesn’t really change unless they is a big upheaval of the whole organization and many major changes made, the logo may change more than once during the lifetime of a company or institution. Many companies which have kept the same logo for many years will become popular and famous, not merely because they have a good brand but because they have such a well-known logo. The logo is the design by which an organization becomes instantly known. Since so many people are able to remember things through visual aids, this is the main reason why logos exist.
So what’s the difference between the two?
A logo can be designed any day of the week and implemented as a new logo for a business; however, branding takes a long time to build up. It involves many different elements, heavily related to the design and advertising aspect of the company, but also related to the ways in which people behave or the way in which meetings and other events are run. Things might be done just because they are part of the organization’s ‘brand’.
