“Branding, it’s not about the logo,” a topic that comes up frequently on The Stampede, and it is definitely true…but a strong logo is a key element in a successful brand. A lot of company’s update their identity frequently in order to refresh their position in the marketplace, most of the time this is motivated by the desire of change merely for the sake of change, this is not an effective way to establish brand equity. Brand equity is created by being consistent in company goals, values, operations and visual indicators such as a logo, website and other marketing pieces. It is no surprise that many of the top brands in the world have not changed their logo for decades, for example; Coca-Cola, IBM, Ford, GE. This is why the brand equity for these particular company’s are priceless…they established brand equity by being consistent with their identity.

This does not mean that a company should never change their corporate identity. Companies evolve over time and sometimes need a re-brand if their approach, or values change. Another ideal situation for a re-brand is if a start-up company compromised it’s marketing budget and created a logo using Microsoft word art, trust me this happens more often than not. If the start-up invested in it’s corporate identity at the beginning, they would not need to re-brand and potentially lose some of their brand equity.

A true corporate identity is based on an overall system approach that is a visual indicator for the company’s overall brand, which resonates their key messages and core values.  A brand is just not a logo…but a strong, consistent logo is necessary to build brand equity and recognition by consumers in the marketplace. You can make only one first impression and a strong logo is what your customers will see first when they experience your brand. Brand Iron will help your brand succeed with our holistic approach; most marketing companies stop at marketing, but Brand Iron believes that a strong brand is built through the sales, marketing and the operations processes of your company. Brand Iron will help your company establish strong brand equity; we  “forge brands, and drive revenue.”

<em>By Andrew Hoffman, art director</em>

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