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I recently got a phone call from a local Wheaton company looking for business cards. They had gone to a larger local printer and had initially gotten good service, but it had been several weeks and they had had to contact the printer several times to even get a draft of their card, yet alone get anything finished and printed. Either the printer’s employee was just someone who didn’t provide good customer service, or the company didn’t think it was a large enough project to merit their attention. Either way, this client needed to go elsewhere.
Well, it turns out that this “little” business card project was actually only a very small part of what this client really needed. They also needed letterhead, a new website and potentially a mailing campaign in the near future. Additionally, they were in the process of creating a spinoff company. And this spinoff company needs all of its marketing materials, a logo, business cards, letterhead, website, brochures, postcards and vehicle wraps. And because this bigger company didn’t think they were a large enough client to merit their attention, who do you think gets to do all that work?
So whatever business you are in, remember the next time that “small” project comes in that it deserves just as much of your attention as your dream client, because the reality is that little client could in fact be your dream client.
I love the studio intros that movie companies have put together at the beginning of movies. You know… those little movie snippets with the various company names on them evolving out of some nifty graphics. Usually revolving around a logo. Some of the newer movie companies have truly come up with some great artsy and creative intros, which do bear looking at. But for the sake of today’s post, I want to focus on those of the older, more established movie companies.
(For a look at a variety of these intros, check out the following on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9PtpALF_3w&feature=BF&list=PLD25EE797D1D52470&index=6
If you’ve been watching movies for any length of time, you can probably recognize the intro to most of the main studios: MGM, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Dreamworks, Lions Gate, etc. And you will most likely continue to recognize these intros almost immediately, regardless of how much these intros have in fact been updated over the years. The reason for this is that even though these “video logos” have evolved – adding animation here, updating to new sharper graphics and colors there – the basics of the logo are still intact. Dreamworks, for example has taken the static picture of the kid fishing on the moon and added animation. Disney’s iconic castle logo has evolved into a flowing movie intro following a train to the castle, which is now beautifully done in 3D. Even the old MGM lion now actually roars and moves. The evolved intros are decidedly modern, and for the most part don’t look like they are up to 50 or more years old, but they are definitely rooted firmly in their iconic past. And thus, their brand recognition continues to build. (These intros are, in fact, so recognizable that as I was looking at the various intros on youtube, my four year old recognized them from across the room and could name various movies associated with each.)
For anyone looking to update their existing logos, it doesn’t hurt to take your cue from these movie giants. If you have an existing clientele who recognizes your logo, but still feel the need to update it (either to enter new markets or simply because it’s becoming dated), make sure it is really an update, but still maintains the brand recognition of your existing logo.
What are your favorite movie studio intros/intro updates?
The last couple months saw news stories about two major companies’ adventures in changing their corporate logos. One (GAP) didn’t go over so well and the company ended up scrapping the new logo and going back to the tried and true old one. While Starbuck’s new logo seems to be going over well. So what’s the difference? Apart from the actual designs of the logos, the biggest difference seems to be the reasons behind changing the logo.
For GAP, it appears the logo change was meant as a way to garner attention and bump up lagging sales. While a new logo can get your company new attention, it isn’t necessarily worth it just for that reason. The result of GAPs logo change was the customers and critics jumped online to pan it. Turns out it wasn’t the old logo that was hurting sales. In fact, people liked and were attached to the old logo, and turned off by the attempt to modernize the timeless, classic existing logo.
For Starbucks, the logo change is meant as a way to not only update the recognized siren logo, but actually give the company the ability to expand beyond just coffee. By updating the existing logo and taking out the text, the company is making the logo more versatile. And although the new Starbucks logo has its own critics, there isn’t nearly the uproar as there was for GAP. I think the reason why, is that in this case it’s a logo change that makes more sense. The old logo isn’t completely gone (it’s a revamp). And there’s a real logical reason for the change.
So what is the lesson for us small businesses who do not have huge marketing staffs and budgets to figure out when to change our logos? One, make sure it’s a really good reason. Two, make sure that your clients aren’t super attached to the existing logo. You don’t want to alienate current customers. And three, don’t completely scrap the old logo if you do decide to change. By keeping elements of the old logo, you can help minimize upsetting current customers.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/08/news/companies/gap_logo/index.htm
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10964054/starbucks-new-logo-sleek-or-bleak.html
I spent this morning buying and then spreading mulch – again. Despite the fact that I spent several hours and sore back hours doing this just a few weeks ago, the beds are teaming with weeds. The reason… I was cheap. Instead of going with the 3″ of mulch the bags said it would take to fend off weeds, I used only half that amount. I saved money then, but ended up having to spend just as much money, with twice the amount of work and back ache. Cheaper isn’t always better.
The same holds true with graphic design. Say you know someone’s nephew who can “design” a logo in Word or put together a brochure. You might save some money on design fees, but is what you are getting worth those savings. You get that logo done in Word… chances are that it’s not the type of quality you’d get with a real designer. Also, you’ re not going to be getting a logo in the format you are going to need (high and low resolution, as well as vector). So in the end you’ll end up paying someone more to recreate your logo in the right format anyways.
If you scrimp on your other marketing materials, you might have all the information you want clients to see, but if it’s not designed well, chances are they won’t look at it. And so you may have saved money on the materials, but if they don’t get the message to your customers, and actually help market your business, you’re wasting your time.
Where have you been cheap that came back to haunt you later?
Your business card can arguably be your most important piece of marketing material, yet many entrepreneurs really don’t take their card seriously. Maybe they are opting for a generic template from an online print house, or even printing even more generic cards from their home printer. What’s wrong with this? Well mainly it sends entirely the wrong message about your business. It says you’re not serious about your business. And while the following is a repeat from a post last year, after attending a couple recent business expos here in Brighton, Michigan, I feel it is definitely worth repeating.
Online print houses can be a great money saving option for entrepreneurs – if they’re used for printing. However, far too many small business people are using these services to also “design” their marketing collateral. Your marketing collateral should reflect YOUR business and personality. This is especially true with your business card. While a stock photo of an outdoor scene might be pleasant enough, it is incredibly generic – only saying something about you or your business if you happen to be an outdoor outfitter.
A business card with a generic background blends into oblivion with your potential clients. Nothing makes it stand out from the crowd, and even worse, it sends a subliminal message that your business isn’t a serious, “real” business. Think about it, let’s say you get two business cards from a potential service provider – say a financial planner. One of them has a stock photo in the background while the other one has a unique, professional logo or graphic. Which one are you going to take more seriously? Which one looks like it’s associated with a legitimate, established and experienced business professional? Who are you more likely to trust and do business with?
Another downside of using the ready made templates – chances are someone else is using the same one. I was recently at a Brighton networking event where I received the same card, from two individuals in two vastly different businesses. And the design of the card didn’t say anything meaningful about either of them.
Putting together a professional, unique business card doesn’t have to break the bank for a new small business, but it does need to be something that has some time and thought put into it. Pay the small amount extra to upload your own logo or images to that online print house. Strongly consider working with a graphic designer. The one time expense to come up with a card that truly says what you mean to say to potential clients is more than worth it – especially considering the negative message that you might otherwise be portraying.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, we all need every advantage we can get. Do you want to be the one with the card that blends into the background? What are some of the worst business card “sins” you’ve encountered?
I have a new small business client based in Brighton, Michigan who is looking to develop a brand and wanted to know if I consider a logo to be a brand. Quick answer… No. Longer more explanatory answer… Your logo is not your brand, but rather a representation of your brand. It’s the visual representation and something that is used to convey your brand and gain recognition for it.
So what’s your brand? Businessdictionary.com defines branding as the “Entire process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product (good or service)” . This is an okay definition, but the one I like a lot better is from John Williams at Entrepreneur.com. His definition is that your brand is “Who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be” .
Everything you put out from the product/service you sell to your marketing materials to the way you answer your phone should support your brand or how you want to represent your company and how you want customers to perceive it. Your logo is only one part of this (albeit a very important part of it).
When developing your logo, it is crucial that you know your brand, your target market, your business personality and how you want to be perceived. The logo should accurately reflect this. Which is why it is important to work with a graphic designer you trust and connect with. Having a logo put together by an online printer who offers free logo design most likely won’t accomplish what you need your logo to be.
How do your logo and marketing materials reflect your brand?
Warning… this post may seem patronizing… But it’s got to be written.
I’ve run into an interesting situation with a couple of recent small business clients here in Brighton. They call me to design a postcard or website, and say” I’ve got a logo, but I’m going to need to find it.”
What?!? In one case, the client had her logo on a disk and had given the only disk to a company a couple years ago to have business cards printed – she wasn’t sure how many years or who she worked with exactly. Her response, “I’m sure they’ve still got it.” In another case, the client asked me where it would be on his computer. Apart from the thought of maybe a file labeled logo, I was at a loss.
So here comes the obvious patronizing part… When you get a logo designed, please keep track of it.
- You should receive several files including a vector and high and low resolution versions. Keep all of these even if you can’t necessarily open them on your computer.
- If you get them on a disk, copy them onto your computer or network as well. And put them in an obvious place. Ideally you have a special folder with all your corporate identity materials, named something like logo or corporate identity.
- If you need to send your logo to someone, either copy it onto a new disk or email a copy. Never EVER send your only copy of your logo to a different company. And don’t assume someone else is going to keep track of it for you. That company could go out of business, their network could crash or they could be even worse at organizing their files than you are.
Ideally, you are using this logo to maintain consistency on all of your marketing materials and to help establish your brand. Such an important part of this branding really needs to be watched after.
How do you file your logo and identity materials?
I’m sure you’ve seen the ads from printers offering to design “free logos” along with their business cards. Or maybe you’ve got a web person who put some sort of logo together for you on your website. Or maybe you know someone who wants to put together a logo in Word or Publisher. Sounds like a great deal right?
Wrong. Most likely these great deals aren’t going to give you a logo you can use for anything other than that business card, or that webpage or Word doc. I’ve run into this with several small business clients here in Brighton, Michigan who want marketing materials designed, but only have a low res logo on the website, or they only have it printed on their cards. Then in order to put together a print quality design that includes this “free” logo, I have to recreate it. Now this free logo ends up costing them extra in design fees and it might not be possible to recreate it exactly like what they have. I’ve also seen scores of ads looking for designers to recreate a logo that some unsuspecting business thought was a good deal.
Ideally, when you have a logo designed the final product you receive should include a vector file as well as high and low res images of your logo. Not only will you need these formats to design other materials, often the companies who sell promotional items like pens will want a vector file. Sign companies and trade show vendors will also most likely want a vector.
Save yourself trouble down the road. Get a real logo designed to start out with and don’t bother with the free options. Not only will you get the right formats, chances are you will also be getting a better and more original logo.
I’ve been eating a lot of oranges lately. This is a big deal for me, because even though I really like oranges, I didn’t eat them very often because I’ve always been ridiculously picky about getting all of the white stuff off the orange. It could seriously take me a half hour to peel an orange.
What does this little tangent have to do with graphics? Well, unlike the folly of spending too long peeling an orange, most of us actually should spend more time paying attention to the details of our marketing materials and campaigns. Too often, marketing materials go out with all the metaphorical white stuff all over them, because we don’t want to take the time or effort to get them really right – and clean.
One of the details that many small businesses here in southease Michigan and beyond miss, is getting a standard way to convey their brand. Even if a business has a logo, they might use it one way in one piece, with one font here, one color there and very little that is consistent. Big companies know this is a no no. They know that in order to most effectively keep control of your brand, you need to have consistent standards. Many larger companies have very detailed written out guidelines for everything from how a logo is to be used to what font letters are to be written in.
Do most small businesses have to go this far? Probably not quite this far, but we should all pay a little more attention to the consistent use of our brand. This consistency goes a long way towards gaining recognition. For me, I think I am going to spend more time on my brand and less on peeling my oranges. Because there is a time and place to be ridiculously picky.
Colleen with Dream Kitchens of Howell, Michigan came to me looking to update her marketing materials by creating a logo and a cohesive look. She had previously been given a pseudo logo as part of an ad she purchased with a Michigan publication and we originally went with ways to update that logo, which was her company name inside an oval. I came up with 4 concepts on this theme. 
Her initial preference was for the top two logos, but after some additional thought, she decided she like the bottom right logo with the monogram, only she wanted to see it with both the initials D and K. She also wanted to decide if she wanted the monogram on top, or behind the company name.
In the end, we decided that just because the initial ad she had purchased created a logo within an oval, that she didn’t have to keep the logo and the final logo was the monogram watermarked behind the company name, without the enclosure.
Next post… how this logo was developed into cohesive marketing materials…
