The past few weeks you have likely seen the CEO of Target trying to manage the aftermath of the massive credit card hacking scandal. Not a fun situation for any brand leader. One recent interview on CNBC caught my eye. While Gregg Steinhafel was assuring customers that the company was taking the right steps to deal with the mess, a beautiful logo-patterned, red Target vase was perched on the stage behind him.
Was his intention to communicate, yes this is bad, but you can still expect great design and a style edge that the big blue retailer just can’t do?
Using logo marks well in non traditional touch points is a great opportunity for any brand.
I read an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about the return of wearing branded apparel. The story was titled, “The Return of the Fashion Logo”. Full story click here.
The article reports how many big, luxury-fashion houses are using their brand-logo mark in garment and accessory designs again because consumers’ appetites for sporting brand marks are back in style.
In the early days of the 2000s, the plastering of brands was everywhere, inducing a logo-type mania. Today’s trend is not quite as prominent and is portrayed in a more understated way. This more discreet application of the logo mark still allows consumers to broadcast their financial success all the while making a fashion statement too.
That’s great if you are a fashion brand. But, what about if you are a business to business brand or a service brand?
I have always believed that brands with a clean, simple logo mark have a marketing advantage because those marks have a powerful visual asset that can be applied to some interesting touch points and woven into branded experiences.
When I say clean and simple, I’m generally not referring to your full logo with text. I mean just the mark; like Target’s bull’s-eye or Nike’s swoosh. If you do use text, don’t overdo it because the idea will quickly move from a nice, cool touch to a cheesy, hard-sell tactic.
How can you brand leverage your brand mark?
This depends on what you sell. If it’s an object, think about how you can add your mark to the design. Like in the Wall Street Journal article, luxury brands use their mark as hardware, decorations and apparel trim.
If you don’t sell an object, consider adding your mark into some touch points like:
1) Flysheet
Whether you are printing a bound, coffee-table book to give clients, or a brochure, consider using the logo mark on a flysheet.
2) Wallpaper
Why not add a touch of your brand to a room or space? But don’t go overboard; sometimes just doing an accent wall is the best look. Here is a custom wallpaper resource.
This company can take any file and create a range of design applications from wall borders to wall decals to full blown wallpaper.
3) Computer wallpaper or screen savers
Adding computer wallpaper is simple. Create a pattern of your logo mark and save it to a jpeg file and make it your computer background or screen saver. Want something a bit more dynamic? Hire a programmer to create a moving screen saver design incorporating your logo mark.
4) Wrapping paper
Don’t just give your clients a gift; give it to them wrapped in branded gift wrap paper. You can make your branded wrap on your desktop printer or have a custom wrapping paper company create it for you.
Here are two custom wrapping paper resources: Giftskin, Zazzle.
5) Pillows
Add a nice touch to your lobby and place branded pillows on the furniture. Check out these pillow resourcers Personalization Mall and Zazzle.
6) Stickers and seals
Stickers and seals can be used in many cool ways; from sealing an envelope, to packaging a proposal, or adding it to a book you give a client.
7) A pattern in your ads
If you have created an online or offline ad campaign, consider using your logo mark as part of your design. Every since I can remember Target has been doing amazing job of using this method by having the Target bull’s-eye appear in many of their campaigns, furthering their brand equity and their distinction.
Using a simple logo mark as a pattern in something, or as a stand-alone element, can be an effective way to keep your brand top of mind.
Brand on!
