There is no hard and fast answer to that question. It all depends on the type of business or brand that you are trying to promote. Whatever the answer, there is no doubt that a logo and slogan make you look more professional and corporate. The question came up because I am thinking of getting a logo designed, so I thought I would do some research on the subject.
1. Logos and Slogans are Necessary for Branding
Having sold and been responsible for a number of brands and products over my corporate life, I know how important a logo and slogan are to branding. Customers should be able to recognize your products in stores, and a simple sticker on a bag or box doesn’t cut it.
Logos and slogans for bricks and mortar products are a no-brainer. Obviously, you need both. If it is so obvious for a bricks and mortar product, why does it seem less obvious for a web-only product? The answer is the internet itself; many of your competitors in web-only businesses don’t have logos and slogans. They’re all using the sticker on the box method of branding themselves, which is to say that they aren’t doing it at all. All the more reason to get it done as it will put you head and shoulders above the crowd.
2. OK, So I Need a Logo. Do I Need a Slogan?
Let’s look at exactly what slogans do for you. The slogan works with the logo to reinforce your brand. If you have a logo, you should really have a slogan. Where do logos not have slogans? Usually, where the logo is instantly recognizable, as in the case of Target and Nike. Until you are a multi-million dollar company and can achieve recognizability at that level, a slogan is recommended to help drive your point home.
Writing a slogan isn’t easy. You can take your company mission statement and try to come up with something based on that, but it is hard to come up with something snappy and simple. If you want to hire a professional, there are slogan writers out there that specialize in this service, but really any writer will do. The one thing you don’t want to do is have your graphic designer just dash off a logo; unless you are working with an agency that has writers and designers on staff, this probably won’t work well. It is also not advisable to design a logo or slogan by commitee; a point person who is senior management should be elected for the project to avoid the fees that will result in going back and forth with too many inputs.
3. My Name is My Brand. Do I Still Need a Logo?
Yes. Have a look at Seth Godin’s logo for how simple and striking a logo can be for a name. You can view it as a favicon in your address bar if you are using Internet Explorer on all of his pages. Notice also that Seth uses a picture of himself at the top right of his site, where the logo would usually go, rather than a logo. There is a reason for that; if you are building a personal brand, you want people to remember you and not your logo. They should be displayed together or, where there is a choice to be made, your picture should be displayed over your logo.
Based on the research I’ve done, I’m going to get a logo designed. Something, like my web copy, that works. If you make the decision to do it to based on my article, e-mail me with the results and I’ll post them with a link back to your business. If you need someone to help you write slogans, I can do that; it takes about 1-2 hours depending on the company to come up with several slogans to choose from, so rates would depend on how much research I’d need to do. Contact me for a quote if you are interested.
