Your logo. Does it reflect your brand truth?

A recent development has got us thinking about logos and their role in the brand truth. There has been much controversy over the change of Mastercard’s brand logo, designed by the world’s largest independent design consultancy: Pentagram.

It’s just a logo I hear you say?

What’s the big deal?

Not a lot has changed at Mastercard. The branding has been simplified, still using the iconic red and yellow circles. It’s a modernisation, an evolution, something that many major companies have done consistently over the years. For example Shell and Pepsi.

Michael Bierut from Pentagram refers to the logo as an “elegant return to basics.” In a fascinating article by James Cartwright, Beirut speaks in-depth about the new logo and the ideas behind it.

But how important is your logo and branding for your business?

Your logo isn’t your brand, your logo is a symbol of your brand. It stands as a reminder of who you are. Your brand is much more than your logo, your brand is how your customers feel when they think of you.

For example, how do you feel when you see the Apple logo? Or the Olympic logo?

Mastercard’s new logo reflects modernisation and simplicity, vital components in a trustworthy financial services company.

To quote Beirut, the logo is a “more modern, contemporary expression of the brand.”

There is the argument that logos are less powerful than subliminal imagery. This was theorised by Lindstrom and, alongside Oxford brain scientist Gemma Calvert, he conducted a neuromarketing study described in detail in his book, “Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.” Within the study, participants were shown images that had a connection with major cigarette brands as well as logos. MRI scans of the smokers’ and former smokers’ brains showed more activity when images were shown rather than logos. So Lindstrom et al concluded that logos are less effective than imagery.

There are arguments against these findings. Think of Nike. The image of someone running doesn’t elicit thoughts of the brand more than the iconic “swoosh” on a plain background.

Does the image of someone drinking coffee have the same brand identification as the cartoon siren in white and green? Of course not.

Imagery has its place to support brand messages, but it will never be able to replace the branding power of a great and iconic logo. Ultimately the branding (logo) becomes the beacon for the brand to elicit an emotional reaction.

A brand building agency

As a marketing agency, at SHARP we have built many brands, and also created or refined their logos to identify and represent them in their purest form.

Your logo needs to be the pinnacle of your brand’s purpose, designed alongside other distinctive brand assets to reflect your brand truth.

This is why as businesses such as MasterCard change and evolve, they will always keep their logos fresh and representative of who they are. Can you say the same about your brand strategy and branding?

If not, maybe it’s time for a review.

And SHARP could help.

Just email haley@thesharpagency.co.uk to find out more.