Blogs Category Archive

When Is It Time To Update Your Logo?

Saturday, May 7th, 2011

Each year, many brands, even some big ones like Pepsi, Tropicana, BP, UPS and Starbucks, spend a large amount of money on redesigning their brand and their logo. In some cases the rebrand is successful whereas in other cases it fails miserably. (I personally miss the Pepsi wave and I predict it will come back in a few years.)

So, why risk losing the brand recognition you’ve worked so hard to build?

1. The Logo is Visually Outdated or Has a Bad Reputation

In some cases, the logo was great when it was designed, but now looks outdated. A redesign keeps the brand from feeling stale or out of touch.

Take for example Proctor & Gamble and all the hoopla regarding their 1851 man in the moon with the 13 stars that represented the 13 original colonies. Critics later claimed the stars also connected to form “666″ and that the curls in his beard were in the shape of devilish sixes as well. WHAT??? So in 1991 they cut off Mr. Moon’s bearded curls, then finally dropped the graphic two years later for the now current P&G italicized letters.

 

2. The Desire to Show an Expanded Business Focus

Another noticeable trend is formerly brick-and-mortar institutions developing an online presence, or wishing to appear as though they have.

UPS’s new logo represents a strategic decision to emphasize UPS’s expanded business operations, all the while preserving their shield, keeping it lighthearted and of course their signature color brown.

Walmart’s redesign changed their company name from two words to one, softened the blue, got rid of the capitalization of all letters, updated their tagline and moved their focus from rural to urban.

 

3. Simplifying for Better Recognition

The classic example here is Apple. Their original logo in 1976, when the company was still operating out of a garage, shows Isaac Newton sitting beneath a tree with an apple dangling precariously above his head. A year later their logo was redesigned to the dated looking rainbow apple. Finally in 1998 they opted for a monochromatic version that could be produced in every color possible, before settling on their current chrome version.

 

So, how does your logo stack up? Is it still stuck in the dark ages? Does it represent YOUR brand or simply your industry? And of course is it memorable? And do you use it with consistency? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen medium to small businesses have a myriad of versions of their logo. How are your customers supposed to recognize you if that is what you’re putting out there?

Lastly, if you do decide to change or update your logo, hire a professional. I know, I know… but my best friend has a nephew who is in school for graphic design. He can do it!

Really? Has he had years of experience knowing what works and what doesn’t? Does he know if it’s reproducible in all platforms and applications? Does he know the difference between RGB, CMYK, PMS and Hex colors? Does he know the symbolism behind color and what thoughts and feelings that certain colors evoke? I’m thinking… probably not. Can you tell I’m rather passionate about this subject?

I really enjoy working on logos for clients and treat it as serious business. It’s your face to the world and should NEVER be simply a template or stock icon found at Mr. Copy. It never ceases to amaze me to see, even as recently as last week, other agencies that use logo design as a loss leader to get people in the door. It makes me shudder to think that this is the case and quite frankly I find it sad.

 

Are Marketing and Advertising the Same Thing?

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

By Terry Detty,  Buzz.com

Marketing and advertising may sound very similar, but in reality they are very different.

Advertising is only a part of the bigger game called marketing. Marketing encompasses complete conceptualization of a brand, right from research to designing to advertising to sale. Advertising, on the other hand is a component of the marketing process which is nothing but conveying the message through a variety of mediums to promote the product.

 

Advertising is one of the most important components of a marketing strategy and also the most expensive. Advertising constitutes sending the message to the public about your company, product or services. It also constitutes “behind the scenes” work, like the process of involving a formation of various strategies and coming up with a right one to target the viewers. This strategizing consists of planning things like placing ads, deciding what media outlet to use, what time, frequency etc. The advertisements are generally placed via mediums like television, snail mail, newspapers, internet, e-mails, radio, magazines, mobile messaging, flyers, billboards etc. The most popular is of course television, although advertising on the internet is becoming increasingly popular too.

 

The easiest way to differentiate advertising from marketing is to consider marketing as if it were a whole cake. If you cut the cake in pieces, advertising would be one of the pieces of that cake. The other pieces of that cake are market research, product design, media planning, PR, product pricing, customer support, sales and many more. All these components or pieces of cake should work independently but collectively in achieving the bigger goal: to sell product and build the company’s reputation in the marketplace.

 

Marketing is a marathon process involving many tasks that involve hours, sometimes days of research. The research part of marketing takes the longest time to complete, as it involves thoroughly understanding the behavior of people towards a product. Designing the product and developing advertising strategy is also a time consuming process. The only components that take less time are executing the advertisements and sales. Marketing can also be perceived as a medium between consumers and the company.

 

Many companies often make the mistake of confusing advertising with marketing. They try to appear to be as big as companies like Coke and Pepsi in advertising but they simply ignore the work that goes behind that. A classical example of this is to take a look at the company logo. Many business owners are so hysterical about the logo of their company in their advertisements that they think that it will simply bring in huge sales. But what makes a logo work is none other than the reputation of the company. The logo must have a feeling attached to it and should truly reflect the company’s values.

 

We should also remember that some companies spend fortunes on advertising, which a new start up business just can’t normally do. Rather than spending unnecessary money on branding your product, one should invest money and time in communicating to the consumers to address the expectations. After building up a reputation and growing a company, you can begin to think up these lavish ideas. Educating the consumers also helps, as it will give them an understanding that you know what your doing and you are the best at what you are doing.

 

Smart marketers are aggressive in approach rather than passive. They provoke reader’s minds by prompting them to do something, rather than just making them knowledgeable of the product. Smart marketers also bring home the names, addresses and contact numbers of people who are really interested in hiring your company by employing aggressive marketing. Thus, having a good marketing campaign speaks a lot about a company and their products. Advertising gives that finishing touch to the hard work completed by marketers successfully selling a product.

 

 

Great Quality and Service at a Low Price

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Putting these words together is an oxymoron. One will always suffer. Quality always comes at a price. It might mean spending more time training the staff better or using the best quality for materials. Clients searching for low prices are usually not loyal clients and normally are the ones that complain the most. These clients do not see the value of high service and quality.

According to Accenture’s fourth annual study on customer satisfaction, customer service ranks above price as a global driver for customer retention. More than 4,100 consumers in eight countries who participated in the study determined that the number of consumers who leave a business because of poor customer experience is significantly higher than the number of those who leave because they found a lower price elsewhere. In the United States, the number is even higher. In fact, 73 percent of survey respondents said they have switched providers due to poor service, compared with 47 percent who switched providers because of lower prices. Consumers have become less forgiving of companies that fail to satisfy their expectations and will leave a company because of a poor experience.

How To Do What You Don’t Know How To Do

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

Picture this…

You’re thinking about starting up a new business but you have no idea where to start. You know you need to file some paperwork, and you have an idea of how you want your brand to look, but you have no clue how to execute your ideas.

That’s because you need a plan. Advertising plans are a great way to get all your ideas out onto paper. In addition, it will focus you to target a specific group, or groups, of people so your message isn’t blanketing just any Joe Schmoe out there. When you incorporate an advertising plan into your business model your goals will be set, guaranteeing you a higher level of success. DSYL can help you develop this plan, and the beauty of it is, it will cost you absolutely nothing!

We like to see businesses succeed, and at DSYL, our goal is to guide that new business owner into what will work for them and their target.  By implementing the various elements of the plan you will watch your business flourish.