LAUNCH II: Report
Do we really need a logo? This provocative question was just a starting point for a very fruitful discussion on branding and the future of marketing.
16 people showed up for the second ever LAUNCH, an open forum for growing business, lightfoot way.
Want to hear what it was like? Download the mp3 of this session (edited down to around 30 min).
People sat in mishmash of chairs strewn around the make-shift studio of Design Kompany. The vibe was decidedly relaxed, warm and cordial. “Hardly a hotbed of controversy, but the looks could be deceptive,” I thought.
Guessing from some of the reactions I got online before the meeting, I was prepared for a good-mannered sparring (and some restrained moderation karate moves). But as it turned out, most of the attendees tended to agree with each other, and conversation was totally constructive.
THESIS: Do we really need a logo?
The main idea, presented by Akira Morita of Design Kompany, went like this:
A logo is often the first thing an entrepreneur thinks about when s/he thinks about marketing or design. But is it really a good starting point?
To think “logo” when you should be thinking about your overall identity strategy is limiting, and limits your ideas for ways to market yourself (“just stick a logo on it”). We should be looking beyond a logo when thinking about your brand.
The often limited time and money a business operator has on hand should be spent on thinking about the core message, branding “idea” rather than designing a logo. Preliminary logo can be devised through DIY efforts, and can be refined later.
Here are some thoughts emerged from the group discussion that followed:
Communicate your promise, and your STORY.
Without the story, the logo design can look empty and inauthentic. “It is all about authenticity. There has to be substance and meaning behind the brand and the logo comes secondary. It is not enough to stand in front of a booth at a tradeshow and let your logo lead,” quipped Megan Taylor, Marketing Manager at VMC.
Michael Neff, a graphic designer and photographer from New York who happened to be visiting Taylor, added: “before written words, history was handed down through word of mouth. We are built to connect with stories.” That’s why word of mouth is such a potent branding/marketing tool.
Megan Finaly, of Ashbury Designs, shared with the group a story of how her husband’s coffee equipment company branded his product over time. “He didn’t want to go with Italian-sounding names. He wanted to be different.”
Your brand can start with a simple consistency of your promises and looks. Pick a color, a typeface, a theme or a feeling. Stick with your choice, in all you do, and your brand can emerge out of that, said Bridget Gailey, principal of TRAY Creative, a social-change marketing and branding agency. “If you understand your audience, and what makes you different, and how you can serve them… that’s start of your story. Build your consistency off of that.”
Miles Matsumoto, of Matsumoto Design, has years of experience in graphic design and working with other company’s marketing messages. But It’s still hard sometimes to know how to market his company, he said. “My new web site, which I just launched, took me a whole year to make. But what helped me is, talking to colleagues, friends, people in the industry… they ask questions that help you list it all out, and horn your message.”
“Most successful businesses start by doing something well,” echoed Timothy Hicks of NW Business Consulting. In those cases, their story/brand coalesces over time, he said. In fact, some businesses don’t seem to have a cohesive marketing strategy at all, much less a considered, well-executed logo, and still thrive.
Gailey speculated that for some, the force of personality IS the brand—how much role aesthetics play depends on the industry.
“I am starting a non-profit.” Muna Ismail, whose new venture is a medical research organization, posited a question: “what I am not clear with is… Just how much time is needed to come up with a “story” so I can have a logo?”
The experts’ advice: keep it open, let it change over time. “Start writing your content. You don’t need to wait for your logo before you do.” Akira said.
Bill Blake, who has been running a small non-profit, disagreed. “It’s not enough to say ‘keep it open,’” he said. A logo is like a signature, and you need one that you can use over time.
Neff proposed: Maybe what a lot of people need is a way to legitimize their businesses, and good branding, and a logo, can make a company look bigger than they are. Small businesses want to be taken seriously.
Akira commented, “that’s just a misplaced fear. You don’t need a logo to be taken seriously.” “Professional” looking logos, without the right story behind it, can even be detrimental to the overall branding, he said. “Everyone needs a brand(but not necessarily a logo). Whether it’s designed or not, accidental or not, you have to have a brand to be successful.”
“The name, and how it sounds is an important part of your brand,” said Joshua Huisenga, of Chalkbox Studio, a local graphic design and illustration firm. “I rely on word of mouth when looking for services/products, so whether the name sticks in mind is really big.”
What’s to come next?
Some were curious about what all the new technology and the current economic crisis will bring to the world of small business marketing. Where will we find authentic brands connecting with people? Thea Habersetzer, an owner of a local design-build firm called Coda, said that’s what she came to the event to learn.
While no one had a clear idea of what’s to come, the online word-of-mouth sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List were frequently mentioned throughout the talk. Akira asked rhetorically, “If you lived in a big city, you don’t talk to your neighbors, right?”—and everyone nodded.
Akira speculated that there are two overall trends: the big companies are having hard time, and the smallest ventures, the traditional mom-and-pop shops, are feeling the squeeze, too. Hicks emphasized that the times are great for small business operators (defined as annual revenue of $500 million or less); “I think the future will get better and better for the small, honest businesses… as we all get better at sorting out where the value is.”
“[the big guys] don’t have a clue.” Hicks said.
Do you think it’s a good time to be a small business?
We will be talking about that in the next LAUNCH, scheduled on
Friday, May 29th.
What is LAUNCH?
LAUNCH is a series of knowledge-sharing sessions around the concept of Lightfoot Branding: Start Where You Are. When it comes to marketing, are you afraid of commitment? Are you waiting for “a good time” to start? You can start right here with us. The specific topic change every month, but there will always be an element of take-home know-hows, and an open dialogue around the emerging new ways to market ourselves. Want to check it out? Email us or sign up with our newsletter here.
