Did you know that, on average, marketing teams spend the most time on brand logos? But are they really worth all that time and attention?
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As a brand manager or marketer, you can probably imagine the near-endless conversations about brand assets. To be successful, a brand simply must present itself in the right and most distinctive way. Did you know that marketing teams are, on average, most preoccupied with brand logos? But are they really worth that amount of time and attention?
If you think of Mickey Mouse’s ears, you think of Disney. This is a character that has grown into a symbol, and eventually even into a Disney logo. If you see the ‘M’ or ‘the shell’ while driving on the motorway, you think of McDonald’s or Shell. The ‘M’ and ‘the shell’ are pictorial marks (logos without a brand name). These are just three examples of strong brand assets. These brands have linked their message to the brand logo. As soon as you see the logo, your brain triggers all sorts of associations that belong to this brand alone.
Logos score low on the DBA Benchmark.
The brand research team at Blauw has been conducting studies into brand assets for over seven years. Based on that knowledge and experience, Blauw developed the Distinctive Brand Asset Benchmark, the only one of its kind in the Netherlands. This allows marketers from all brands to measure the performance of their brand assets against the winners. A few things about brand logos stand out to Blauw’s experts.
Although Disney and McDonald’s score highly with their logos, this is not the case for most companies. On average, logos score 56% (out of 100%), while other brand assets peak at 70-80%. A score of 100% would mean that every consumer can link an asset to a specific brand within 3 seconds, and to that one brand alone.
Why are logos the most discussed brand asset?
Nevertheless, a logo is the most discussed brand asset within marketing departments. That is hardly surprising, because you can often easily use a brand logo across various media channels. For instance, a logo appears on your website’s landing page, on your product, in advertisements and as an app icon on your mobile phone. This makes a logo important, because consumers know it is your brand without you even mentioning the name.
Two critical questions.
But despite all that attention, the effect of this brand asset lags behind somewhat. Do you really want to stand out with your brand logo? Then keep two critical questions in mind when developing your logo:
Question 1: How well does your logo alone convey your brand message?
Question 2: How strongly is your logo linked to your brand rather than to your competitors’?
Mental and physical availability.
Only when you understand these two questions, and can answer them well, does your brand have a strong logo. Your logo also needs to be present at the right moment. Think again about the moment you are driving on the motorway and see ‘the shell’. For Shell, this is a touchpoint where the brand presents itself as an option to a potential customer: the driver with an empty tank. And that aligns with a well-known ‘marketing law’ that marketing communication is most effective just before the moment of purchase.
Stand out with all your brand assets.
Do you want to know how you can stand out as a brand, not just with your logo but with all your brand assets? Get in touch: our research specialists would be happy to help you think it through.
