Your logo is not your brand.

Let me repeat: your logo is not your brand.

Your logo is a designed way to communicate your company name so that it’s memorable and meaningful. It is the basic foundation of your company’s identity because it sets a certain style and tone.

Your brand, however, is very different. Your brand is what people think of your company when they are exposed to it in any way – advertising, marketing, trade shows, word of mouth, PR, and social media.

Your brand is a person's highest level mental description of your company. And it’s something you very much so want to craft carefully.

Take for example, Nike. We all know the swoosh. That is Nike’s logo. But just seeing the swoosh alone wouldn’t really make you think much of anything about Nike as a brand. But add in the tagline “Just do it.” Then add in the pro athlete endorsements. The slick ads. The strategic sponsorships. The designs and graphics … on down the line. Now you’re talking brand. The logo is just one piece of the brand puzzle.

When I see the swoosh, I make a quick mental rundown of all those things. I think “Just do it.” I think passion and performance. And there lies Nike’s brilliant brand.
Nike is the epitome of sports passion and performance.

Notice the difference.

It’s actually a very fun exercise when learning about brands. Pick one of your favorite top brands. Start with their logo and then delve into what you truly think about when you see that logo, or a company ad, or exhibit.

Now repeat after me. “My logo is not …”