what is the real difference between branding and marketing©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

What’s the Real Difference between Branding and Marketing?

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As a business owner, there are two important concepts that should be identified when creating your overarching plan – branding and marketing.

At first glance of the words, they seem like they could be interchangeable. But, as we take a deeper dive in to each, you may possibly need to adjust your strategic plans.

Branding: Building an Identity

Let’s think of branding as the cohesive glue that holds your marketing campaigns together. It is the core of the business and who it is, represents and values. This can encompass:

  • mission statement
  • company culture
  • reputation of business
  • loyalty of customers

Branding will also include a detailed use of your business’ design standards – such as:

Logo format

A few components are wrapped up in to this piece. Determining if the logo needs to be in color versus black white is a first step. Is it more vertical or horizontal? Do you need multiple versions to fit different types of collateral?

Logo use

Where will the logo be primarily placed? When placed with other logos, is there an order of hierarchy? Will it require specific size requirements pending placement? If this is being used within a footer of an email, what is the smallest size the logo will be allowed to be at?

Color palette

Choosing the main colors for the logo is very important, as this will need to adhere to the overall brand strategy and represent the company correctly. There also needs to be thought on what other colors can be used if the marketing material clashes too much with the main logo. How else can this be represented?

Fonts

In tandem with choosing your colors for the company and logo, the font chosen to be used in the logo will be as important. This will be the main representation of the company. Making sure it’s how the brand should be portrayed, it’s legible, and clear to the consumer is key. Also including in the brand standards similar fonts that can be used when speaking about the company will be beneficial when used on different materials.

The above items are pieces that a professional designer can help build out that supports and easily conveys your company’s mission and goals. From initial meetings for the designer to understand what the company does to deeper discussions about how the company should be portrayed – both elements fall under the building company’s brand identity.

You should be very detailed in how you express the needs of what the brand guidelines should entail. This will allow you to deepen the relationship between the different pieces of your company and why you are, who you are.

Long-term visions of the company should be included your brand identity. Without this aspect determined when building your business, you can’t fully understand what the business should accomplish and how those goals will be reached. You want to stay true to why the company was formed in the first place.

Marketing: Executing Your Brand

This is the marketing piece and how you execute the mission and vision of your brand. This will be ever changing and evolve as your products and services change, but will always refer back to core identity of the company.

Examples of marketing efforts to promote certain products or services are:

Print campaigns

This includes newspaper, brochures, postcards, catalogs, posters, banners, etc. Though digital marketing efforts are extremely effective and cost efficient, print is still a main and valuable aspect of business operations.

Radio

This will not include any visual creative, but the tone and message for a radio ad still must reflect the brand’s strategy in how it wishes to present itself to potential consumers. Note: different markets are more expensive than others and will depend on the station for the demographic you would like to reach.

Television

This form of marketing will be the most expensive. Not only will there production costs (location, actors, shooting, etc.), but there are also the costs of the actual advertising spot (differing per station and market). However, this can be very effective to reach a wide audience and to be able to use visual and emotional cues combined.

Digital Efforts

The following marketing tactics have not only become the workhorse of current marketing strategies, but also the most cost effective – they include: mobile, social media, search engine optimization (seo), email blasts, content marketing (blogs, videos, etc.).

Overall, marketing can be thought of as in what’s “in-season” and broken up in to campaigns – trends and channels that will help dictate how your message is delivered and to what audience, all while referencing and adhering to your brand standards.

Which One Comes First?

Now that the two pieces have been hashed out, which one do you start with?

The brand should always be thought of first and then incorporated in to how a certain marketing tactic can be best used to solicit and engage current and potential consumers.

Where the Two Should Meet

Branding and marketing have been broken up above, but that doesn’t mean that they do not ever work together. There are two areas on where the brand and marketing overlap: the company voice and imagery presented.

When developing your brand, you should have a specific tone to the company and target audience in which your products and services may be best suited for. Not only does this impact what you wish to offer to the market, but how your mission and culture are influenced. An ivy-league school operates and speaks differently than how a tech start-up will. There is no one way that is better than the other, but needs to be carefully determined to help structure how the organization speaks to its consumers and even their employees.

The other area where the two practices meet is when you determine what imagery, colors, etc. you will use. As mentioned earlier, this can be done with the help of a professional designer that will help guide the thought process to determine your logo and colors, but when executing different marketing campaigns, it is important that those are adhered to and any other selected images represent the company in the best light and in-line with the set brand guidelines.

When determining your brand and marketing efforts, contact Colleen Eakins Design to set up a consultation to learn how we can best support you.

Branding and Naming [ infographic ]

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Denese EakinsDenese is a lover of knowledge and puts her research skills and creative eye to good use with her infographics. When she’s not researching and designing visuals to present data, she spends time volunteering in her other passion–health education.

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modern logo design trends©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

What’s Happening with Modern Logo Design Trends

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The current time is a fantastic time in the history of modern logo design trends. High-end illustration programs and experienced designers are pushing the envelope for corporate branding.

There’s no doubt that branding is crucial to business success. The world’s most famous companies all have instantly-identifiable brand elements. Powerful images help consumers make strong associations with products. The best logos “sum up” the corporate vision perfectly

In the present time, logos are always changing to meet new needs. Trends change monthly, but everything from minimalist themes through cartoon style branding is available. Most designers look for a way to incorporate the company’s mission into a synthetic glyph.

A robust visual representation for a brand is one that’s recognizable and conveys at least some sort of meaning. The symbolism doesn’t have to be intense, but anything that helps people remember the company is always useful.

Tech companies lead the way with logos with reductionist glyphs that cut straight to the point. Think of the “tweeting bird” icon for Twitter.

Minimalist Logo Designs Remain Popular

If you think about minimalism for logo designs, it makes a lot of sense. The less ornate the image, the smaller the chance of making a mistake. Precise artwork adds a stronger emphasis to branding and is often the result of extensive experience.

Take the Road Most Travelled

Logos are design elements that can easily go awry, when ‘thinking outside of the box’ and taking a design direction that is unsual. In fact, taking the safe bet and sticking with industry-popular colors, fonts, and messaging has a strong correlation with success.

Geometric Designs are Always an Option

Geometric shapes are a logo option for any business. It’s essential to research the final creation, especially if you’re hoping for an all-original finished product. These shapes are well-traveled territory for graphic designers, for the simple reason they are building blocks for polished logos.

Building a final presentation for a branding element means coordinating the tagline, logo, graphics, and font into a cohesive composition. The company has to be happy with the work and it’s worth testing it with end users. The whole process may be a bit time-consuming, but utilizing the correct design elements are essential. Do it right the first time and the investment in quality graphics will yield a significant return.

Typography to the Rescue

Since fonts dominate logos, typographic designs are a reasonable choice. There are many fonts available these days and making a new one can be an option with some designers.

Some of the most famous logos of all time are typographic and the trend has been gaining recently.

Forget the Colors

Black and white logos are elegant and striking. Black lettering on white backgrounds is one of the most straightforward graphics to read. For clarity, few other options offer the same wallop.

A distinct advantage for this color scheme is that it matches well with just about everything else. Blending and mixing and matching your current branding elements is more convenient. For companies considering plugging a new logo into an existing network of digital assets, a black and white logo is an option.

Stack Letters for Maximum Impact

If you have an unusual configuration of letters in your corporate identity, you may consider letter-stacking for your logo. This technique is an excellent way to add styling in a subtle and sophisticated manner. The best way to see if you like this look is by experimenting.

Stack a few different fonts and go from there. You’ll know when you hit upon a theme that’s usable and crisp. Modern logos are almost always appealing and few methods are more stylish than this one.

Your brand should have room to evolve. That’s why there’s no reason to tie too much literal meaning in your art. For example, incorporating the year “2018” into your design will present a problem for you soon enough! Be wary of overly-trendy ideas because they may not be hot tomorrow.

Convey your core values and mission. The imagery you select will need to get the point across clearly to potential and current customers and partners. The better you present that idea, the more likely they’ll respond favorably. Missing the mark could have disastrous consequences.

Be precise to avoid confusion. There are laws against being too similar to someone else’s logo. These rules exist because similar logos and graphics confuse consumers to no end! Being on-target is not always easy, but it’s still worth it because the opposite causes significant problems.

Logo design is another form of communication. That’s why there’s no need to go off on a tangent. Your logo serves as a central representation of all your other marketing assets. As such, it has a central role in your organization, so you should choose it carefully.

Armed with fresh knowledge and a plan, assembling the final pieces for a fantastic logo should not be a problem. The power is in your hands to create a compelling, lasting image that is an accurate reflection of your organization’s goals and experience.

What is the Difference Between Branding and Marketing?

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Denese EakinsDenese is a lover of knowledge and puts her research skills and creative eye to good use with her infographics. When she’s not researching and designing visuals to present data, she spends time volunteering in her other passion–health education.

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Intellectual Property©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

What You Need to Know About Logos, Trademarks, and Intellectual Property

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Your logo is an essential aspect of your company identity. Not only does it serve to help differentiate your products and services from competitors, but it also helps you create brand recognition with your customers and potential clients.

For this reason, one of the most common questions that people have is whether or not logos are trademarked or copyrighted. By legal definition, the answer should be relatively straightforward. To get a better understanding, let’s cover some of the basics about Copyright and Trademarks.

What Is a Copyright?

Copyright is a legal framework that protects creative works of expression. The work has to meet minimum requirements to get certified for copyright protection. Another aspect of Copyright law is they expire, so Copyright protection doesn’t last forever. While assets are under Copyright protection, the original artist – or the Copyright holder, as the case may be, holds all rights for distribution, use, and associated royalties.

Unauthorized use or publication of copyright material entitles the copyright holder to take action against the violation, by asking for a removal of the infringement. On video platforms, something as simple as recording copyright protected background music can result in an infraction which entitles the holder to claim the video and collect any revenues generated from the recording.

Copyrights are transferable, so this intellectual property holds value. Especially in the case of famous artists and musicians. A couple of examples of transferred copyright material that have been particularly valuable after the original artist passed away include that of Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, and Prince. While their work was invaluable while they were alive, their estate became even more profitable after their passing.

While you and your business may not be a massive pop star, there is still a lesson to be learned from having the proper groundwork laid. Copyrights and other types of IP (intellectual property) protection help you build equity in your company. If the day ever came when you wanted to exit the business, these assets can get transferred legally in the case of a sale. The new owner of the copyrighted material then holds the rights to collect any revenues or income produced from the creative work.

What Is a Trademark?

A trademark safeguards company names, taglines, slogans, and images associated with the business or entity in which they represent. Famous examples of trademarked characters and brands you’re likely to be familiar with include Marvel Comics, Sherwin-Williams, iPhone, Android, Charlie Brown, and a million of your other favorite brands and products.

A trademark offers more comprehensive protection than copyright. A Copyright doesn’t include references to brand names, color schemes, typefaces, and designs. A mark covers these aspects of IP ownership. However, a trademark also has some limitations because it does not protect the owner against almost all unlicensed use or copy that falls outside of fair use. Trademark protection only addresses the unauthorized use of the mark that could confuse the entity who owns the intellectual property.

Trademark law permits for the use of similar names in business. However, the companies must operate in different categories.

Examples of similar trademark names include Ace Hardware and Ace Bandage. While both company names contain the word “Ace;” Ace Hardware sells home goods, consumer products, and hardware. Ace Bandages are health care products people use when they have injured themselves. Hence, there are no infringements. Consumers are clear that these products and services are not the same. There is no getting the two confused.

Are Logos Trademarked or Copyrighted?

In the case of logos, this is an area of IP law that must respect the mandates of both Copyright and Trademark requirements. Things can get complicated. If a logo includes too many elements that look similar to a product or company that holds a trademark or copyright, the trademark or copyright holder has to defend their intellectual property or risk losing their rights to the IP.

As you can imagine, this alone is a convincing argument for protecting against potentially losing the Intellectual Property.

Logos are a powerful asset in every company’s marketing toolbox. They are used to help connect with people and establish brand clarity and recognition in the consumer market.

Because copyright laws don’t protect the name, the design, and the colors of a logo, most straightforward logos are not considered creative enough to qualify for a copyright. However, logos and other brand entity identifiers that are more intricate or elaborate may be eligible to register their marks for copyright.

Tips to Avoid Logo Infringements

If you are starting a branding campaign for your business or organization, here are some tips to help you avoid trademark and copyright conflicts.

Find Inspiration – There is entirely nothing wrong with finding inspiration from the work of others. Don’t be afraid to seek out ideas and styles that appeal to you. Just don’t copy!

Explore The Public Domain – One of the safest places to take harbor from IP concerns is by working with materials contained within the public domain. Creative works found within Public Domain have no exclusive intellectual property rights. Any previous rights to the content expired were forfeited, waived expressly, or are inapplicable.

Speak With A Design Professional – Another way to assure that your logo and other branding elements don’t conflict with the copyrighted or trademarked material is by working with a design professional. A design professional understands all of the technical details of creating a one-of-a-kind design to reflect your brand or company. Further, they have access to a vast library of creatives in which to build something unique to their client’s requirements. The best designers are happy to take feedback and get ideas from their clients to spark their creative prowess. By working together with an expert who understands the concepts and images you wish to convey, you can get your message on track from the beginning.

Start the Conversation

Need a Trademark and Copyright compliant logo for your company or organization? Get in touch with the experts at Colleen Eakins Design to start the conversation today.