A logo is not a sales proposition, so don’t use it like one, according to freelance graphic designer Simon Taylor.
Printed collateral is still an effective way for businesses to engage with existing and potential customers, despite the rise of online forms of marketing and social media. The sense of being handed a piece of treasure experienced by someone when you give them a real-life, glossy, well-crafted brochure cannot be replicated by any amount of digital wizardry.
Likewise, browse the pages of this magazine and you’ll find around half of them bear the work of companies who know that press advertising is still a cost-effective means of getting their message in front of the right people.
All printed, physical sales material has the same purpose: communicating a specific message. Unfortunately, not all of them make full use of this potential and all too often, you’ll see a logo where the message should be.
In my experience there are two reasons for this. Firstly, among the blizzard of wisdom freely offered about the necessity of branding these days, it’s easy to misinterpret advice and give the logo greater priority than the headline in the mistaken belief that promoting the brand will generate enquiries better than a clearly stated proposition would.
Secondly is the frequently encountered and erroneous belief among SMEs that a logo that cost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds to develop, simply is not returning on the investment if it isn’t routinely front and centre on all the company’s sales literature. Ask any designer of more than a few years’ experience if a client has ever told them, “Make the logo bigger”, and I guarantee you’ll either be met with a stream of abuse or a knowing, wry smile.
The key point is that headlines and logos are two entirely different devices that perform symbiotic, but different functions. When the need is to put out a sales message, use words. Branding is not the same as selling, and using a logo out of context in this way will say nothing. People will not engage with it and as a result, they won’t care.