“You are aware of all my offerings, you love them and appreciate them, but you don’t know the one who created them - me. Is that really fair? When I gave it a profound thought I realised that it wasn’t you but me who was at fault. I stayed under the shadow of my offerings and here I am, ignored, forgotten, and even unknown to some. I, a brand, don’t deserve it.”
Numerous brands are overshadowed by their products that earn all the love and attention. It goes to the extent of people considering the product to be the brand itself. Numerous examples of such brands have been overshadowed, but what is the reason behind this? While it may not be a vital aspect to the direct consumers, as a business it is essential to be prominent by your brand name to grow.
So what contributes to this popularity of a brand? We’d vote for Brand Recognition. When you see a black tick mark, you instantly think of Nike. When you spot a red cap on a soft drink bottle without a label, you still know it’s a Coca-Cola bottle. This ability of the audience to recognise your brand by one of its prominent elements is referred to as brand recognition. On the other hand, if we tell you that your favourite Choco Sticks is a product by a brand named ‘Gone Mad’, you would hardly recall the brand. Another involuntary uncover player in the league is Go Desi, the handmade snacks brand. We love the unique taste blasts that its products give us, but hardly anyone remembers the brand. The situation is dominant even outside the F&B industry. Have you heard of the MYn app? For those wondering where you’ve heard the name, the MYn app is branded as a super app, aiming to resolve diverse daily life problems in one space. The app may have potential, but until it reaches the audience and gets retained, the potential is lost.
We asked our LinkedIn audience for the most dependable brand element to help them recognise a brand, and below is the result we received.
We’ve taken the logo, a brand ambassador, a tagline, and the colour combination as the key elements, and evidently, logos win the race. The secret behind the victory is the concept of a logo. Simply put, a logo is a pictorial depiction of a brand. Whether it carries the name, the essence, or relevant imagery, this image is easier to remember and recognise; and when it’s something as simple as a tick mark or a golden M in a certain font, all promoted to their full potential, the audience retains it involuntarily.
So what’s more important- to have a distinguished and easily identifiable brand element, or promote the brand well? We say both. Indeed you need to promote your brand, but your content alone cannot be retained for longer durations. Give your audience a visual to remember you by. Enter - logo, colours, tagline, or an ambassador to remember as part of the brand. Promote it to an extent that every time your audience thinks of your brand’s name, this imagery flashes in front of them. This should lead to a point where the reverse happens, i.e., whenever they see that imagery your brand’s name comes to their mind. Then they would think of your products/services and approach you if they like them.
Now that you know what your brand needs to stand out in the market, are you ready to steal the show with revised recognisable branding?