Brief Overview

It ended up being a very “healthy” (some may say “heated”) discussion with our Board of Directors… and it was all about a logo. I explain my side in this episode.

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Backstory

I’m super pumped and excited because we are in the midst of a big rebrand for our charity. For a long time, our charity name has been World Teacher Aid and that’s the name that we gave it when we started it way back into 2009. But since then, we’ve evolved a lot and a lot has changed. Today, it’s so much more than just helping teachers. In fact, it actually has really nothing to do with helping teachers, which is why we needed to change the name and ultimately change the brand.

Long story short, we settled on the name Village Impact because what we’re really doing is we’re having a huge impact on these villages throughout Kenya, and it’s incredible to see the lives that are changing and all the goodness that’s coming from that. Now, when you’re going through a rebrand like this, a lot of things have to change. The company name, your domain name, your website, and of course, your logo.

And so, I come to you sharing this story because, during our board meeting, we were discussing the new logo that had been drafted. Although Amy and I fell in love with it, some of our board members did not. And so what happened, was there was this healthy, hearty, discussion that ensued about what a logo really is.

Big Ideas

What Does A Logo Really Mean? [02:32]

One of our board members suggested that the logo should be a literal representation of what we do. For example, at Village Impact, we build schools, so the logo should therefore include a picture of a school. Of course, I voiced my opinion and made it clear that I don’t believe that a logo needs to be an exact representation of what we do. And so, we got in this back-and-forth discussion about what a logo is and what it actually really means.

So, what does a logo mean? I believe a logo gets meaning through how you give it meaning. It doesn’t get meaning from it being a literal representation of what you do. Just look at some of the biggest brands in the world (Amazon, Harley-Davidson, Adidas, Google, Tesla, etc.) These are huge brands! Is the actual logo an exact representation of what they do? No, no it’s not. Nobody is going to look at a logo and say, “Oh, okay, that’s what it is. I’ll buy.”

That said, the logo will influence their buying behavior after they know what it stands for. A logo gets meaning through your marketing and the culture that you create around that logo.

When you think of the big brands mentioned earlier, your mind immediately has feelings associated with them. You and I as business owners, we are in charge of creating that feeling, creating that meaning of what that logo represents for people.

What Your Logo Represents and How It Creates Meaning For Your Customers [08:42]

If I were to put the American Express logo in front of you, how do you feel? I know, for me, my immediate feeling is “it’s a great experience!” Why? Because with that silly American Express card, I get to skip all the long lines in the airport, so I always have a good feeling about American Express because it’s been associated with that. The logo itself is not an actual credit card, but that’s my whole point is that the logo is nothing more than a representation of you, what you stand for, the culture you have with your company and most importantly, the feeling that people get when they do business with you. So, what happens is, all these intangibles get anchored to the logo.

And if your business doesn’t have a logo, then you’re missing out. You’re missing out on that brand loyalty that gets created when you create a world-class experience for people. But if you’ve got a logo and you didn’t really give it much thought, then you may need to go back to the drawing board because a logo represents you in terms of the feeling that you create when you do business with people.

The logo itself doesn’t sell people. You sell, your marketing sells, but the logo carries that feeling through that person long after you’ve actually had that transaction and that logo and that brand is what creates long-term loyalty. And that long-term loyalty will out-win any marketing tactic any day of the week. People will go to great lengths to be loyal to the brands that they love.

So, if you don’t have a logo, it’s time to get one. And if you’ve got one, begin thinking about what that logo really means to you and your audience.  

Memorable Quote

“A logo does not have to be a literal interpretation of what you do. But it does have to mean something.” – Stu McLaren

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