branding

Branding 101: Top Tips for a Polished Logo

Branding 101: Top Tips for a Polished Logo

Promotional products are an excellent way to promote your business, however, in order for you to successfully advertise with them, your logo needs to be very well designed and memorable.

According to Mashable, your logo is the initial introduction to your brand. And because your logo essentially serves as your brand representation, achieving (and maintaining) brand recognition hinges on the sheer quality and design of your logo.

As every business seeks to develop their unique identity, it’s not only important, but it’s necessary to develop an image that will stick in the minds of your customers. If you develop a distinctive and relevant logo that clearly expresses your brand message, then you will certainly be able to connect with customers, as well as Make the right impression.™

Take your brand to the next level with these top tips for a polished and memorable logo:

Keep it Simple

While a logo should be eye-catching, it shouldn’t be complicated. You should be able to capture the essence of your brand in a single, impactful image. Don’t create something so complex that it confuses viewers, and forces them to think and analyze in order to make sense of the logo. Over-designing by putting too many ideas together at once instead of creating one cohesive design is not equivalent to innovation. If you keep your logo simple, it will be much easier to develop brand recognition.

Make it Versatile

Your logo design shouldn’t simply look good on paper. It should be adaptable to all different types of media, whether it’s on a coffee mug, a t-shirt, the screen of a mobile or desktop device, or even a billboard. A logo design should not be restricted by a particular color scheme or size. The overall quality and visual impact should still remain intact, even if it’s displayed in black and white or in colors that are not in the actual design. By understanding that your logo will be seen in various places, you can design it so its integrity is preserved regardless of how it’s scaled. 

Be Appropriate For The Business

An effective logo should be a representation of your business. You should make design and typography decisions based on the type of company you have, i.e. corporate, sports-oriented, kid-friendly. Every component of the logo should have a purpose in communicating the overall brand story, as opposed to throwing elements in because they look cool to you. While keeping your own company personality in mind, you should also understand who your customers are, and what’s relevant to them. Tie together your target audience and your brand mission, and this will guide you in designing a meaningful logo.

Make it Timeless

Even if trends change, your logo should still stay true to your company, and be able to endure the test of time. In other words, the logo should still have the same visual and branding impact that it had when it was originally designed. Even if you do have to make some updates or revisions later on, you still need to maintain consistency that establishes yourself as a memorable and recognizable brand. Ultimately, your goal is to create a lasting impression that will make your customers (and potential customers) want to do business with you.

If you put some thought into the design of your company logo, which is often the first point of contact between your brand and your customers, you can make a long-lasting connection AND achieve brand recognition and understanding.

By putting these tips into practice, you will have an original logo that will be applicable to different media, color schemes, time periods, and customers, all while still clearly conveying your brand mission and story.

 

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Brand Building: How to Boost Brand Loyalty with Promotional Products

Brand Building: How to Boost Brand Loyalty with Promotional Products

Attracting a potential lead and then turning that lead into an actual customer is the essence of all marketing efforts. And in order to be successful and generate momentum for your brand, you then need to convert that first-time customer into a loyal one.

The more loyal your customers are, the more they’ll be willing to start a conversation about your business with other potential customers. Building a steady fan-base also helps you develop a strong and positive reputation within your industry, which can help to determine you as a trusted thought leader and influencer.

According to a study conducted by the Advertising Specialty Institute, “more than one-third of recipients are more likely to do business with an advertiser after receiving their promotional product.”

With custom promotional merchandise, you have the potential to reach even more clients and customers at little cost to you. Here are some ways you can boost brand loyalty with the power of custom promotional merchandise.

Know Your Audience

In order for you to grow your brand loyalty, you should understand who your current customers are. And not just WHO they are, but WHAT they are – in terms of their needs, their wants, and what drives them to choose you over a competitor. If you focus your time on collecting this type of audience information, you can easily build a large following that is loyal to you and your business.  Once you have a good grip on who your target audience is, you can seal the deal by presenting them with custom promotional products that appeal to their specific lifestyle. For example, promotional tumblers are perfect for customers who are always on the go, so providing these customers with a convenient custom tumbler can easily boost your brand loyalty and appreciation. When customers have your custom products, which they actually find useful in their everyday lives, they will be motivated to continue supporting your business AND share that value with others.

Be Memorable

Promotional products give your business the opportunity to share your unique point of view with customers, as well as inject some personality into your brand. They also allow your business to be viewed more as a friend and less as a corporation, which is the fastest and most efficient way of scoring big within the hearts of your audience. Your customers will remember having a positive experience with your business, and surprising them with well-branded, yet practical products will inspire them to pursue further communication with your brand. Custom power banks and chargers are some of the most efficient promotional products you can provide, because they allow your customers to charge their smartphones and tablets essentially anywhere at any time. For the most part, customers will become loyal to your brand if they are extremely satisfied with the quality of your products and services, which is why it’s important to make your brand distinctive and memorable.  

Continue the Conversation 

When customers provide you with input regarding your company’s products and/or services, you can show your appreciation by offering them complimentary custom promotional gifts. This tells customers that you do, in fact, value their opinions and feedback. If you do so promptly, customers will have the incentive to express their satisfaction by sharing your brand message with their colleagues – perhaps via a platform like social media – thereby increasing brand awareness and attracting even more customers. If the customer feels appreciated by your business, then that individual will become a repeat buyer. Custom keychains are perfect appreciation giveaway items because they’re cost-effective and efficient, as well as a guaranteed way of getting your logo into the everyday lives of your customers.

By discovering what makes your brand click with customers, what gives your brand a memorable personality, and what engages customers in a welcoming manner, you can effectively use custom promotional merchandise to build brand awareness and loyalty.

With high-quality products, services, and respect for customers, sharing promotional merchandise will give your marketing efforts a little extra push toward building an excellent reputation for your brand.

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Top 10 Uniforms as Halloween Costumes

Top 10 Uniforms as Halloween Costumes

We here at Pinnacle Promotions are in the branding business. We sell promotional items with your logo on them, branded marketing materials, and corporate gear and uniforms. So, when it comes to Halloween we can’t help but look at it through our “business” glasses. We have polled our team and developed the definitive “Top 10 Uniforms as Halloween Costumes” list. See if you agree!

10. Police Officer – Regular or S.W.A.T style.

9. Doctor – Regular or Zombified.

8. Nurse – Regular or Sultry.
Nurses

7. Football player – Extra points for the consistent team branding throughout.

6. Football referee – Last year’s referee uniforms were made extra-special by the addition of black glasses and Hoover canes to represent the blind referee take on the replacement refs used by the NFL during the 2012 strike. The Immaculate Deception still ranks as the #1 Blown Call by a Ref (Replacement Ref) in the history of the NFL.

5. Sons of Anarchy patched-jacket – You want to be in the club, you gotta wear the cut. Is there a better-branded show on TV right now? Everything on that show has a SOA logo on it!
Screen shot 2013-10-30 at 9.19.45 AM

4. Harry Potter school uniform – We particularly love the Hogwarts logo on the chest.
Hogwarts

3. Super Mario Brothers – Always a party favorite and branded with the classic “M.”

2. NASCAR Driver – This ranks pretty high because the excessive branding on NASCAR driver uniforms just speaks to us!

And the #1 “Uniform as Halloween Costume” is…(drumroll please)

1. Superman – Is there better branding in Halloween costumes than the simple, chest-sized “S” on Clark Kent’s uniform for his “other” job?!?!?! “This is a job for Superman!”

Screen shot 2013-10-30 at 9.27.22 AM

Tell us, did we miss anything? What is your favorite uniform as Halloween costume?

Pinnacle Promotions

Posted by Lee in Seasonal Marketing Ideas, 0 comments

Schwinn Bicycles and Custom Sports Bottles for Summer Fun

When was the last time you spent an afternoon riding a Schwinn bicycle, sipping from a custom sports bottle, and waving to your neighbors with the wind blowing through your hair? I’m guessing, for most of our readers, not recently, although I know my coworker Acree happens to be an avid cyclist.

Nostalgia marketing is a powerful technique used by marketers to capitalize on the sentimental associations that their target audiences harbor for certain products and/or experiences. At 23, I rarely find myself feeling nostalgic about my past, but last Sunday afternoon, as I ventured out to Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather with my dog and my sister, I spied a father on the sidewalk across the street teaching his young daughter how to ride her bicycle without training wheels.

For more about Schwinn’s advertising campaign and my latest personal wave of nostalgia, keep reading…

Posted by Admin in Brand Identity and Corporate Logos, 0 comments