25 Tests of Your Logo or Slogan

Of all the challenges facing marketing organizations of every size, logo development may be the one that's most fraught with emotion. After all, logos are supposed to sum up everything your organization is and does, while conveying your story to the viewer.

In my experience, the biggest problem comes from asking the logo to do too much.

Fortunately, even though subjective opinions vary wildly over which logos work and which don't, there's a guide to judging logos (it works for tag lines and theme lines too) that can help you decide whether your marketing communications team has hit a home run - or fouled out.

For instance, here's a logo that my team and I just developed for the American Breast Cancer Foundation. You can decide for yourself which category this logo falls into.

If this is the kind of work your organization could use, I'd love to hear from you. We might be able to take some of the mystery and confusion out of developing a logo, while still creating a logo that does everything you want it to.

Meanwhile, here's a checklist that might come in handy. How do your logo and theme line stack up?

25 Ways To Tell Whether Your Logo and Slogan Work

Agree Neutral Disagree

1. It's memorable.
2. It recalls the brand name.
3. It includes a key benefit.
4. It differentiates the brand.
5. It's positive.
6. It reflects the brand personality.
7. It's strategic.
8. It's campaignable.
9. It's competitive.
10. It's original.
11. It's simple.
12. It's neat.
13. It's believable.
14. It's helpful in ordering the brand.
15. It's not in current use by others.
16. It's not bland, generic or hackneyed.
17. It doesn't prompt a sarcastic or
negative response
18. It's not pretentious.
19. It's not negative.
20. It's not corporate waffle.
21. It doesn't evoke "so what or
"ho-hum."
22. It doesn't evoke "oh yeah?"
23. It isn't meaningless
24. It's not complicated or clumsy.
25. You like it.

For more information about marketing communications approaches that work to improve your brand, relationships with your customers, and of course, sales, contact Gerry@GerryHanlon.com. Always happy to help!

5 Management Secrets for Adding Power to Website Videos

It's no secret that Google likes video, and here are their guidelines for making your videos easy to find on the web. But technical guidelines change

all the time. As a marketer and project manager, you may find it a better use of your time to address the basics of reaching the right audience with the right message.

Here are five crucial considerations to get results that reflect proudly on your organization.

1. Maintain brand-consistency.
Until you can do it right, save yourself the aggravation of having a poorly crafted message out there -- or having to create the video twice. Relying on your staff to plan, write, shoot and edit video footage, select music and guide a voiceover talent can work fine for Mom & Pop shops, but keep in mind the importance of reflecting well on the brand you've spent so much time building.

2. Get your clients to say it for you.
Interviews with satisfied customers are second only to word-of-mouth endorsements in their power to persuade. Capturing their comments on camera can even solidify your relationship with those very customers.

3. Keep your goal in mind. Posting a video to your website adds veracity, warmth and "the human side" of your business to viewers. Don't overload it with technical jargon or sales points that aren't directly relevant to the needs of your audience.

4. Budget appropriately.
Nationwide, the average cost of a professionally produced video ranges from $1500 to $2000 per finished minute of production. Spend much more and you'll have less to spend on other projects. Spend much less and you (or your brand) could pay the price in other ways.

5. Re-purpose your video for all its worth.
You know that six-minute video you created for the big presentation or trade show? With some judicious editing, it could probably serve you well as an ideal web site addition or sales tool that resides on the laptops of your sales force.

For more information about getting the most out of your videos, contact gerry@customcorporatevideos.com. Always happy to help!