Are Small Logos The Future of Branding?

[caption id="attachment_1660" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Image source: Brandingstrategyinsider.com[/caption]   Before we get too far into today's post, you should take a few minutes to watch this rather ridiculous, low-budget marketing spoof.   http://youtu.be/eWN4CyjCM4I   Clearly, marketing companies aren't really thrilled by the all-too-common demand, "Make the logo bigger." But is there frustration really justified? Should logos be subtle and tiny, or are companies doing the right thing when they ask marketers to slap bigger logos onto commercials?   I'm going to answer that question with an analogy. Suppose that you have two men who show up at a party. The first arrives in a Lexus -- classy, elegant, and sophisticated. The other arrives in a $100,000 sports car with rock music blaring and the motor revving. What can you expect the party goers to say about these two men?   Regarding the Lexus driver, they'd probably say, "Nice ride."   In the case of the sports car driver, you can expect at least a few cynical party goers to snicker, "Overcompensating much?"   That's one of the problems with marketing. There's a fine line between being eye-catching and going completely over-the-top. A company doesn't need to plaster a larger-than-life logo across all of their advertisements. In fact, evidence suggests that companies should do exactly the opposite and aim for small, tasteful logos.   Case in point: behold one of the most successful ads in marketing history.   [caption id="attachment_1661" align="alignnone" width="827"] Image source: 1.bp.blogspot.com[/caption]   Not too bad, eh? It unique, it makes an impression, and its simplicity stands out against all of those busy, overcrowded advertisements that you see everywhere nowadays.   Now compare the VW commercial to something like this:   [caption id="attachment_1657" align="alignnone" width="630"] Image source: Omg.yahoo.com[/caption]   This is Eva Longoria and celebrity chef Michael Symon happily smiling over a bag of potato chips, even though Longoria probably diets too much to ever buy potato chips and Symon isn't likely to buy junk food as a world-class chef.   The first commercial is subtle and effective, while the second commercial is expensive and ham-fisted. Take a lesson from these commercials. When it comes to custom clothing, don't go overboard with your logos. Sometimes, small logos with a lot of white space will have a much greater impact than gigantic logos.   McDonald's agrees.   [caption id="attachment_1658" align="aligncenter" width="542"] Image source: 1adt.com[/caption]   And so does Nike.   [caption id="attachment_1659" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Image source: Madduck2020.blogspot.com[/caption]   Keep all of these examples in mind the next time you're looking at custom clothing options. As a business owner, your gut reaction might be to make the logo large and in charge. Some of the biggest companies have proven that sometimes, bigger isn't always better.