Print advertising is not something to be taken lightly, it is often the very first image your potential customers have of you and your business. And as they same, first impressions are everything. Your brand and print materials should be powerful, easy to remember and convey your mission, all with a simple mark, well thought out content and complimentary graphics.
What you name your company may be just as important as how you represent it. Do you remember the name of that company that ran that ad during the Super Bowl? You know, the one with the monkey in the attic? Of course you don’t, because we are making that up. But everyone has seen a commercial on television and they can recite the commercial. It is so catchy, everyone talks about it. And then, you realize, you have no idea what company it is that is being advertised. We have all seen these and this is a great example of what’s in a name.
One of our affiliates named their company DangILoveThat.com – so you see their print materials and you hear the name and with very little effort, everyone is buzzing about DANG I LOVE THAT! In this example, the name is most appropriate to the business as well, since they have a service where customers and social media folks can give feedback about a service, product or anything else that, dangit, they love! Catchy isn’t it?
Once you have a great name selected, your next step is to create a service mark. Most folks call that a logo or brand symbol. Whatever you call it, you want to follow the same principle as you did when you selected your company name. It must be memorable! Think McDonalds’ golden arches Starbucks. You see them an immediately recognize them and know what they represent. That is a tall order for a piece of artwork.