It's Probably Not Your Logo

May 19, 2025

I want to talk about branding misconceptions, and specifically why your branding problem is probably not your logo.

As a fractional CMO who's worked at branding agencies and as a branding consultant, I've seen the full spectrum of brand challenges. And yet, time and again, I meet clients who immediately jump to "our logo is the same colour as everyone else's, we need to change it." There's a whole industry of branding agencies ready to take your money for a rebrand, and I'm not saying there's never a case for one, but for most brand-side folks who stare at their brand assets day in and day out, there's this fixation that the logo is the problem and changing it will fix everything. Let me tell you why that's bollocks.

The Blue Logo Syndrome
In professional services and B2B, you'll see blue logos everywhere you look. Absolutely everywhere.

You might look at that sea of blue and think, "We need to be more distinctive!" But ask yourself a simple question:

How many sales have you actually lost because of your logo?

Your logo might not be doing you any favours when it comes to distinctiveness, but the reality is you probably have a much bigger problem with your position.

People aren't put off by a logo, if ever, but if they don't understand what you stand for, then you've got no opportunity for your distinctiveness to make a difference anyway. You need to be relevant before you're distinctive.

If people don't understand that your brand is the solution to their problem, then no matter how distinctive or memorable your activities are, they don't know why to buy you. So instead of obsessing over changing the logo, take a deep look at your position and your value proposition.

Category Conformity vs. Standing Out
There's this bizarre tendency, especially in B2B and professional services, for brands to be designed to fit into the category rather than stand out within it. Poorly trained designers, or designers who don't understand marketing, will say, "Well, we're a legal firm, so we need to look like a legal firm."

Which is completely counterproductive. And I say that knowing it makes me think of Liz Truss, but still it stands.

If someone's looking for a legal firm and they all look the same, you're not going to be remembered. You're commoditising your brand by doing that. By standing out in the category, you're giving yourself a chance of being remembered.

Out of 700 blue brands, you're the yellow one. Even if you don't make it to the shortlist, you're going to be the yellow one.

But if you're not even in the consideration set, you’re not going to be anything.

Product Market Fit Comes First
Think about the product market fit, which I know I've banged on about before. How does what you offer relate to what your customers need solving, in a human and relatable way? That's how you build a value proposition. Everything needs to be built on that foundation.

The message needs to ring true. The design is just a vehicle. The logo is just a vehicle. All of these things are vehicles to bring your message across in a distinctive way. But ultimately, if people don't go away knowing what your brand does and why they should give a shit in the first place, then no matter how much media spend you have, nothing else matters.

As I say, it's probably not your logo. It's almost never your logo.

The Pepsi Example
We've seen a lot of very public play with logos from Pepsi, for example.

I don't dislike any of them. I actually quite like the weird smiley one. I didn't like their 700-page justification for it, because that was nonsense. But I think it was a good logo. I think the current one's a good logo too.

But none of it has really shifted my perception of Pepsi or the recognition of Pepsi. It's a sugary soft drink brand. But what do they stand for? That's more difficult.

Pepsi used to be "the taste of a new generation," directly setting themselves up as a competitor to market leader Coca-Cola, which is never a bad thing to do. Taking enemies really never is a bad thing to do.

Over more recent years, I'm not sure what they're doing anymore.

Their current campaign, certainly here in the UK, seems to be about "your fast food is better with a Pepsi," which ultimately makes me question how much of a commodity they're setting their brand as being.

If it's just that it tastes better, well, as we know, people don't buy the BEST THING. They satisfice. They buy the least crap thing. They buy something that will do the job.

Also, if we're looking at fast food, particularly if we're looking at eating out at quick service restaurants, we don't have a choice of cola brand because most of them have done their beverage supplier deals way in advance.

If I'm going to KFC, it doesn't matter that I personally prefer Diet Coke. I've got a choice of Diet Pepsi or water. But if I'm going to McDonald's, it's Diet Coke. That's simple.

The Bottom Line
So you've got to have a value proposition. You've got to be distinctive. And not everyone gets it right.

Again, your brand problem is probably not your logo.

Have a look at your value proposition. Have a look from the outside. Try and understand what it is. Try and explain to a four-year-old what your brand or business does, rather than using words like "engage" or "utilise," or, God help me, the worst phrase in the world when it comes to value propositions: "solution."

There's no such thing as a solution. You don't have solutions. Nobody has solutions*.

So, think about how you position so that everything can be understood simply, quickly, smack in the face.

*Still chuckling at the ‘flooring solutions’ brand I saw at an expo once who sold carpets and mats.
 

Cheers