Re-branding

[asysin2leads]

Ok, so, I've mulled this over for quite some time. On a whim, I created the logo below for our business. My wife has grown rather fond of it and does not want me to change it. It represents our family. There's 7 of us, hence the hands. However, I feel that it just doesn't flow. I am wondering if we need to re-brand ourselves. It's going to be hard to convince my wife, though. So, what y'all think?

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/4275/newlogo7m.jpg

[jonwhite]

So there's 7 of you all with exactly the same hand?

That's just the first thing that sprung into my mind when I saw it, how would it look with different sized hands and or female and male hands?

[ScottKCooper]

So there's 7 of you all with exactly the same hand?

That's just the first thing that sprung into my mind when I saw it, how would it look with different sized hands and or female and male hands?

no - one family member is maroon. see? ;)

[jonwhite]

no - one family member is maroon. see? ;)

:rolleyes:

[asysin2leads]

Ok, you bunch of comedians. So, I take it that y'all are a "yay" for re-branding.:D

[Concretin Nik]

Maybe keep the hand print, just don't use 7 of them. 7 is already in your name...

[pauld1946]

Excuse me Kevin,
What does the hands have to do with your photography? Branding your business needs to tell something about what you do and why you do it. Looking at your logo, from an outsider's viewpoint, (and not knowing you), the logo would not entice me to seek your business out. Branding needs to be able to do that.

I'm sorry, but that may not be what you want to hear, but just my opinion. BTW, I would love to be part of the PTON.

[Karl Johnston]

I feel busy logos are too hard to remember...maybe just one hand, in the middle? Have a sort of mission statement or slogan built around it? One font.

I don't bother with a logo, yet, mostly because most people remember me by name.

[HappySnapper90]

Why do you need that cheesy "capturing life's moments" 1 liner? That is very tired and unoriginal and also not needed IMHO.

[Karl Johnston]

A cooler one liner would be "Taking life's moments and making an electrical storm of them in your mind"

...:D ...


..or not.

[griptape]

A cooler one liner would be "Taking life's moments and making an electrical storm of them in your mind"

...:D ...


..or not.
I'd pay for that service.

[McBride61]

I think it will capture a soccer mom's eye and she'll do biz with you. Sometimes you have to be cheesy with people.

[Rich1884]

What this says to me (in the style of Spinal Tap) is that you are 4 better than 3M, which is pretty awesome. I think we should brainstorm alternative taglines though:

- "We take pictures of you with our cameras"
- "We can put lipstick on your pig"
- "Never knowingly overexposed"
- "If you look bad in our photos, you ugly"

[asysin2leads]

- "If you look bad in our photos, you ugly"

Oh, man, would I love to say that to some people sometimes.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I agree with what you're saying. My wife and I will be discussing options. If anyone has some definitive thoughts on which direction we should go, by all means, please post them. You can post them here or you can e-mail me through POTN. Thanks again for the comments.

[RDKirk]

Why do you need that cheesy "capturing life's moments" 1 liner? That is very tired and unoriginal and also not needed IMHO.

A point to make on that: This is a "tagline," and a tagline is a different and separate thing from a logo. A company may have more than one tagline, and may well change taglines over the years--but not change the logo. "MacDonald's" has had a number of taglines over the last 50 years, but when they arrived at the golden "M" logo, they stuck to it.

When you come up with a logo, be sure to test it's ability to stand many different views--very large, very small, blurry, black and white, et ceter, to make sure it still "reads" to the public. Even though it may contain words or your name, it should come to be more of a "symbol" than a name.

[asysin2leads]

A point to make on that: This is a "tagline," and a tagline is a different and separate thing from a logo. A company may have more than one tagline, and may well change taglines over the years--but not change the logo. "MacDonald's" has had a number of taglines over the last 50 years, but when they arrived at the golden "M" logo, they stuck to it.

And it's the most recognizable brand mark in the entire world.

When you come up with a logo, be sure to test it's ability to stand many different views--very large, very small, blurry, black and white, et ceter, to make sure it still "reads" to the public. Even though it may contain words or your name, it should come to be more of a "symbol" than a name.

Thanks. I plan on farming out the design of the logo.

[pauld1946]

It needs to brand you!!!

[asysin2leads]

It needs to brand you!!!

OUCH!

[pauld1946]

Branding is incredibly important. We have a division in our main company that is devoted to helping companies in marketing and branding. My main business helps a business increase top line revenue and bottom line profits through business consulting and rainmaking. This is not an advertisement. It is for information regarding branding.

[jetcode]

I like it ... 7M is fairly easy to remember and say. My only comment is that the 7 might fair better if the M was in small case rather than upper case ... 7m Photography (it might fit the graphic better)

Why do you need that cheesy "capturing life's moments" 1 liner? That is very tired and unoriginal and also not needed IMHO.

It really depends on the clientele. An advertising house may not respond but a mom who wants images of her new baby might. It was created by a female and she will know what other females like and want. She is expressing that. As cheesy as that is it makes the type of service very identifiable.

[jetcode]

Why do you need that cheesy "capturing life's moments" 1 liner? That is very tired and unoriginal and also not needed IMHO.

It really depends on the clientele. An advertising house may not respond but a mom who wants images of her new baby might. It was created by a female and she will know what other females like and want. She is expressing that. As cheesy as that is it makes the type of service very identifiable.

[asysin2leads]

I like it ... 7M is fairly easy to remember and say. My only comment is that the 7 might fair better if the M was in small case rather than upper case ... 7m Photography (it might fit the graphic better)

Thanks. I'll try that.



It really depends on the clientele. An advertising house may not respond but a mom who wants images of her new baby might. It was created by a female and she will know what other females like and want. She is expressing that. As cheesy as that is it makes the type of service very identifiable.

What was created by a female? I'm a guy, just for the record. Unless, of course, all the medical training I've had was wrong re: anatomy. ;)

[griptape]

I think the "capturing life's moments" thing is your big problem. "Capturing and waterboarding life's moment's" would probably work better.

[RDKirk]

It really depends on the clientele. An advertising house may not respond but a mom who wants images of her new baby might. It was created by a female and she will know what other females like and want. She is expressing that. As cheesy as that is it makes the type of service very identifiable.

Without expressing an opinion on that particular tagline, an important point to recognize here is that women do make 90% of photography purchasing decisions outside the commercial realm. In the commercial realm, women merely make more than 50%.

[rmdavis]

hey guys. I am new here been lurking and learning a lot but my first post. I am getting ready to start a small part time photography business (I hope) and was curious about this post, and it got me to wondering something. About taglines... is it conceivable to have different taglines, maybe depending on the clientele(sp?) you are targeting at that time? or is it better to pick one and stick with it?

Thanks

[RDKirk]

hey guys. I am new here been lurking and learning a lot but my first post. I am getting ready to start a small part time photography business (I hope) and was curious about this post, and it got me to wondering something. About taglines... is it conceivable to have different taglines, maybe depending on the clientele(sp?) you are targeting at that time? or is it better to pick one and stick with it?

Thanks

Yes, you can, but be sure to define the marketing avenues clearly and use the taglines consistently within them.

[dinko]

Definition of brand = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand

Definition of logo = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo

you're confusing the two

[Viva-photography]

i would make a maroon hand and put the 7m inside the hand.
that might be cool

[scorpio_e]

I do not get the hand connection..Maybe it's just me...

[pauld1946]

Neither did I, that's why I mentioned that Kevin needed to brand himself.

[snails]

I can't see your logo (firewalls here at work), so I'll make a suggestion based on what I've read, and silliness.

Are you ready...?

A 7-fingered hand.

Keeps the "7", keeps the hand, simple, and 100% eye catching.

[asysin2leads]

I do not get the hand connection..Maybe it's just me...

The 7 hands represent the family. My wife and me and our 5 kids. Like I said before, it was thrown together on a whim and the wife loved it. I'm not set on it's current version and is why I am looking to change things around.

I can't see your logo (firewalls here at work), so I'll make a suggestion based on what I've read, and silliness.

Are you ready...?

A 7-fingered hand.

Keeps the "7", keeps the hand, simple, and 100% eye catching.

I wonder how many people would actually notice the hand had 7 fingers. People aren't too observant.

[asysin2leads]

Ok, I'm at work and bored. I started tinkering.

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/4303/potentiallogo312010.jpg

[pauld1946]

Hey Kevin, all due respect. I don't get it. Maybe it's me, but 7 of you are not running your photography business. 7M doesn't seem to me to mean anything. I realize it does to you, and your wife, but will it to those you want to attract? Find a brand that people can identify with, that is you, that they will recognize means something.

Good luck.

[Karl Johnston]

Yeah I don't get it either kevin, sorry.

[asysin2leads]

I have gotten a VERY positive response from the concept behind 7M. That I WILL NOT change. People are rather inquisitive as to why "7M," and when I explain, they seem to respond well. However, the logo does need work. Ok, A LOT of work. Perhaps "re-branding" wasn't the proper idea behind this, but a new look is.

[asysin2leads]

BTW, Karl and Paul, that post was not intended to yell w/ the caps. Just making a point. I do appreciate the feedback.

[Karl Johnston]

Branding is difficult, thus I choose not to brand :D

Really, I choose to brand my name..not like I'm some mega corporation or pepsi or anything like that. It's personal, people remember the photographer by the name more than they do the ficitious name, it's easier, it's cost effective and any printer can reproduce text easily enough.

Logos & brands get fancier, and fancier, and the more fancy they get, the harder they are to interpret and read...makes them worthless imo. The whole point is to make it so it's easy to remember, so it sticks in peoples minds faster, so they remember you next time.

Brand your name is the best way to go I think

[pauld1946]

Ok, i'm sorry, didn't mean to offend you. If that is what you want, go for it. I do not necessarily agree with Karl about just your name, but i thought you wanted comments about branding yourself.

Sometimes we are way too close to the situation, we can't focus on what is reality. You guys really like the concept, and that is wonderful. 7 people in your family is wonderful. I just don't get the connection with your photography business. Now, if you want a great graphic artist to help you with this logo, pm me. I know one, and he's not real expensive, just very good.

But for the last time, i recommend, "Throw the Box totally away" for at least a few minutes and discover a name for your business that will brand you as unique, different, identifiable, relatable, approachable, professional, and down right great. And btw, if you have to explain your brand or logo, maybe that should tell you something: that your clients or potential clients are not getting it either.

[asysin2leads]

Ok, i'm sorry, didn't mean to offend you. If that is what you want, go for it. I do not necessarily agree with Karl about just your name, but i thought you wanted comments about branding yourself.

Sometimes we are way too close to the situation, we can't focus on what is reality. You guys really like the concept, and that is wonderful. 7 people in your family is wonderful. I just don't get the connection with your photography business. Now, if you want a great graphic artist to help you with this logo, pm me. I know one, and he's not real expensive, just very good.

But for the last time, i recommend, "Throw the Box totally away" for at least a few minutes and discover a name for your business that will brand you as unique, different, identifiable, relatable, approachable, professional, and down right great. And btw, if you have to explain your brand or logo, maybe that should tell you something: that your clients or potential clients are not getting it either.

Paul, you didn't offend me. I was just making trying to clarify the situation. Again, it's hard to sense tone when reading an forum thread. I wasn't upset and I do want the feedback and advice. If I have my ducks in a row, I can feel confident w/ going to the boss (read: wife ;)) and discussing totally changing things.

[cp1005]

I didn't notice the 7M unitl i read some posts ---all I saw were the hands--especially the maroon one. I vote for a change.

[pauld1946]

The wife is always the toughest one to face about change!!! :D:D:D