We’ve seen them, made them, made opinions on them. Made opinions based on opinions on them. And so on.

Yet this one is still a complicated pickle, or maybe not?

Have you ever read things like, “A logo is not a brand“? I have to admit, there is much truth to that. Although, at some point, one must concede that the millions of kids out there dying to have a swoosh, three stripes or any one of the million other logos, must be hooked on some sort of something.

A logo is not a brand. A brand is a thought, a perception in someone’s mind. A brand is a million pieces of everything, floating in the cosmic soup of consumerism, filling a void that will never be filled. Ok, to be terse, a brand logo makes some of us feel like we’re part of some sort of something.

People buy into the pretty fonts, swirlly swooshes, and slanted slashes for a reason. More than likely, it’s really because a master brand marketer has methodically and meticulously crafted a space in the mind of a consumer, more than likely to be a youth.

A logo is like a lighthouse, it gives someone something to gravitate towards, or to move away from. When it’s positioned well, it can be a social or cultural representation of a thought or shared behavior. When it is poorly positioned, it represents nothing more than a product, or passé trend wanting to be lost. When’s the last time you saw someone rocking a Starter jacket?

Logo’s, like trends, come in and out of fashion depending on their connection with culture, and more often than not, youth culture. Nike spends millions on staying cool. Millions, to ensure that a silly little logo is not silly. A silly little logo, it is not a brand, right? RIGHT!

A logo is not a brand, it is a empirical representation of a brand, sans any real value of message delivery. So then, what is a logo? By the traditional sense, it is simply a graphic type of font or imagery that represents a corporation. Think of that, imagery that represents a corporation.

Anyone notice my logo? It’s in the top left corner of my site. It’s none other than David Ogilvy, THE MAN! What’s he doing on my web page? Simple, Mr. Ogilvy is doing a salute to all those that embrace direct response, or more simply put. Brand marketers who pay attention to numbers, not just creative commercials, or catchy jingles. Marketing that is quantified. Marketing, in the digital savant world, is totally quantifiable, totally direct response.

Ok, I digress.

If a logo is not a brand, then what is a brand?  A mark used to distinguish itself from other. Or, in modern times, a thought or cultural representation set to define a group, medium, meme, message or method. I totally made that up. But it makes sense. A brand is a thought or perception.

So if a logo is a visual manifestation of a brand, than a logo should represent a thought or perception, right?

Enter BrandTags…

Brandtags helps all define the logo. What do people perceive when they see a logo? BrandTag simply helps you cut through the clutter, and see what the world thinks a logo is, in words.

Yes, a logo is not a brand, but it certainly does represent one…