No one seems to ‘get’ my logo, does that mean I should change it?

You need to find out who doesn’t get your logo, if it’s your target audience then you could be in a bit of trouble, but if it’s not that that’s not such a big issue.

I have exactly the same problem with my logo: basically people over the age of 30 struggle to read it, when they do they are like “M.O.C.K.S” what’s that? However my primary target audience are those under 30, who “get it” the first time, there is no explanation required. Does this stop me from getting brand awareness with the older group – no, because they may not know what it means (or be able to read it), but they do remember it.

Your logo is all about fitting it with your target audience and what they are into, their age and what they like. For example if you wanted to appeal to males aged 30 to 40 it is unlikely you’d choose a pink logo, because pink is not something on most guy’s radar, but if it were blue or black, it would be a different story.

You have to ‘like’ your logo yes, but you also have to make sure it is memorable to your audience, and fits with your offering, eg. an accountant who wants to be seen as professional, reliable and trustworthy is not going to give that impression if they have a flamboyant flowery logo, since it just doesn’t fit with people’s perceptions of that industry.

Going outside the box can be done, but slowly, don’t run before you can walk, if you find it is your customers who don’t get your logo then change it slightly, so that they still recognise it as you, but at the same time it makes a bit more sense to them.

There is nothing more annoying that having to explain a million times what your logo says (this comes from the voice of experience!) but it does depend on who you are having to explain it to.

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks, mobile phone socks www.MyMocks.com and author of Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.

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