Sunday, August 26, 2018

Often Overlooked In Branding: Colors and Fonts

Typefaces: all important in Branding
In developing Brands the mantra I adhere to is 'Never Go Unnoticed'. You want your Brand to be seen, and more importantly, remembered. This is not an easy task as consumers' attention spans are from 4-8 seconds (a Goldfish's is 8 seconds).

What is required is uniqueness with relevance. The company logo, as a metaphor for the company Brand, must be memorable and relate to what the company is all about. Therefore, a restaurant's logo, in terms of color and fonts used, would be very different from that of a wealth management firm.

Remember you want to 'never go unnoticed' and that means repetition. Your logo should be displayed on everything the company uses to communicate with the outside world - from its letterhead to all of its promotional materials. Don't be shy about the use of your logo.

A well designed and relevant logo is so important that I recommend the use of an identity design expert, like Fund-House, to assist in its spawning, development, and use.

Colors

Colors are important. They stir emotion and can make or break consumers' reaction to your Brand and eventual purchase of your product/service over competition. What type of company you have will, in many cases, determine what color(s) you will utilize in your: naming, logo, taglines, packaging, promotional materials, etc. Again, the use of a professional branding/corporate identity design expert is required.

Fonts (Typefaces)

There are hundreds of fonts. In some cases, a new font is developed from scratch (I did this with a company I own and have managed for over 20 years and which is in the motion picture industry - where uniqueness is a requisite).

Various fonts should be used in developing the company name and its logo. In most cases there should never be more than two fonts used and they should have relevance. Below are several, often used fonts:

Times New Roman
Arial
Helvetica
Courier
Georgia

This post is in Arial. Easy to read and lettering is distinct, but not attention getting for a company title or logo. There are the 100 Best Typefaces used for Branding. To get a copy of those top 100 contact me. www.jlavorato@fundhouse.us.

Jim Lavorato
Fund-House Ventures, LLC
www.FundHouse.us


Friday, August 24, 2018

Branding 'NO-NO" the ER

I'm presented business pitches all the time and it's incumbent upon me to distinguish between viable investment proposals from those with no prospect for success.

One technique I use in judging businesses is the 'ER' filter. 'ER' Brands are those that rely on others to explain 'who' they are.  For example, when the pitcher says, "we're just like X only cheaper, healthier, faster, bigger, sexier, " whatever.  These descriptions instantly set off my beware alert about this company's breakthrough ability and long-term viability.

Why?

An 'ER' position relegates your Brand to subordinate status as compared to the Brand used as your benchmark - it tells consumers your Brand possesses only comparative value rather than inherent value.  It also puts your Brand under constant pressure, because NOW its value is tied to Brand X's product/service. This leaves you with little basis to achieve meaningful and sustainable differentiation.

Iconic Brands NEVER settle for being 'ER' Brands. Your Brand must capture the imagination of customers and investors alike - and have reference points ONLY to themselves.

Not every product can be truly new but even if it is somewhat derivative the Brand must be clearly different.  You CANNOT use an existing Brand to explain yours - as a well conceived Brand platform and market positioning can relegate competitors to irrelevance.

Don't be an 'ER' Brand, it never works in the long-run.

Jim Lavorato
Principal, Fund-House Ventures, LLC


Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Social Media Dictionary

Social media jargon got you down? Is the lingo of the internet stifling your creativity? Do you feel your dealing with a foreign language?  
It's FREE - Get It Now!

                                                FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE                                                  

Well fear not! Fund-House has compiled a dictionary with hundreds of words, terms, phrases, acronyms, et.al. that you'll encounter as you dive into online marketing.

It's clear, concise, easy to understand and, best of all, it's yours for the asking. IT'S FREE!

Just submit your email address and we'll download the Fund-House Social Media Dictionary to you. You'll be referring to it as soon as you get it.  

jlavorato@fundhouse.us


Best and enjoy,

Jim Lavorato