{"id":78377,"date":"2015-09-02T09:35:01","date_gmt":"2015-09-02T14:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=78377"},"modified":"2017-04-07T19:54:41","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T00:54:41","slug":"logo-building-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2015\/09\/logo-building-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Going beyond a logo to building a brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Google changing its logo, we discuss the importance of branding and key elements that influence brand value.<\/em>
\nYesterday, 1 September, search behemoth, Google<\/a>, introduced its new logo. The new design is a refinement of the previous one, but it is part of a larger and more significant strategic change that is occurring within that organisation.<\/p>\n

Last month, Google Inc. announced it would be creating a new company called Alphabet, which will become the parent company under which all of its current companies and services, including Google, will be overseen. This change, which will be far reaching in scope, will drive, among other things, a re-branding of existing services into a more cohesive matrix. Google has been the first.<\/p>\n

Google is the most popular website in the world, according to Alexa<\/a>, and has over 60% of the search engine market in the United States (Source: comScore<\/a>). Though the new Google logo is not a drastic departure from the previous version, the change, and perhaps more importantly the decision to change it, prompted us to revisit the concept of branding \u2013 brand power and brand value.<\/p>\n

Branding 101<\/h3>\n

To the entrepreneur and start-up, the naming of a new venture can be a daunting task, as can have a significant impact of its overall success. However, once the name is confirmed and a logo selected, generally, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) give little conscious thought to the brand they could be creating and nurturing.<\/p>\n

To be clear: a brand goes beyond the name and the logo, to the message and experience an organisation hopes to elicit from customers. Further, it is important to emphasise that the value of a brand, the brand equity, can be significant contributor to the overall value of a company. For example in February 2015 and according to Forbes<\/a>, Apple was recognised as the most valuable company with a market capitalisation of USD\u00a0700 billion, and the same publication estimated the brand value<\/a> at USD\u00a0145.3 billion.<\/p>\n

When determining brand value, three elements are usually considered:<\/p>\n