The Importance of Logo Descriptiveness in Brand Names
Updated: Nov 19
Author: Michela Roberto
Date of Publication: 31/10/2022
A descriptive logo immediately tells customers what they need to know about your brand or business. But is logo descriptiveness really important in brand names? To answer this question, we’re going to analyze three very different cases: two multinational brands (McDonald’s and Burger King) and one SME (A-More).
Logo descriptiveness in brand names
Multinational brands
Burger King
Burger King displays a highly descriptive logo. Consumers can instantly get what the brand is all about. We can see the word burger in the logo and, of course, the shape recalls a burger too. This makes the logo a very powerful tool that increases brand awareness and makes the brand’s message clear.
McDonald’s
As opposed to Burger King, its competitor McDonald’s, uses a less descriptive logo. A less descriptive logo benefits the brand when it is already very popular and has reached the loyalty of its customers. A less descriptive logo also helps the brand recover from accusations and reputation problems.
McDonald’s is indeed an example of a brand which has always been under criticism, being accused of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. However, because the logo is not marketing any of the brand’s products (e.g. french fries) explicitly, the brand has some advantage over the loud criticism.
SME
Considerations about big companies can be applied to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). However, the threats of using a less descriptive logo for SME are that:
consumers may not identify the brand’s offer among the many options available in the market
other brands and competitors might take over the market share
A-More
A-More is an Italian community brand. Its logo is highly descriptive as it states “love is not enough we need more”. This explains the aim of the brand of building a community. What’s more, the logo implies care as well as the mission of the brand does. Indeed, to care about consumers means to care about people and diversity. Moreover, care is about the environment, and the brand covers all these elements of care at once.
In conclusion, brand logos are highly important for customers’ long-term loyalty to the brand and its message. Logo descriptiveness is often directly related to the purpose of the company creating it.
As a result, if a company is already well-known but is facing some harsh accusations, then the best thing to do is to choose a less descriptive brand logo. On the other hand, if a company is still in the process of getting noticed or is struggling to keep competitors away from the market share, then the smartest option would be to choose an easily recognizable logo. This means that using minimalistic graphics, attractive colors, effective brand names, and a persuasive message could help.