The corporate branded logo is critical to any business that wishes for instant recognition by its customers and potential customers alike. The biggest brands in global business all have universally recognizable logos. These icons represent the business in seed form and have majorly contributed towards long term business growth for the biggest household brands, on a global scale.
The history of corporate branding starts back with an icon in branding, Coca-Cola, back in 1886. The Coca-Cola logo was first designed by Frank Robinson. The word "Coca-Cola" was written in Spencerian script and was surrounded by a wreath of sugar cane leaves with a ribbon bearing the company slogan "Drink Coca-Cola". He commented the two “C”s would look good in advertising. Over 130 years later, Coca-Cola is a recognized household brand around the world, operating in over 200 countries with 55,000 employees.
Their logo has changed little in 136 years, primarily because it’s so universally recognizable. Coca-Cola retained this iconic image over so many years due to its association with the company's core values. Customers saw the lettering and instantly knew exactly what they were getting into, giving Coca-Cola the edge over its competitors in the soft drinks industry without any additional effort.
The goal of a logo is to represent the company's values and ideals while being distinctive enough to be remembered easily by its customers. Coca-Cola achieved this, as have many other famous names with logo’s like Nike's swoosh, Apple's apple with bite taken out and the McDonalds' golden arches. Without these company images, these brands would have found it challenging to achieve such exponential growth and worldwide fame during their lifespan.
Much can be learned by the greatest consumer brands in history. In today's online environment, an individual’s professional image can push them over the finishing line of career and business success, much like the iconic logos of the aforementioned corporate giants. For example, in the world of digital marketing, Neil Patel has brilliantly saturated his marketplace with his name and image, across the whole digital marketing education space. His personal photographic image is instantly recognized as a brand and the audience know what it represents to them, regardless of the fine details.
Personal branding is a process of creating, managing and maintaining an individual's identity in the workplace, online and offline. You can establish your own identity which represents your professional values, just like McDonald’s or Coca-Cola did with their logos. Look around your industry sector or profession and it’s guaranteed you will find individuals that stand out as leaders of their field. This is not because they are outspoken or that they necessarily have the knowledge, but because they have an impeccable professional image that stems from their presentation of ideas and the personal image they have created, developed and refined, just like Neil Patel. Perhaps it’s time to get with the 21st Century and up your game by dusting off your LinkedIn profile, redesigning your email signature and replacing the selfie pics with a professional-looking headshot?