The Social Media Marketing Blog: The Importance of Logos

The guys at I Design Your Logo (@idesignyourlogo) contacted me with an idea. They decided they'd like to highlight my site as part of their ongoing work - where they create a number of logos for sites and then let the community decide which they prefer.

I've never really had a logo for my site before, so I gave them some feedback and they came up with designs. And today, they're running two logos over on their website. Click through to vote for your favorite.

I would be honored if you would take a moment to participate in this process. After all, as a reader, this decision impacts you.

This is a great example of a way a business is doing crowdsourcing in an intelligent way. It's easy to just turn over the creative reins to your community, but experience shows that doing so in an unstructured way or with little guidance or input, the results can be anything but successful. An example that comes to mind is the car that "everyman" Homer Simpson designed in Season 2 of The Simpsons:

Crowdsourcing gone wrong

Of course, the opposite is true as well: Gap suffered last year when they unilaterally redesigned their logo. The response was swift and brutal. Customers did not like it one bit and vehemently objected to it. The result is that Gap rescinded their decision. Currently, there's a question out there about Starbucks' decision to rebrand its logo and whether it will follow in Gap's footsteps.

Ultimately, a logo speaks volumes ("a picture is worth a thousand words") about a brand, but it's only one factor. How important do you think a logo is an the overall branding process, and how can a much-loved brand take steps to update its logo when the times call for it?

Labels: brand, news, social media

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

He has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly twenty books, and on a variety of broadcast media, including NPR, CNN and Fox Business News. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .

Books in which Scott's work is featured:

Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications

Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business

Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead

MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live

Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

The New Rules of Marketing & PR

by David Meerman Scott

Twitterville
by Shel Israel

Six Pixels of Separation
by Mitch Joel

Monkeys with Typewriters
by Jemima Gibbons

Read This First
by Ron Ploof

World Wide Rave
by David Meerman Scott

Get Seen
by Steve Garfield

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott has been named to the Advisory boards of Pivot, SavvyAuntie, Business Smart Tools, The Hive Awards, Curation Station and The Realtime Report
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards

Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators

Humongo occasionally does web work for me and designed this site

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Recent speaking engagement:

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. Bio available here.