I believe most of you have gone through a busy week with resume and cover letter. Did you double- or triple- check the formatting, including fonts, before clicking “Submit”? You may have noticed that marks are given for correct formatting in almost all formal writings. But have you ever thought of WHY it is important? The answer is simple: Brand Building.

Brand building is indispensable to the success of a company, since a strong branding can motivate and add value to customers’ buying decisions.  Nowadays, various forms of typography have been wisely used to reinforce brand recognition and convey brands’ positioning to their target market. Among all, what interests me the most is the Fonts used in logos.

There is a Chinese old saying, ” Calligraphy reflects a person’s personality.” In this case, I would say “Font reflects a brand’s value proposition.” Each font has its own characteristics. Different styles and sizes bring different impressions to customers. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right font is communicate and present the right message to the potential market. Let’s imagine a situation (a typical one for girls!). You are planning to buy cosmetics, but have no idea which brand is right for you. So, you may want to get some hints from the designs of brand names – Stila, M.A.C., and Chanel.

1.

The slightly random shapes of letters bring out a vital and carefree image, showing that it is the brand for teenagers or young adults.

2.

The modern design and round edges of letters represents the brand’s fashionable products and friendly services.

3.

The neat and clear-cut edges with the capitalized letters build a professional and exclusive image of the brand.

As we can see, three brands, three fonts, three impressions, three target markets. Based on your needs, I believe you may have known which is the right choice.

Making buying decisions according to information conveyed from first impressions of the brands are normal in today’s fast-paced and competitive world. One of the most effective ways to leave a strong positive image with right message is to utilize fonts in logos wisely. Let’s start learning from other brands’ logos now!

Other related readings –

1. 8 Steps for Building a Brand
   http://www.stealingshare.com/pages/Specific%20Steps%20to%20Build%20a%20Brand%20that%20Grows%20Market.htm
2. Reasons Why Fonts are Important for Logo Designing
   http://naldzgraphics.net/tips/typography-font-for-logo-designing/

“Which phone model is it?”, “Where can I get this dress?”, “What is the brand of …?” … These questions must appear, at least once, in our minds when watching TV series and movies. Nowadays, product placement has widely been used as a marketing strategy to draw viewers’ attention on the products or brands.

Ideally, this brand connection is a win-win strategy for both product and movie producers. The former can gain extra sales through improving product image and brand’s intrinsic value while the latter is benefited by a higher quality film production due to the additional product placement revenues. Yet, this ideal situation takes place only when the placement is successful.

In my opinion, a successful product placement should be based on the rule of “Natural, reasonable but not exaggerating”. In other words, the product or brand shown should fit in with the context of the shows in a proper length of time and present its value without deceptions. Let’s take Skyfall and the first Transformers as examples.

There were multitude of brands displayed in Skyfall, such as Omega watch and Sony Xepria phones. The sports timekeeping proposition of Omega fit especially well on James Bond, the agent who was required to have missions done in time. Despite the few-second appearance, the product gave a profound impression to audience with the strong character’s personality.

Omega Seamaster from Skyfall

The placement of GM cars in the first Transformers portrayed the brand with a heroic image, which attracted viewers’ eyeballs with a splendid and unbreakable image.

GM autobots from Transformers

All in all, wise and successful product placement should reflect brands’ intrinsic values and enable viewers to accept and understand the brands in a “natural, reasonable, but not exaggerating” way.

Here is a video more about product placement in Skyfall. Hope you enjoy it!
CNBC – Skyfall Product Placement