More than 40 years ago, Nike bought its logo from a college student for $35.

When companies hear that logos can come with such a low price, they often don’t understand why we might charge more than that.

Non-designers also sometimes think that a logo shouldn’t cost much because of its scope — since it’s just one measly design, it should cost way less than, say, a website.

When KAD offers a logo design proposal, we present every option available, but our statement is this:

“You’ll use this logo everywhere.”

Logos are used hundreds — if not thousands — of times. Potential clients must understand that the logo will appear on everything from websites and business cards to email signatures and social media profiles. Depending on the organization or business, the logo could end up on movie screens or billboards, too.

Kentyla Arts Designs is most certain to communicate to potential clients the important fact that, because a logo is so widely used, it’s incredibly valuable. It is not just a simple file.

“It takes time to make the perfect logo.”

People tend to think that a skilled, professional designer should only need a few hours to throw a logo together. Non-design types don’t always understand all the intricacies of a quality logo design.

There are a few reasons logos take a long time.

1. A designer should spend some time getting to know a company’s values, goals, and mission to design accordingly.
2. Because logos are so important, the revision process is often lengthy — which is expected and OK, but important.
3. Finally, the company should want the logo to be pixel-perfect. And perfection takes time.

“It’s more than just one image.”

Some clients seem to think their logo design will come in one 300-pixel square. They don’t always understand that a professional logo design will result in a folder full of different sizes and formats of the image.

Here at KAD,  clients are educated and made aware of a list of images they’ll get:

• They’ll receive full-color, one-color, and black-and-white options.
• They’ll get horizontal, vertical, and square designs.
• They’ll get colorful backgrounds and white backgrounds.
• They’ll get images with and without the company name.
• KAD will also throw in a style guide, detailing the specific colors, fonts, and other elements the brand could use in other projects moving forward.

The above list has option packs that do not comprise of all the above. None-the-less, our clients understand that the more quantified the final product, the more value it will appear to have.

“A Brand You Can Trust.”

Our experience will show in our design. And, we have a clear understanding that, clients don’t care about your personal experience — they just care about their logo. However, we will always take the opportunity to explain to them how our expertise will affect their corporate image. Hiring an amateur will result in an amateur-looking logo — which won’t reflect well on their company. On the other hand, hiring an experienced (albeit pricier) professional will give them better results. Ultimately, they’ll look more credible, authoritative, and trustworthy.

“It’s not just an image — it’s a copyright.”

When KAD sends over the final logo design, the client will gain copyright ownership of the image (depending on your agreement). Oftentimes clients are not be well-versed on copyright law. That’s our opportunity to explain the value of ownership. We explain that they’ll have unlimited access — they can use it wherever, forever.

That might not be the case with a less-than-professional (read: cheap) designers. We let them know that the cost of ownership is factored into your fee.

“You get what you pay for.”

Sure, the client could go the way of Nike and purchase a quick $20 logo on some sketchy website or attempt to design their own in Microsoft Word. But there’s a big chance it won’t look as good as a experienced designer could produce.

As a design company, KAD knows more than just how to make something look pretty — we understand how to make a design match your brand’s style and values.

Ultimately, when it comes to logo design, value-based pricing is more important than the time it took to create the design or the complexity of the project. A logo is a company’s identity — it’s invaluable.

Just over the last few years, countless reasons have been given to explain why print advertising is no longer a sensible marketing investment. First, there was social media marketing. Then there were all of the “bright and shiny objects” that fall under the social media umbrella. Foursquare, the platform that allows you to “check in” to locations, was far more important than print advertising. Then it was Quora, the question and answer platform. Pinterest, Instagram, and now content marketing have all been presented as better investments of time and money than print advertising.

We can’t say that all companies should be investing in print marketing today, just as we can’t say that all companies should be investing in social media marketing today. KAD has worked with a client whose industry is steadily moving away from strong print publications and more towards white papers, webinars, and more. As a rule, however, especially in the Business-to-Business world, we still believe that industry publications are important. Here are a couple of things to consider.

1.)Audited Circulation

Although not all publications are audited, certainly, many key industry publications are. This takes the guesswork out of your company’s media buy. An audit from an auditing company like BPA or AAM (formerly ABC) will not just tell you how many people receive the magazine, but you will also learn the geographic distribution of the audience, what job positions are reached by the publication, and more. This can tell you whether the publication is a good fit for you and can also help you hone your message so that it has the most impact for that specific audience.

2.)People Trust Magazines

Last, but certainly not least, magazines remain credible. On September 23, 2013, Nielsen released a report on marketing trends, including what forms of media were seen as the most credible. The report notes, “Sixty percent of global respondents trusted ads in magazines, an increase of four percentage points from 2007.” Think about that. In the face of social media, content marketing, and all of the hype about how print is dying or dead, people actually have increased their trust in print magazines over the last six years.

As we said at the beginning of this post, print advertising may not be a good match for your company. However, if you are not sure whether print advertising is a good match, our advice is not to dismiss it out of hand just because so many people say print advertising is now “out of fashion.” As with all marketing tactics, do a little research and see what is happening in your industry. You may find that adding print advertising to your 2014 marketing campaign turns out to be a great strategic move!