How Company Logos are like iPhones

Have you ever noticed how people like to grumble about how much their iPhones cost even as they buy the latest model every 2 to 3 years?

What’s going on here?

The price probably seems high to you, and people will probably nod in agreement with you when you say that it is high, but almost everyone buys one nonetheless.

The same is true with company logos. 

The price probably seems high to you, and people will probably nod in agreement with you when you say that it is high, but just like with people and their iPhones almost every company ends up buying one.

Something has to explain it. The only question is what—or why.

Why are both logos and iPhones seemingly expensive and yet also always bought?

Some people may say it’s because they are status symbols. 

Both company logos and personal iPhones give a sense of credibility and even of prestige to the people who have them.

Other people may say it’s because they offer a lot of things the people who buy them want.

In the case of iPhones, that means a beautiful phone that’s easy to use and gives people secure access to a lot of helpful apps.

In the case of a company logo, that means an image that establishes the identity of a brand, gives the company added legitimacy, and does so in an emotional, memorable way.

The truth is the value of what both offer is multi-faceted.

They both do a variety of things.

They both do them in a way little else (or nothing else) can.

And they both have real costs associated with them, costs which necessarily put a floor under the price.

But all that’s true for a bottle of water, too, and no one’s paying over $1000 for one!

I hear you.

But consider, when it comes to an iPhone, the following:

People use their phones around 40 hours a week, which works out to roughly 2000 hours a year, and 6000 hours over a span of three years.

If you divide the price of a new iPhone by how much it is actually used, the cost per hour turns out to be around 15 cents.

Cents!

That’s assuming it has no resale value after three years and it ignores the fact that catching some moments on camera—like your baby’s first steps—are so priceless that we can’t really put a value on them.

Perhaps it’s the bottle of water that’s expensive, not the iPhone.

Because when you spread out the cost of what you’re paying over how many times it’s used and for how many years, it is actually not expensive at all.

Oh, and yes…

The above is doubly true for a great company logo.

Company logos are used on business cards, on websites, on packaging—you name it—and all the while they do their job, cementing a company’s brand identity and giving it added credibility.

Plus, unlike iPhones, logos don’t have to be replaced every 3 years.

A great logo lasts decades, sometimes even centuries.

They’re like magical, self-refilling water bottles—bottles that someone could purchase once but then get a lifelong supply of water from.

There’s just one catch.

The logos have to be great.

And great, in this case, means that they’re based on an understanding of the companies and their brands along with who their clients are.

It means fitting with those companies—who they are, what they offer, and what they’re trying to do.

It means creatively packaging all of that into a single image that resonates and that has the ability to last.

Does your company have a logo like this yet?

If not, let us know, so our team can begin helping you get one.