The Publics First Glimpse - Part IV Branding

Time to put on the marketing cap and bring your checklist to life. Initial step in that process is branding, how are you presenting your name to the world. In the end it is how people are going to recognize and identify an artist or band.

With the Mystic Nation we choose a symbol that had a lot of depth and ancestral meaning and choose a font that related to that history. The Logo on the album is a direct take on our intial marketing push which include a very simple black and white version of the logo with the Band name and website on it. In my opinion it is a very distinct logo and very visible when put in and around the area.

The whole point was to have something that people could quickly make a connection with at a show or when they were driving around town and saw the barrage of stickers everywhere. F54 and Volcom clothing both do an excellent job as well with their logos and a very distintive and I am remind of them constantly everyday because their stickers are everywhere. Others in the music industry whom have had great sucess in using their brand is Metallica, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Perfect Circle or No Doubt. Those are just the ones that hit my mind as I type.

Ok so sticker aside, as thats an item on the list and not the branding approach I am talking about, choosing your brand is very important so take some level of effort and time to finalize it, because the intention is to stick with it for the life of the project.

A couple paths one can go down is to hire a graphic artist for a couple hundred dollars or use one of those assembly line logo companies. Either way have a general concept sketched otu for them ahead of time so you can better explain your idea. More power to you if can actual design one, saves cash...and we all want to do that.

This branding should be consistent across all your items on the list, from T-Shirts to Hats to the website and your bio. Keep a uniform message as this leads to brand awareness as you force your presence upon the world. Being indy means it's all gurilla marketing warfare, don't be afraid to push your brand.


Some logo resources:
Logo Works
The Logo Co
Good do it yourself article