Commissioning a logo is a costly exercise. If you opt for decent quality it will cost quite a bit. If you go for a cheaper option it will look as if you went for the cheapest one. You might wonder if you do without one in email marketing?
If you read books or articles on logos, there will be a mention of how clever some are. Who can fail to be impressed by what is described as the ‘hidden’ arrow in the FedEx logo? If you look at it logically, perhaps you might.
There is a suggestion that more than half of us fail to see the arrow until it is pointed out. The same goes for the a to z arrow in the Amazon logo. All very clever, as they say, but if most of us don’t see it, what is the point?
There are specialist logo design studios and these will, no doubt, tell you how essential one is for a marketing email campaign. Some will suggest they are multifunctional, although all seem to agree that the prime purpose is identity. See the logo and the company comes to mind.
Email marketing is a bit different though. Everyone who receives one of our emails will be on an email marketing list. They will know who the sender is and, to a certain extent, what will be in the email.
A logo cannot be used in the From Line. We have to convey our identity by words, normally more or less the same ones we always use. To put it another way, the prime function of a logo is discharged immediately. Do we need a back-up?
We are told that another function, albeit secondary, of a logo is to show corporate values. There are other ways of doing this; in fact, much of the design of an email marketing campaign will have this as its main function. The header is better suited to show what your company stands for.
There is no doubt that the Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star and the looping M of McDonalds are extremely effective at grabbing the attention and proving identity. An email from a Mercedes-Benz dealer will contain their logo proudly in the top left corner.
Given that the big internationals all have easily recognised logos, it might seem as a necessity for us. So should it have a permanent place in all your email marketing templates?
A logo takes up space. If you are an established company it is probable that you already have a logo, one designed specifically for your requirements. It is probably not optimised for an email read on a mobile phone. It might well be all but lost.
The two significant negative aspects of a logo are: it takes up space, which is at a premium of course, and it limits the design of the email. Rolls-Royce designers must dread the restrictions of incorporating the iconic grill into a new design.
Think carefully before opting for a logo for a marketing email. There’s the cost to consider, as well as whether it has positive effects.
