#brandboosts

Whether you're redesigning a simple logo or your company's entire image, here are 16 branding mistakes to avoid.

1. Designing your company's logo on Paint or PowerPoint with special use of the spray paint tool.

2. A cliched tagline like: “Making customer smile, since the year XYZC." 

3. Cluttering your brochures with cheesy images you found on Clipart.

4. Rolling out brand changes poorly.

5. Not having a mobile website.

6. Not doing what your preach. If you’re a social media company, make sure you OWN your feeds. 

7. Choosing a name that's hard to pronounce—if people stutter over your name, they’re definitely not going to remember it.

8. Choosing a name that's overused and tired.

9. Offering the same services as everyone else. What’s your angle? How are you different?

10. Not monitoring or tracking your branding efforts to see if they’re actually successful.

11. Choosing employees that don’t reflect your company branding and culture—they have to understand what you’re about.

12. Offensive campaigns (need we mention Bic For Her pens?).

13. Choosing platforms that don’t align with your target market. If you’re demographic is teenagers, why aren't you on Instagram?

14. You don’t let your employees visit Facebook—your employees should be able to build their personal brand too! It reflects on your overall company culture.

15. Not being able to explain your brand in 15 seconds or less.

16. Being too serious—let loose! Have some fun and show off your personality.

Flip your calendar to March for our newest online discussion #BrandBoosts!

The City of Mississauga unveiled a brand new logo to mark its 40th anniversary and an urban future that will see the transition from Hurricane Hazel McCallion to a new leader. That's a big deal considering this world-famous mayor has been in power for 36 years.

The logo is a series of intersecting triangles that form the letter M, possibly a constellation of map points that mark Streetsville, Port Credit and Mississauga. It replaces the existing logo which has been around since 1987—an outline of City Hall. The new brand strategy focuses on the city as a hotspot for businesses and neighbourhoods, green living and transit-friendly options.