The Most Memorable Brands: What Makes Them Stick?

Can you bring to mind the image of a brand from your memory even if you’re not a paying customer? Interestingly enough, consumers tend to remember certain famous logos, even if they have no connection with that brand. Do you have any idea why this might happen? And why are other less well-known brands not recognized by consumers?

It is likely that some of these famous logos you have in your mind today will bring back memories of your childhood. How can you not remember the Kellogg's logo or McDonalds logo? You probably associate these brands with a period of your childhood, where other emotional factors had an impact on your memories. In fact, many brands today use their buyers' memories to sell more.

Why are some brands always remembered?

The truth is that while many brands invest large amounts of money in promoting themselves, others don’t need to invest almost anything because most users immediately recognize their corporate logo, slogan or color.  

According to Martin Lindstrom, in his book "This is how you manipulate the consumer", logos have a great impact on children. Even if a two-year-old child cannot read, let alone pronounce words such as Coca Cola, they are capable of retaining the images, shaping them and keeping what they see in their minds.

The same is true for adults. We are exposed to screens for hours on end, and even if we do not pay attention to the wave of advertisements, seeing the same commercial over and over again, it is impossible not to recognize a famous logo.

The most surprising thing is that you don't have to be a customer of that brand to recognize it, as it has already positioned itself as an iconic brand. Aside from this, another factor that makes these brands successful is the meticulous work in design they do, where companies add powerful visual elements to achieve their goals.

Reasons to remember brands over time

Below, we will show you the main reasons why we remember brands for many years so that you can understand why some logos are more successful than others:

• Brands associated with memories: There are certain brands, and even though they are still consumed today, are very much linked to the past and are very difficult to forget because they teleport you to a certain moment from your childhood. For example, this is the case of McDonald's or Kellogg's.
• Catchy jingles: These are not just sounds, but catchy songs that move the user. These types of emotions are related to happy feelings. The positive side is that if a jingle works, it will stay in the consumer's mind for a long time. Isn't that the case with Kit Kat’s jingle? Sometimes, when you see a Kit Kat on the shelf, does the ditty ♪♪Gimme a break, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar♪♪ just pop into your head?
• Great visual impact: Many brands can afford to invest in design, marketing and also advertising. But few are those that can invest in traditional media (television, radio, press). The more visual impact a brand generates and the more presence it has, the more it will be remembered by consumers. TV is still a medium that opens many opportunities for brands that want to position themselves well in the market and in the minds of users.

In addition to traditional media, there are other marketing factors such as strategic placement in supermarkets or social networks, which are key to brand positioning.

5 Famous logos we all remember

Everything we’ve seen happens not only with logos, but also with  a brand’s name, its slogan, and with many other elements of its corporate identity; essentially any element that we associate with that brand.

So after this somewhat theoretical review, we are going to look at five famous logos that we all know well and some of their peculiarities:

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is one of the brands that has undergone the most changes since its first logo was created in 1886. And although it has gone through different stages, it has always been easily recognizable by users, maintaining its essence (peculiar typography that transmits closeness and genuine color).

Its logo and all the elements that identify it carry subjective connotations that we can deduce from all the advertisements we have seen since we were children. For example, Coca-Cola is associated with leisure, with moments of relaxation, or fun.

McDonalds

Although it is a logo with no text or anything associated with it, this logo is absolutely recognizable by everyone. 

As a curious fact of its evolution, it is worth mentioning that the brand has tended to have an increasingly minimalist design, using a symbolic and universal language, transforming its products into simple icons.

Adidas

Although Adidas has had several versions, the logo has always kept its three lines, and because of these three lines, the brand and its logo are fully recognized. They are like two different visual elements, but by which Adidas is recognized.

Batman

This is a fictional logo recognizable by everyone, including those who don't even like comics or superheroes. 

Google

In many movies and series, someone is usually on a computer using a search engine. It's generally not exactly Google, as they put a similar logo with another name, but we immediately think it's Google because we automatically recognize their image anywhere.

Make your brand stick in everyone's mind

Positioning your brand is not a hobby; on the contrary, it's a serious task that takes time. You must know how to use it properly and associate it with the feelings of your target audience to evoke memories and emotions.

And of course, the key to having a solid brand is that it is easy to pronounce and remember, like these five famous logos we just saw. To do this, the brand must always be visible; only then will the user remember it even if he or she has not had any relationship with it.