Since it is Halloween, I thought I would share a scary story with you. When I was a child, we lived near a lake called Moser Lake. When I was in seventh grade, two teenage sons of the Presbyterian minister claimed they had crossed paths with a large monster while fishing at Moser Lake. One of the boys drew a picture of the creature and it was published by our local newspaper. It was seven feet tall with light colored fur all over its body. It walked on its hind feet. All the talk was about the Moser Lake monster. People began to swarm to the lake to see if they could catch a glimpse of the beast. Others claimed they came into contact with the monster down a stream that traversed from the lake to the middle of my hometown. All I know is I was terrified, because my house was a mere quarter mile from the lake and the stream went through a small woods which my bedroom window faced.

One night my father decided that it was time to winterize our house. That fall evening, he started to take out the screens and put the storm windows in place. This was before screens were kept permanently with the windows. I remember it vividly. The sun was going down and he was trying to hurry to complete his task before the light dwindled away. You would not be surprised at all that when I came into my bedroom and turned on the light, that the banging sound as he removed the screen and the silhouette of his image cast against the evening light made me scream like a little girl! I was sure that the Moser Lake monster had found me and was now trying to come after me through my bedroom window!

Of course the Moser Lake monster was found to be the concoction of those two Presbyterian brothers. (I have not trusted Presbyterians ever since.) One of them was later discovered carrying a large stuffed bear through the woods. It was all a prank. But for two weeks in October, I believed that the Moser Lake monster really did exist. In the moment that I entered my bedroom and found my father banging on my window, I would have sworn to you that what I saw was the same drawing that had been published in the paper. Except that it was not.

Your mind can play tricks on you. Sometimes in a fleeting moment, people believe they hear and see things that simply were not said and did not happen. In his book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell delves into our thinking process when we have a split second to make a decision and form an opinion. This impacts what we purchase in a big way. At a glance, we decide whether we like or dislike everything from peanut butter brands (you will make a decision without even tasting it) to the person in the car next to us on the highway. I have sat through a lot of board room discussions regarding a company’s marketing message and the images that will convey that message. In too many cases, two common mistakes are made. First, board room decisions typically bring about a multi-layered idea that gets too complex to explain in a few words or an image. For instance, you might want your brand to express that you are concerned about a number of social issues and that you have the best prices in your industry. These are two good ideas that are heading in opposite directions. When marketing is working its best, it sticks to one idea. This has to be simple and to the point. People have to decipher what you are trying to say at a glance.

The other mistake often happens in a logo. A logo is central to your brand. If it is working correctly, people will associate your products and services with your logo in a millisecond. There have been all kinds of studies done on "good feeling” logo colors, shapes and images. But I want you to consider how complicated your logo is in terms of the name of your company, your brand products or services, and the simplicity of its design. How many syllables are in your name? Rarely will you find a memorable corporate name that is more than seven syllables total. Most single words in a memorable brand are no more than two syllables. You will also rarely find a name that goes beyond three words. When you find that a name is getting past this maximum syllable and word count, people will shorten your name for you. International Business Machines was shortened to IBM decades ago. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company is more commonly known as 3M. Likewise, think of the brand names that you remember when you buy consumables. Take this test:

Name a gasoline station brand

Name a big box store

Name a breakfast cereal

Name a candy bar

Name a phone company

I would suspect that in all of these cases, the brands you name fit the syllable and word count scenario I just described. In fact, I would guess that the names you came up with had no more than two or three syllables and one word. Shorter is better. Beyond these limits, we simply do not recognize and remember brand names at a glance. The same is true of the complication of your logo design. The simpler the design, the better chance your logo will be remembered. Logos are not high art. They should quickly convey one thought. They are the mark by which the subconscious mind will associate with your products and services. Don’t make things too complicated.

The last thing you want in marketing is a confused potential customer. What happens at a glance is hard to get past, so make sure your marketing is sending a quick, simple, positive message. If they cannot get it at a glance, they may associate your brand with a monster. That may be totally fallacious, but you have to realize that once you have been branded a monster, a monster you will stay in the mind of that person. Take it from someone who still has trouble looking out my bedroom window on October nights.