A great logo for your law and order company is needed if you want to properly brand your office. Trust is a cornerstone of branding for every company, but it is arguably more important for law & order companies than it is for any other industry. After all, if the people who are supposed to rely on you for protection don’t trust you, then nobody will.
Law & order institutions and companies may be bail bonds companies, police supply companies, private investigators, or even police departments.
A Great Logo for Law & Order Companies
The legal logo you choose for your company is a visual representation of who you are – and it will come to symbolize your company to everybody who sees it. For that reason, it must be carefully thought out and meticulously designed.
Instilling Trust and a Sense of Security
Trust is typically the biggest branding concern for law & order companies. For that reason, many such companies choose traditional colors and images for their logos.
For example, the three most common colors chosen for this industry are blue, which is a conservative color that indicates trust – and is also commonly associated with the police; red, which is strong and also correlates with urgency and emergency; and gold or yellow, which signify alertness and are also uplifting.
Using Icons to Represent the Services You Provide
Many law and order logos use similar images to depict what they do. When you choose images or icons to use in your logo, the key is to balance familiarity with originality. It can be far too easy to end up with a great logo for your law and order company that is practically indistinguishable from others in the industry if you aren’t careful.
Some of the most common icons chosen include shields, which represent authority and are strongly associated with the police; the scales of justice, which represent fairness and the law; and stars, which are associated with a sheriff’s badge and also have a patriotic feel.
Private detection companies sometimes use a magnifying glass, while police supply companies may use an image of the product they sell, such as police lights or handcuffs. The key is to choose a unique version of a familiar icon to make your logo stand out.
Logo Analysis For Your Law & Order Business
Now let’s look at a logo we designed to put everything together. We designed this image for a special police task force whose job it was to pursue online sexual predators who targeted children:
Here the primary color is gold, which is often used to signify exclusivity. This is a special task force, so gold shows the public that it is an elite group. The background of red, white, and blue, and the stars around the rim of the gold frame of the logo, hint at patriotism. And finally, the enclosed image of a computer displaying a badge conveys, without words, that this is a task force of police officers whose job it is to track down online predators.
That’s a lot to convey in a small amount of space, but this logo does it effectively.
Branding Challenges for Law & Order Companies
Law and order companies typically stand between the public and some kind of danger. Police departments protect citizens from criminals, while bail bonds companies retrieve criminals when they attempt to flee justice. Companies in the law and order industry must be meticulous in their branding to gain the public trust.
The Importance of Public Relations
The relationship between the public and law enforcement can sometimes be strained. In recent years, there have been several high profile cases that have tested the limits of the public’s trust, and they underscore the importance of maintaining good public relations.
The choices you make with your marketing plan for the office should work to build trust and improve your image with the people you are meant to protect. If they don’t trust you, they may be reluctant to call you in an emergency.
How to Overcome Mistrust and Skepticism
Inconsistency in branding can lead to mistrust and skepticism. If you do not present a strong, coherent, and consistent image, then you risk tarnishing your relationship with the people you are meant to protect.
For that reason, it is important to have a clear marketing strategy. Choose the tactics and methods that will allow you to reach your target audience, and then be straightforward and consistent in terms of what you do to promote your company.
Choosing the Right Tone for Marketing
The tone you use in your online marketing should be a reflection of what the public expects of you – and of what you want them to expect. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun, but you must know your audience.
One example of a police department that has adopted a unique tone with their followers is the police department from Bangor, Maine. Their Facebook account features a playful and humorous tone. In a recent post, they admonished parents not to steal from their kids’ Easter baskets.
The tone you choose should speak directly to your audience. Many law and order companies strive for a balance between authoritativeness and warmth.
Marketing Ideas for Law & Order Companies
If your law & order company is a government entity, your target audience is the public – and your product is your services. A company that sells police lights or uniforms would necessarily use a different tone and different methods than a police department.
Once you know who your target audience is, you can make decisions about which marketing strategies and tactics to use to connect with them. Here are some suggestions.
Facebook and Other Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have proven to be an effective means of communication for companies in every industry. However, they are especially important for law & order companies who need an immediate way to communicate in case of an emergency.
Facebook is a good place to post community events, share stories, and encourage comments from your audience. For example, before a long holiday weekend, a police department might post a message asking people not to drive while intoxicated and provide resources for people who need a ride.
Companies selling a product and not a service may choose to use Facebook Live Video to demonstrate their products or even to take questions from their viewers.
Twitter is ideal for making announcements and posting alerts. You might use Twitter to advise people to keep an eye out for a fugitive or a missing person, or warn of dangerous road conditions.
Each social media site has its strengths. On Instagram, you might share pictures of your officers to introduce them to the public as a way of building trust and improving public relations. The key is always to keep your target audience in mind.
What Makes an Effective Law & Order Website?
Your website is your online headquarters. As such, it must be professional, reassuring, and easy to navigate.
The primary goal of any law & order website must be clarity. Anybody who visits your site must be able to find what they need quickly and with a high degree of certainty. While most emergencies will probably be reported by phone, the possibility exists that someone in dire circumstances might use your website if they are unable to get to the phone.
Your contact information, services, and other important items should be on your home page or clearly linked there so that people can find them. Each page of your site should focus on one service or aspect of what you do and have a strong call to action to make it easy for people to take the next step – whatever it may be.
How and When to Use Your Logo For or Your Law And Order Company
Once you have the right logo for your company, where and when should you use it? You will most likely need to use your logo in many places over the years.
Our designers strive to ensure that the logos they design will look good at any size. They understand that you may have to use your logo in printed materials such as bulletins and business cards, on physical objects like uniforms and vehicles, and online. Whether it’s a tiny thumbnail on Twitter or a huge wrap on a police van, your logo should maintain its integrity.
At The Logo Company, we always provide our clients with their logos in multiple formats so they have what they need for every eventuality. Vector formats give our clients the ability to resize their logos as needed. They are also ideal for giving to printers and manufacturers so that the image remains crisp and clear.
Your logo should serve as your online symbol, appearing on your website and social media profiles. Using it consistently ensures that people will recognize it when they need it.
Conclusion
Law & order companies must gain and maintain the public trust. For that reason, trust, authority, and consistency are the keys to branding your company effectively. The right logo is a good place to start. Please click here if you’d like us to design a logo for you.