Have you ever played one of those logo guessing apps? It’s a simple premise – the screen shows you a logo but takes away the business name, giving you a limited time to guess the right company or slogan. Sounds easy, right? You’d be surprised at how quickly the game can outwit you. Brands that should be top of mind suddenly become nameless as you struggle to remember your association to it.

It’s this type of guessing game that can keep business owners up at night. In our 24/7, mobile economy how do you compete with the onslaught of information the average consumer accesses each day? How can you cut through the noise and deliver a brand that is not only recognizable but evokes the emotion and characteristics you want to be associated with your product or service?

A brand is more than just your logo, your website or your mobile presence. It’s an amalgamation of everything your company represents, and it should all work together to tell the right story about who you are and your place in the market. Your brand must adequately represent your company, and likewise, your company must adequately represent your brand.

Think of some of the most recognizable brands in the world such as Apple, Coca-Cola or Nike.

What makes these brands marketable? What is the difference between a logo that you recognize immediately and one that you can’t seem to place?

One word: passion.

You may not realize that behind every brand recognition lies a level of passion. That passion may be manifested through an emotional connection, or a recognition of quality, or an expectation of service. Whatever the reason behind it, passion fuels the marketability of a brand.

You can’t think of Apple without remembering the intellectual passion of its founder Steve Jobs. Coca-Cola evokes the passion of emotion and memory as it associates its brand with experiences and relationships. And Nike fuels the passion of the driven athlete, always encouraging its consumer to just do it – whatever it is.

Tapping into the passion your company, product, or service represents is no easy task. It requires a cohesive effort to align business goals with communication know-how and design expertise. Yet if it is built around the platform of passion, it is already well on its way to defining your business and engaging your customer.

You’ll soon find that when your brand evokes passion, your audience will care. And when the audience cares the audience shares.