The Power of a Great Logo

Everyone recognizes Nike's swoosh or Apple's bitten fruit icon. More than that, consumers associate those logos with a certain level of quality in the product or service they'll get from those brands.

That kind of recognition can be reached for your real estate brand, too. Here's how three brokers have built visual memory in their markets with branding that summons an instant, positive impression from potential clients.

Techies Before It Was Cool

It's the simple and descriptive at sign that distinguishes Chicago real estate company @properties from its competitors.

"The logo has exceeded our expectations. It almost feels interactive," says Thad Wong, @properties co-founder and partner.

Back in 2000, when the company's logo was first developed, there was not yet sharing of data in real estate, and there was a fear of losing control, Wong explained. "Not only did we embrace technology, we were technology — and our logo stated that," he said.

But the logo actually felt foreign to Wong and his partner, Michael Golden, in the beginning. "At first, the at sign was intimidating," Wong says. Their impression of it changed the more they used it. Now it's comfortable, says Wong, and the logo has evolved into fresh, interconnected marketing campaigns. The company's newest: "Love where you are @."

"We hope that any time [consumers] see the at symbol, they think of us," Wong says. "We attached to the technology movement and put that technology into the name instead of our egos."