BE YOURSELF
The crux of the dilemma is this: you need to be acceptable AND different. Competing for attention is a primary goal of your logo and visual identity system. Unfortunately, human nature, through five million years of evolutionary pressure, is such that people view successful behavior as what everyone else does. Avoiding petting sabertooth tigers was a good idea, and when copied by others produced positive outcomes, so to speak. In contrast, success in design relies on going against this ingrained behavior of doing what others have found successful. In fact, in today's marketplace, standing out from the crowd is the best way not to be someone else's lunch.
