Corporate identity
Encyclopedia
In Corporate Communications
, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation
which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of brand
ing and the use of trademarks.
Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organizational philosophy that is manifest in a distinct corporate culture — the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy. Often referred to as organizational identity, corporate identity helps organizations to answer questions like “who are we?” and “where are we going?” Corporate identity also allows consumers to denote their sense of belonging with particular human aggregates or groups.
In general, this amounts to a corporate title
, logo (logotype and/or logogram), and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand. These guidelines are usually formulated into a package of tools called corporate identity manuals.
Many companies, such as McDonald's
and Electronic Arts
, have their own identity that runs through all of their products and merchandise. The trademark "M" logo and the yellow and red appears consistently throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for the research, design and execution involved in creating an identity that is extremely distinguishable and appealing to the company's target audience.
Corporate identity has become a universal technique for promoting companies and improving corporate culture. Most notable is the COCOMAS committee (ココマス委員会) and company PAOS
, both founded by Motoo Nakanishi (中西元男) in Tokyo
, Japan
in 1968. Nakanishi fused design, management consulting and corporate culture to revolutionize corporate identity in Japan. In the United States, graphic design firms such as Chermayeff & Geismar
pioneered the application of modernist
principles to corporate identity design.
proposed in his earlier work, in particular Peverelli (2000). This definition regards identity as a result of social interaction:
Best Practices
The following four key brand requirements are critical for a successful corporate identity strategy.
• Differentiation. In today’s highly competitive market, brands need to have a clear differentiation or reason for being. What they represent needs to be stand apart from others in order to be noticed, make an impression, and to ultimately be preferred.
• Relevance. Brands need to connect to what people care about out in the world. To build demand, they need understand and fulfill the needs and aspirations of their intended audiences.
• Coherence. To assure credibility with their audiences, brands must be coherent in what they say and do. All the messages, all the marketing communications, all the brand experiences, and all of the product delivery need to hang together and add up to something meaningful.
• Esteem. A brand that is differentiated, relevant and coherent is one that valued by both its internal and external audiences. Esteem is the reputation a brand has earned by executing clearly on both its promised and delivered experience.
The definition of the corporate visual identity management is:
Special attention is paid to corporate identity in times of organizational change. Once a new corporate identity is implemented, attention to corporate identity related issues generally tends to decrease. However, corporate identity needs to be managed on a structural basis, to be internalized by the employees and to harmonize with future organizational developments.
Efforts to manage the corporate visual identity will result in more consistency and the corporate visual identity management mix should include structural, cultural and strategic aspects. Guidelines, procedures and tools can be summarized as the structural aspects of managing the corporate visual identity.
However, as important as the structural
aspects may be, they must be complemented by two other types of aspects. Among the cultural aspects of corporate visual identity management, socialization
– i.e., formal and informal learning processes – turned out to influence the consistency of a corporate visual identity. Managers are important as a role model and they can clearly set an example. This implies that they need to be aware of the impact of their behavior, which has an effect on how employees behave. If managers pay attention to the way they convey the identity of their organization, including the use of a corporate visual identity, this will have a positive effect on the attention employees give to the corporate visual identity.
Further, it seems to be important that the organization communicates the strategic aspects of the corporate visual identity. Employees need to have knowledge of the corporate visual identity of their organization – not only the general reasons for using the corporate visual identity, such as its role in enhancing the visibility and recognizability of the organization, but also aspects of the story behind the corporate visual identity. The story should explain why the design fits the organization and what the design – in all of its elements – is intended to express.
A trademark became a symbol of individuals’ professional qualifications to perform a particular skill by the 15th century. For example, the caduceus on a physician’s sign signified that the doctor was a well-trained practitioner of the medical arts. Simple graphics such as the caduceus carried so much socioeconomic and political weight by the 16th century, that government offices were established throughout Europe to register and protect the growing collection of trademarks used by numerous craft guilds.
The concept of visually trademarking one’s business spread heavily during the Industrial Revolution. The shift of business in favor of nonagricultural enterprise caused business, and corporate consciousness, to boom. Logo use became a mainstream part of identification, and over time, it held more power than being a simple identifier. Some logos held more value than others, and served more as assets than symbols.
Logos are now the visual identifiers of corporations. They became components of corporate identities by communicating brands and unifying messages. The evolution of symbols went from a way for a king to seal a letter, to how businesses establish their credibility and sell everything from financial services to hamburgers. Therefore, although the specific terms "corporate image" and "brand identity" didn’t enter business or design vocabulary until the 1940s, within twenty years they became key elements to business success.
, which is the firm responsible for a large number of iconic logos, such as PanAm
(1957), Chase
Bank (1964), Mobil Oil(1965), NBC
(1984), PBS
(1986), National Geographic(2003) and others. Due to the simplicity and boldness of their designs, many of their logos are still in use today. The firm recently designed logos for the Library of Congress
and the fashion brand Armani Exchange. Another pioneer of corporate identity design is Paul Rand
, who was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM
, UPS
, and ABC
. The third pioneer of corporate identity design is Saul Bass
. Bass was responsible for several recognizable logos in North America, including both the Bell Telephone logo (1969) and successor AT&T
globe (1983). Other well-known designs were Continental Airlines
(1968), Dixie (1969), and United Way (1972). Later, he produced logos for several Japanese companies as well.
Many companies proactively choose to create media attention and use it as a tool for identity construction and strengthening, and also to reinvent their images under the pressure of new technology. The media also has the power to produce and diffuse meanings a corporation holds, therefore giving stakeholders a negotiation of the organizational identity.
Colin Powell
once said, “We’re selling a product. That product we are selling is democracy.” Although the United States
is not a corporation, it still has organizational components and has a certain image and identity. The US is founded on certain principles, values, and beliefs, and at the same time, has a diverse and widely recognizable popular culture. Because of distinct founding principles, and the way US culture operates, the US too can be observed as a "brand."
Images and identity do not always have to be planned and built by an organization, they also can be attributed to an organization by others' interpretations. During the Cold War
, Coca-Cola
, Marilyn Monroe
, and Baywatch
were booming in popularity and became obsessions of popular American culture. These images portrayed confidence and superiority in American media, therefore the USA seemed more secure and superior during the war. With the growth of the media, popular culture and celebrities still seem to define America in certain ways. Images of Brad Pitt
and Mickey Mouse
are easily associated to the US. The US has evolved into a nation with industries focused solely on celebrity gossip, TV shows, music, and blockbuster hits, making the US a highly-mediated nation with a strong focus on celebrity.
In addition to the “celebrity” identity factor, there have been more strategic and patriotic images used to re-brand the country as well. After the September 11 attacks, Bush administration initiated the re-brand of the United States from “global bully” to a “compassionate hegemon.” The vast majority of American citizens contributed to the act of patriotism by placing American flag bumper stickers on their cars, purple ribbons on trees in their yards, or hanging flags in their windows, all to recreate the feeling and image of nationwide pride and support.
Corporate communications
Corporate communication is the message issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its publics. "Publics" can be both internal Corporate communication is the message issued by a corporate organization, body, or institute to its publics. "Publics" can be both internal Corporate...
, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
ing and the use of trademarks.
Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organizational philosophy that is manifest in a distinct corporate culture — the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy. Often referred to as organizational identity, corporate identity helps organizations to answer questions like “who are we?” and “where are we going?” Corporate identity also allows consumers to denote their sense of belonging with particular human aggregates or groups.
In general, this amounts to a corporate title
Corporate title
Publicly and privately held for-profit corporations confer corporate titles or business titles on company officials as a means of identifying their function in the organization...
, logo (logotype and/or logogram), and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand. These guidelines are usually formulated into a package of tools called corporate identity manuals.
Many companies, such as McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, have their own identity that runs through all of their products and merchandise. The trademark "M" logo and the yellow and red appears consistently throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for the research, design and execution involved in creating an identity that is extremely distinguishable and appealing to the company's target audience.
Concept
Corporate identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts:- Corporate design (logos, uniformUniformA uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s, corporate colours etc.) - Corporate communication (advertisingAdvertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, public relations, information, etc.) - Corporate behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)
Corporate identity has become a universal technique for promoting companies and improving corporate culture. Most notable is the COCOMAS committee (ココマス委員会) and company PAOS
Paos
Paos is a small village in Achaea, Greece. It was the seat of the municipality of Paion. Its 2001 population was 367 for the village and 508 for the municipal district.-Settlements:*Paos, pop. 367*Dechounaiika, pop. 31*Palaios Paos, pop. 1...
, both founded by Motoo Nakanishi (中西元男) in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1968. Nakanishi fused design, management consulting and corporate culture to revolutionize corporate identity in Japan. In the United States, graphic design firms such as Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
pioneered the application of modernist
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
principles to corporate identity design.
Organizational point of view
In a recent monograph on Chinese corporate identity (Routledge, 2006), Peter Peverelli, proposes a new definition of corporate identity, based on the general organization theoryOrganizational studies
Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...
proposed in his earlier work, in particular Peverelli (2000). This definition regards identity as a result of social interaction:
- Corporate identity is the way corporate actors (actors who perceive themselves as acting on behalf of the company) make sense of their company in ongoing social interaction with other actors in a specific context. It includes shared perceptions of reality, ways-to-do-things, etc., and interlocked behaviour.
- In this process the corporate actors are of equal importance as those others; corporate identity pertains to the company (the group of corporate actors) as well as to the relevant others;
- Corporate actors construct different identities in different contexts.
Best Practices
The following four key brand requirements are critical for a successful corporate identity strategy.
• Differentiation. In today’s highly competitive market, brands need to have a clear differentiation or reason for being. What they represent needs to be stand apart from others in order to be noticed, make an impression, and to ultimately be preferred.
• Relevance. Brands need to connect to what people care about out in the world. To build demand, they need understand and fulfill the needs and aspirations of their intended audiences.
• Coherence. To assure credibility with their audiences, brands must be coherent in what they say and do. All the messages, all the marketing communications, all the brand experiences, and all of the product delivery need to hang together and add up to something meaningful.
• Esteem. A brand that is differentiated, relevant and coherent is one that valued by both its internal and external audiences. Esteem is the reputation a brand has earned by executing clearly on both its promised and delivered experience.
Visual identity
Corporate visual identity plays a significant role in the way an organization presents itself to both internal and external stakeholders. In general terms, a corporate visual identity expresses the values and ambitions of an organization, its business, and its characteristics. Four functions of corporate visual identity can be distinguished. Three of these are aimed at external stakeholders.- First, a corporate visual identity provides an organisation with visibility and "recognizability". For virtually all profit and non-profit organisations, it is of vital importance that people know that the organization exists and remember its name and core business at the right time.
- Second, a corporate visual identity symbolizes an organization for external stakeholders, and, hence, contributes to its image and reputation (Schultz, Hatch and Larsen, 2000). Van den Bosch, De Jong and Elving (2005) explored possible relationships between corporate visual identity and reputation, and concluded that corporate visual identity plays a supportive role in corporate reputations.
- Third, a corporate visual identity expresses the structure of an organization to its external stakeholders, visualising its coherence as well as the relationships between divisions or units. Olins (1989) is well-known for his "corporate identity structure", which consists of three concepts: monolithic brands for companies which have a single brand, a branded identity in which different brands are developed for parts of the organization or for different product lines, and an endorsed identity with different brands which are (visually) connected to each other. Although these concepts introduced by Olins are often presented as the corporate identity structure, they merely provide an indication of the visual presentation of (parts of) the organization. It is therefore better to describe it as a "corporate visual identity structure".
- A fourth, internal function of corporate visual identity relates to employees' identification with the organization as a whole and/or the specific departments they work for (depending on the corporate visual strategy in this respect). Identification appears to be crucial for employees, and corporate visual identity probably plays a symbolic role in creating such identification.
The definition of the corporate visual identity management is:
Special attention is paid to corporate identity in times of organizational change. Once a new corporate identity is implemented, attention to corporate identity related issues generally tends to decrease. However, corporate identity needs to be managed on a structural basis, to be internalized by the employees and to harmonize with future organizational developments.
Efforts to manage the corporate visual identity will result in more consistency and the corporate visual identity management mix should include structural, cultural and strategic aspects. Guidelines, procedures and tools can be summarized as the structural aspects of managing the corporate visual identity.
However, as important as the structural
Structure
Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...
aspects may be, they must be complemented by two other types of aspects. Among the cultural aspects of corporate visual identity management, socialization
Socialization
Socialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists to refer to the process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies...
– i.e., formal and informal learning processes – turned out to influence the consistency of a corporate visual identity. Managers are important as a role model and they can clearly set an example. This implies that they need to be aware of the impact of their behavior, which has an effect on how employees behave. If managers pay attention to the way they convey the identity of their organization, including the use of a corporate visual identity, this will have a positive effect on the attention employees give to the corporate visual identity.
Further, it seems to be important that the organization communicates the strategic aspects of the corporate visual identity. Employees need to have knowledge of the corporate visual identity of their organization – not only the general reasons for using the corporate visual identity, such as its role in enhancing the visibility and recognizability of the organization, but also aspects of the story behind the corporate visual identity. The story should explain why the design fits the organization and what the design – in all of its elements – is intended to express.
Corporate colours
Corporate colours, (or company colours), which are one of the most instantly recognizable elements of a corporate visual identity and promote a strong non-verbal message on the company's behalf. Examples of corporate colours:- Red for Coca-ColaCoca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
- Blue for IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, nicknamed "Big Blue" - Brown for UPSUnited Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
, "What can Brown do for you" - Light Teal for Korean AirKorean AirKorean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...
Visual identity history
Nearly 7,000 years ago, Transylvanian potters inscribed their personal marks on the earthenware they created. If one potter made better pots than another, naturally, his mark held more value than his competitors’. Ancient religious sects created some of the most recognized logos: the Christian cross, the Judaic Star of David, and the Islamic crescent moon. In addition, Kings and nobles in medieval times had clothing, armor, flags, shields, tableware, entryways, and manuscript bindings that all bore coats of arms and royal seals. The symbols depicted a lord’s lineage, aspirations, familial virtues, as well as memoirs to cavalry, infantry, and mercenaries of who they were fighting for on the battlefields.A trademark became a symbol of individuals’ professional qualifications to perform a particular skill by the 15th century. For example, the caduceus on a physician’s sign signified that the doctor was a well-trained practitioner of the medical arts. Simple graphics such as the caduceus carried so much socioeconomic and political weight by the 16th century, that government offices were established throughout Europe to register and protect the growing collection of trademarks used by numerous craft guilds.
The concept of visually trademarking one’s business spread heavily during the Industrial Revolution. The shift of business in favor of nonagricultural enterprise caused business, and corporate consciousness, to boom. Logo use became a mainstream part of identification, and over time, it held more power than being a simple identifier. Some logos held more value than others, and served more as assets than symbols.
Logos are now the visual identifiers of corporations. They became components of corporate identities by communicating brands and unifying messages. The evolution of symbols went from a way for a king to seal a letter, to how businesses establish their credibility and sell everything from financial services to hamburgers. Therefore, although the specific terms "corporate image" and "brand identity" didn’t enter business or design vocabulary until the 1940s, within twenty years they became key elements to business success.
Visual identity designers
The visual identity design profession has substantially increased in numbers over the years since the rise of the Modernist movement in the United States in the 1950s. Three designers are widely considered the pioneers of that movement and of logo and corporate identity design (in the United States): The first is Chermayeff & GeismarChermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
, which is the firm responsible for a large number of iconic logos, such as PanAm
Panam
Panam may refer to:* Pan Am , a television series centered around Pan American World Airways during the 1960s* Pan American World Airways, the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927–1991...
(1957), Chase
Chase (bank)
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
Bank (1964), Mobil Oil(1965), NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(1984), PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(1986), National Geographic(2003) and others. Due to the simplicity and boldness of their designs, many of their logos are still in use today. The firm recently designed logos for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
and the fashion brand Armani Exchange. Another pioneer of corporate identity design is Paul Rand
Paul Rand
Paul Rand Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, (August 15, 1914 — November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT...
, who was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
, and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The third pioneer of corporate identity design is Saul Bass
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
. Bass was responsible for several recognizable logos in North America, including both the Bell Telephone logo (1969) and successor AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
globe (1983). Other well-known designs were Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
(1968), Dixie (1969), and United Way (1972). Later, he produced logos for several Japanese companies as well.
Media and Corporate identity
As technology and mass media have continued to develop at exponential rates, the role of the media in business increases as well. The media has a large effect on the formation of corporate identity by reinforcing a company's image and reputation. Global television networks and the rise of business news have caused the public representation of organizations to critically influence the construction and deconstruction of certain organizational identities more than ever before.Many companies proactively choose to create media attention and use it as a tool for identity construction and strengthening, and also to reinvent their images under the pressure of new technology. The media also has the power to produce and diffuse meanings a corporation holds, therefore giving stakeholders a negotiation of the organizational identity.
Brand USA
Former United States Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
once said, “We’re selling a product. That product we are selling is democracy.” Although the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is not a corporation, it still has organizational components and has a certain image and identity. The US is founded on certain principles, values, and beliefs, and at the same time, has a diverse and widely recognizable popular culture. Because of distinct founding principles, and the way US culture operates, the US too can be observed as a "brand."
Images and identity do not always have to be planned and built by an organization, they also can be attributed to an organization by others' interpretations. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, and Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
were booming in popularity and became obsessions of popular American culture. These images portrayed confidence and superiority in American media, therefore the USA seemed more secure and superior during the war. With the growth of the media, popular culture and celebrities still seem to define America in certain ways. Images of Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
are easily associated to the US. The US has evolved into a nation with industries focused solely on celebrity gossip, TV shows, music, and blockbuster hits, making the US a highly-mediated nation with a strong focus on celebrity.
In addition to the “celebrity” identity factor, there have been more strategic and patriotic images used to re-brand the country as well. After the September 11 attacks, Bush administration initiated the re-brand of the United States from “global bully” to a “compassionate hegemon.” The vast majority of American citizens contributed to the act of patriotism by placing American flag bumper stickers on their cars, purple ribbons on trees in their yards, or hanging flags in their windows, all to recreate the feeling and image of nationwide pride and support.
See also
- BrandBrandThe American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
- Brand equityBrand equityBrand equity is the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Fact of the well-known brand name is that, the company can sometimes charge premium prices from the consumer . And,...
- Brand managementBrand managementBrand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand.The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble as a result of a famous memo by Neil H...
- Corporate logo
- Federal Identity ProgramFederal Identity ProgramThe Federal Identity Program is the Canadian government's corporate identity program. The purpose of the FIP is to clearly identify each program and service of the government or the government of Canada in general. Managed by the Treasury Board Secretariat, this program, and the government's...
- MarketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
- Product managementProduct managementProduct management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning, forecasting, or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle....
Further reading
- Alina Wheeler, Designing brand identity. A complete guide to creating, building, and maintaining strong brands, 2nd ed. New York, Wiley, 2006. With bibl., index. ISBN 0-471-74684-3
- Balmer, J.M.T., & Gray, E.R., (2000). Corporate identity and corporate communications: creating a competitive advantage. Industrial and Commercial Training, 32 (7), pp. 256–262.
- Balmer, John M. T. & Greyser, Stephen A. eds. (2003), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on identity, image, reputation, corporate branding, and corporate-level marketing, London, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-28421-X.
- Birkigt, K., & Stadler, M.M., (1986). Corporate identity. Grundlagen, funktionen, fallbeispiele. [Corporate identity. Foundation, functions, case descriptions]. Landsberg am Lech: Verlag Moderne Industrie.
- Bromley, D.B., (2001). Relationships between personal and corporate reputation, European Journal of Marketing, 35 (3/4), pp. 316–334.
- Brown, Jared & A. Miller, (1998). What Logos Do and How They Do It. pp. 6-7.
- Chouliaraki, Lilie & M. Morsing. (2010) Media, Organizations and Identity. pp. 95
- Dowling, G.R., (1993). Developing your company image into a corporate asset. Long Range Planning, 26 (2), pp. 101–109.
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