Corporate
identity is concerned with the visual aspects of a company's presence.
When companies undertake corporate identity exercises, they are
usually modernizing their visual image in terms of logo, design,
and collaterals. Such efforts do not normally entail a change in
brand values so that the heart of the brand remains the same - what
it stands for, or its personality.
Unfortunately,
many companies do not realize this fallacy, as they are sometimes
led to believe by agencies and consultancy companies that the visual
changes will change the brand image. But changes to logos, signage,
and even outlet design do not always change consumer perceptions
of quality, service, and the intangible associations that come to
the fore when the brand name is seen or heard.
The
best that such changes can do is to reassure consumers that the
company is concerned about how it looks. Brands do have to maintain
a modern look, and the visual identity needs to change over time.
But the key to successfully effecting a new look is evolution, not
revolution. Totally changing the brand visuals can give rise to
consumer concerns about changes of ownership, or possible changes
in brand values, or even unjustified extravagance.
If
there is a strong brand personality to which consumers are attracted,
then substantial changes may destroy emotional attachments to the
brand. People do not expect or like wild swings in the personality
behavior of other people, and they are just as concerned when the
brands to which they have grown used exhibit similar "schizophrenic"
changes.
On
the other hand, if the intention is to substantially improve the
standing of the brand, then corporate identity changes can be accompanied
by widespread changes to organizational culture, quality, and service
standards. If done well, and if consumers experience a great new
or improved experience, then the changes will, over the longer term,
have a corresponding positive effect on brand image. If you are
spending a vast amount of money on corporate identity, it is as
well to remember this.
Brand
identity is the total proposition that a company makes to consumers
- the promise it makes.
It may consist of features and attributes,
benefits, performance, quality, service support, and the values
that the brand possesses. The brand can be viewed as a product,
a personality, a set of values, and a position it occupies in people's
minds. Brand identity is everything the company wants the brand
to be seen as.
Brand
image, on the other hand, is the totality of consumer perceptions
about the brand, or how they see it,
which may not coincide with the brand identity. Companies have to
work hard on the consumer experience to make sure that what customers
see and think is what they want them to.
