Corporate identity
Corporate identity, often referred to as brand identity, encompasses the visual and messaging elements that a business employs to communicate its identity to the public. This includes symbols such as logos, letterheads, slogans, and uniforms. A company's corporate identity is not directly tied to its financial performance but can be perceived as strong or weak based on consistency in its messaging. A well-crafted corporate identity aids in customer recall, particularly during purchasing decisions.
Historically, the notion of corporate identity dates back to ancient civilizations, where logos were used as identifiable marks. Over the centuries, trademarks evolved, gaining significance during the Industrial Revolution as a means for mass-produced goods to differentiate themselves. By the late twentieth century, the importance of corporate identity became recognized across various business sizes, with branding strategies adapting to technological advancements and media influence.
Today, logos serve as visual identifiers that encapsulate brand messages, with many consumers recognizing companies more by their logos than their names. In a landscape where media can shape corporate reputations, businesses are increasingly investing in branding initiatives to maintain their competitive edge and adapt to the dynamic nature of communication in the digital age.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Corporate identity
Corporate identity, also known as brand identity, is defined as the use of external symbols such as logos, letterheads, slogans, or uniforms that businesses use to convey their identity and message to the public. A company's corporate identity is generally unaffected by its financial performance, but it can be either strong or weak, depending upon the consistency in messaging it conveys. Effective corporate identities contribute to quick recalls by potential customers at the time they are ready to make a purchase.
Building a corporate identity usually requires a combination of color schemes, designs, symbols, and words that an organization uses to communicate its business philosophy. A strong corporate identity is an enduring symbol of how a firm views itself and how it wants to be viewed, recognized, and remembered by potential customers and investors. Most marketing experts agree that companies that have a strong brand identity outperform companies that have weak brand recognition.
Brief History
The history of corporate identity can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, where logos were used in the form of a cipher, or a disguised way of writing with the initials of a name. The cipher design was easily recognizable to viewers and used in the same way as a monogram, representing rulers and their dynasties. The logo was used primarily on ancient coins. By the thirteenth century, ciphers evolved into distinct trademarks for traders and organizations.
Religions have also created some of the world's most recognized identity marks: the Christian cross, the Judaic Star of David, and the Islamic crescent moon. In addition, medieval kings and nobles had clothing, armor, flags, shields, tableware, and manuscript bindings that bore coats of arms and royal seals. The symbols depicted a lord's lineage, aspirations, and familial virtues.
Around the fifteenth century, a trademark became a symbol of individuals' professional qualifications to perform a particular skill. For example, the Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with the practice of medicine. That and the similar caduceus are still widely used in many hospitals and doctors' offices. Recognizable graphics such as the caduceus carried so much economic and political weight that by the sixteenth century, European governments, particularly in France and Germany, began to establish trademarking codes and regulations. Offices were set up to manage the growing demand for them.
The logo as it is known today first appeared in the United States and Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, during the Industrial Revolution, when new mass production technologies began to emerge. Goods were traded nationally and internationally, and mass-produced items contained logos to distinguish themselves from similar products. Most of the population was illiterate, so the logo allowed people to identify products quickly. Later, manufacturers started to add the company name to their logos and packaging. Famous logos, like the ones used for the Shell Oil Company and Prudential Financial, have been around since the 1830s.
The Industrial Revolution birthed a new generation of corporations across the world, and they adopted varying approaches to presenting their brand identities. Logos and brand standards became a part of daily life for company employees. These standards described, in minute detail, how the company was to present itself to the public. Until the twentieth century, only large companies concerned themselves with corporate identity, but by the 1960s and 1970s, it was viewed as a necessity for all corporations. With the development and spread of modern graphic design, brand identity became a part of almost every business in every field.
Brands constantly invent and reinvent their visual image to adapt to new technologies and modern means of communication. The success of the company often depends on the effectiveness of the visual materials that represent it.
Impact
Logos have evolved into the visual identifiers of corporations. They became components of corporate identities by communicating different brands and unifying messages. The evolution of symbols has gone from the way a noble seals a letter to how businesses establish their credibility and sell their products. The terms corporate image and brand identity entered business or design vocabulary in the late 1940s, and within twenty years, these concepts became key components to business success.
There are nearly 2.5 million registered trademark logos in the United States, and more than five hundred thousand new registrations for trademarks occur every year. Logos and messaging have become indispensable to most organizations, regardless of their size and scope. Many companies today are more easily identified by their logos than by their names (for example, McDonald's, Nike, and Apple), and the average person is unknowingly exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of logos every day. All one has to do is browse through any store or drive down any main thoroughfare, and they will see corporate branding just about everywhere.
Technology and mass media have continued to develop rapidly and change radically during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, thereby expanding the role of media in business operations. Many companies deliberately create media attention and use it as a tool for identity construction and strengthening. They also reinvent their images so they can adapt to new technology.
The rise of the Internet and the advent of social media have forced many organizations to examine their corporate positioning across all communications networks. News media and social media can influence the formation of corporate identity by reinforcing, or in some cases shattering, a company's public image and reputation. In the wake of fierce competition and increased reputational risk due to damaging media exposure, companies that wish to stay competitive have no choice but to invest significant amounts of money into branding and corporate identity initiatives.
Bibliography
Burks, Frances. "Advantages & Disadvantages of Allusive Logos." Chron, smallbusiness.chron.com/history-business-logo-266.html. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Engfield, Nyall. “How Many Active Trademarks Are There in the USPTO Trademark Register? And Other Trademark Statistics.” TrademarKraft, 24 Apr. 2024, trademarkraft.com/blogs/news/how-many-active-trademarks-are-there-in-the-uspto-trademark-register-and-other-trademark-statistics. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
"History of Corporate Identity." Visually Inc., visual.ly/history-corporate-identity. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Leinwand, Paul, and Cesare Mainardi. "The 3 Elements of a Strong Corporate Identity." Harvard Business Review, 9 Dec. 2014, hbr.org/2014/12/the-3-elements-of-a-strong-corporate-identity. Accessed 8 Jan. 20.
Redding, Dan. "The History Of Logos And Logo Design." Smashing Magazine, 6 July 2010, www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/the-evolution-of-the-logo. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
"The Rise of Corporate Identity." Design Is History, www.designishistory.com/1960/corporate-id. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
"The Rod of Asclepius and Caduceus: Two Ancient Symbols." Florence Inferno, 27 June 2016, www.florenceinferno.com/rod-of-asclepius-and-caduceus-symbol. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Verma, Parth. “What Is Corporate Identity? – Importance, Elements, & Examples.” Feedough, 2 Aug. 2023, www.feedough.com/what-is-corporate-identity. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.