The CEO it is, of course, ultimately responsibility for driving theorganisation forward. If you need to change the attitude of customers or rally the organisation after a major change though, where do you start?

At altura we believe that corporate identity is at the heart of any successful change.

Corporate identity executive summary

An effective corporate identity strategy and programme can help you to achieve a range of objectives for your business. It can help to:

• Support a complete corporate turnaround strategy• Rejuvenate the company and get everyone to pull together • Increase cross selling opportunities• Add value to the company and up the share price • Integrate newly acquired companies quickly• Change culture following an acquisition• Respond to competitive pressures and changes in the marketplace• Prepare for social change in the future.

Before you start you must set clear, measurable goals and objectives.

altura has created corporate and brand identities for companies such as:

Aerospace & DefenceApollo Aerospace ComponentsBBA Aviation plcUmeco plc

FinancialGulf Bank KuwaitHawksford InternationalNational Commercial Bank, Saudi ArabiaOntario Airports InvestmentsScottish Widows

Industry/ManufacturingBPB plcBritish GypsumFaberFenner plcGypsum RecyclingIsowoolLow & Bonar plcLucy LightingMatrocSaint-GobainVictrex plc

ServicesSodexoTillery ValleyiPP - Integrated Pathology Partnerships

Our clients generally come to us when they are undergoing change – growth through acquisition, de-merger, culture change or new product and service development. Through our corporate and brand identity techniques we help to make that change positive. Using a powerful combination of strategy and visual expression, we help them navigate through the challenges of change and transform the way that customers and other stakeholders see their businesses – helping them to minimise threats and maximise new opportunities.

Clients are mainly b2b and operate in the aerospace, industrial, manufacturing, financial and service sectors.

altura corporate and brand identity

Why do organisations need to develop a corporate identity?

Change brings challenges to any business. Whether it be growth through acquisition - especially across national boundaries, de-merger, restructure, strategic change, change in culture, social change, or a major new product or service launch, that change will inevitably impact on your internal organisation, and on the way that customers and stakeholders perceive your business .

For example:• Acquisition and rapid growth, can leave organisations with multiple subsidiary company identities with differing cultures and power houses. A cohesive identity is essential to pull everyone in the company together or add shareholder value, eg Umeco plc.• Consolidation, especially across national boundaries, often requires the creation of a new organisation or the integration of well known corporate brands – with completely different cultures, into the portfolio eg Saint-Gobain and BPB plc.• De-merger may require the creation of a completely new corporate identity, eg BBA Aviation plc• As products and services become increasingly similar, customers make purchases on emotional rather than rational grounds, thus corporate image is paramount. • Changing technologies, deregulation or globalisation force organisations to change the nature, and sometimes the identity, of their business. • Joint ventures between well known corporate brands enable companies to take advantage of growing markets, but put additional demands on corporate identity, eg Sodexo and Labco.

It is important to constantly review and update your corporate identity to ensure that it continues to support the aims and objectives of your changing business.

corporate identity executive summary

1

What is identity?

Every day, your company carries out thousands of transactions and interacts with many audiences both internally and externally: you buy and sell businesses, you sell products or services, you promote and inform through presentations, advertising, the web and other media channels. It is this constant interaction that builds lasting relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders, and in everything you do you are presenting your company, or elements of your business to the various audiences.

The way you present yourself is your identity and the way the various audiences perceive you is your image.

Because the range of activities of a company are so vast and the manifestations of identity so diverse, your company’s identity needs to be managed consistently across all channels.

Identity management is a corporate resource which embraces every part of the company and achieves clarity in these five key areas:

who you arewhat you dohow you do itwhere are you goingwhy you are different.

corporate identity executive summary

2

The main areas where identity manifests itself are:

• Behaviour and attitude: how you behave towards your employees and how they behave towards customers, suppliers and each other,• Products and services: what you make or sell, and perceived quality• Environments: where you make or sell products and services, • Communications: how you communicate/sell your products or services to all your audiences - internally and externally.

Early on in the identity process you will need to determine the balance between these areas as the requirements are not always the same.

The fundamental idea behind an identity programme:

Everything your company does, everything it owns, and everything it produces should project a clear idea of who you are, what you do and the way you do it, and what you stand for.

Company shared valuesAt the heart of a corporate identity are your values. These should not be just a tick in the box but the principles that drive behaviour and attitude throughout your company. They should be embedded and lived. It may be necessary to revisit the existing values within the company to ensure they are appropriate and authentic.

Company name and logotypeThe visual identity - the visual expression of the values - comprises the company name and sometimes a symbol, logotype or mark. An identity system is created and an architecture developed to clearly demonstrate its application at every level of the business. The visual presentation sometimes becomes the focal point of an identity.

corporate identity executive summary

3

Audiences

Audiences fall into two main categories - - internal and external. They include the following:CustomersSuppliersShareholdersPartners and potential partnersFinancial world including opinion formersEmployees (and their families)

It is important to establish which are most significant. For example in a service business your employees are the key communicators of the identity of your company - they have to transmit the identity and live the values.

Types of corporate identity

Most companies have an identity that falls into three identity strategies.

CorporateThe organisation uses one name and one visual identity throughout the company. All parts of the business are thus mutually supportive, eg Sodexo.

EndorsedThe parent company endorses the subsidiary company. There are varying levels of endorsement from simply a corporate name to a more prominent visual connection, eg Umeco plc.

BrandedSome companies, especially those in the consumer products area, separate their identities from product brands which have their own individual personalities and reputations. In some cases the parent brand’s reputation underpins the product brands, eg L’Oreal, Unilever.

corporate identity executive summary

4

Starting and managing a programme

Senior individualWhen a corporate identity programme is initiated a senior member of the company should be selected to take responsibility for the management of the programme.

Working party and steering groupA group of people should be selected to be responsible for the financial controls and clear lines of authority. The individuals can represent a range of activities within the business from hr to marketing. In some cases this can simply be the senior executive team.

Stages of workThe basic stages of an identity programme are:Stage 1 Investigation, analysis and recommendations Stage 2 Developing the identity Stage 3 Launch and introduction – communicating the vision and valuesStage 4 Implementation – making it happen Stage 5 Ongoing communicationsStage 6 Post launch evaluation and testing

At altura, we have a proven record of managing and implementing identity programmes for world leading companies. Ring altura now on+44 (0)20 3478 0241 to discuss what we can do for your company or email chris@altura.uk.com

corporate identity executive summary

5

corporate identity executive summary Every organization has an identity. It articulates the corporate ethos, aims and values and presents a sense of individuality that can help to differentiate the organization within its competitive environment. When well managed, corporate identity can be a powerful means of integrating the many disciplines and activities essential to an organization’s success. It can also provide the visual cohesion necessary to ensure that all corporate communications are coherent with each other and result in an image consistent with the organization’s defining ethos and character.

By effectively managing its corporate identity an organization can build understanding and commitment among its diverse stakeholders. This can be manifested in an ability to attract and retain customers and employees, achieve strategic alliances, gain the support of financial markets and generate a sense of direction and purpose. Corporate identity is a strategic issue. Corporate identity differs from traditional brand marketing since it is concerned with all of an organization’s stakeholders and the multifaceted way in which an organization communicates.

The International Corporate Identity Group’s (ICIG) statement on corporate identity: The Strathclyde Statement

Published by the European Journal of Marketing: From the article Corporate identity: the concept, its measurement and management by Cees B.M. van Riel, Graduate School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and John M.T. Balmer Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde Business School.

chris smosarski36 sebright roadhigh barnetherts en5 4hl

+44 (0)20 3478 0241chris@smosarski.co.uk

www.altura.uk.com