Corporate branding is so much more than a cute logo. When done well, it encapsulates the whole personality of the corporation and indelibly imprints that image into the minds of the general public.
Corporate branding is a process. It is a step-by-step discovery of what is possible in a world of all possible branding concepts. You might have big ideas about corporate branding. However, you’ll avoid a lot of grief if you think about the requirements the corporate brand has to satisfy first.
Things to Consider in Corporate Branding
You might narrow down possible corporate branding concepts by thinking about the following:
1. Your corporation’s image.
Corporate branding is all about corporate image. Making consistent decisions, for example, contributes to your corporation’s image. Corporations receive a lot of brand equity for consistent corporate behavior. Corporate image now also encompasses the personality of the CEO. Donald Trump, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet have all engaged the public with their own personality and charisma to help brand their corporations.
2. All of the ways your buyer or the general public hears about your corporation.
How does your corporation communicate the value of its products and services? We’re talking about the logo, brand name, slogan, packaging, print and broadcast media, website, networking, and more. A great example of corporate branding that uses all these avenues is the Disney Corporation. It uses its logo, mascots, thematic advertising, as well as audio and visual themes and spokespersons to crystallize the Disney brand in the public mind.
3. Your corporation’s position.
Drill down to what your corporation does, its venue, its market, its demographics, its market position. What are the benefits of the products or services it provides? Who is the audience that the corporation is addressing? What are the attributes the corporation wants to project that distinguish it from the competition? These are key to your corporate branding efforts. Stability, dependability, and great customer service are attributes all corporations want to stress in their branding. These are in addition to all of the attributes your particular corporation brings to the marketplace.
4. Your corporation’s culture.
How does the public view your corporation? Because you are giving the corporation a personality, corporate branding should also include things the average person can see the corporation stands for. Who does your corporation identify with? What’s your stand on the important issues of the day? What worthy causes do you support? For this reason, corporate branding also includes the corporate mission statement.
Once you’ve wrapped your arms around these requirements, you can let loose with the big ideas about what influences corporate branding. By doing your corporate branding in this order, you will be more likely to successfully project the full and complete personality of your corporation in a way that will permanently fix the brand in minds of the general public.
Experts have written volumes on this subject. What’s been your experience? Michael Houlihan, co-founder of Barefoot Wine, the largest wine brand in the nation, invites you to lend your voice to this discussion on Corporate Branding with your comments, thoughts, and opinions below.
