altura add value through corporate and brand identity
DESCRIPTION
An article on corporate and brand identity including comments from Gareth Kaminski-Cook on BPBplc to Saint-GobainTRANSCRIPT
www.altura.uk.com
t +44 (0)7768 927427e [email protected]
The International Corporate Identity Group’s (ICIG) statement on corporate identity: The Strathclyde Statement
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 multi-faceted way in which an organization communicates.
Published by the European Journal of Marketing: From the article Corporate identity: the concept, its measurement andmanagement by Cees B.M. van Riel, Graduate School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, andJohn M.T. Balmer Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde Business School.
altura corporate and brand identity
• CO
RE VALUES • VALUE PROPO
SITIO
N •
PER
SON
ALITY • SUBSTANTIATOR
SBRAND ESSENCE
Many executives worry about introducing a new corporate identity for a range of reasons such as:• it costs too much!• the timing is not right!• subsidiaries have strong brands and we let them get on with it!• still to this day the companies we acquired have the same people in charge when as we bought them!• divisions are at different stages in their business strategy!
Control your corporate identity: add value to the business and reduce costs
But if these questions were asked what would the answers be:• what is your current company identity?• what don’t you do today to deliver your company promise?• what is stopping you from getting you there?• how do you get everyone in the company to pull together?
However, the challenge remains in communicating:• who you are,• where you’re going,• what makes you different.
By taking control of the company identity you will see the following key benefits:• increased awareness and understanding by customers,• internal alignment and buy-in from all employees,• people feeling and behaving in the same way.
How do you take control?Company identity is not just about the design of the logo! Start with a review of the existing identity and establish where you are. This can be achieved by running a series of workshops.
You need to build the right strategy for the company brand identity to ensure you create value. altura, with the help of clients, has developed a model called “Brand Foundations©” to ensure you develop the right strategy for the company brand identity.
Using the “Brand Foundations©” model within the overall company brand identity process has many benefits such as:• you save valuable time and money in the pre-design phase• the design phase is given more focus and guarantees appropriate outcomes saving time and money in getting to the end solution• you develop a communications strategy to ensure all stakeholders are communicated to using the most appropriate communication channels. • better understanding by employees across cultures• guidelines creates consistency and efficiency in the implementation phase and saves money in the long term.
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altura corporate and brand identity
What’s the ‘big idea’?The strategic objective of BPB plc was to become a global corporate brand and they were heading that way until they were acquired by Saint-Gobain in a hostile takeover.
The BPB plc company identity had moved from a group with disparate brands to a unified global corporate brand identity whilst maintaining the integrity of the local brands.
Gareth Kaminski-CookFormer Marketing DirectorSaint-Gobain Gyprocnow European Sales and Marketing Director GVR
Disparate brands
Unified global corporate brand identity pre-acquisition
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BPB plc to Saint-Gobain to Gyproc
Gareth Kaminski-Cook, Former Marketing Director Saint-Gobain Gyproc now European Sales and Marketing Director GVR
‘altura evolved our global corporate brand Identity to reflect the new regional brand strategy.
Their proposed new designs and online guidelines, produced to a tight timescale, were approved first time by the Executive Board and all Country MDs.
The achievement is a tribute to altura’s experience and its understanding of the company’s history, its people and the new strategic direction.’
altura • 36 sebright road • high barnet • herts en5 4hl • e: [email protected] • t: +44 (0)7768 927 427
Clive Snowdon, Chief ExecutiveUmeco plc now Executive ChairmanShimtech Industries
‘We were determined to add shareholder value through the Umeco corporate identity.
We found a team that lived up to that same standard. They understood our strategy, gave us good advice and helped our senior management team to work through the issues that arise in defining core values across an international group.
They demonstrated strong creativity in the design process and implemented the whole programme with care. We have a brand identity and values of which we are proud as a result.’
Jason Crabtree, Chief ExecutiveApollo Aerospace Components
“altura built the right foundations for the corporate identity using their “Brand Foundations” model. This enabled us to get to a design solution very quickly.
We are extremely pleased with the way altura created a brand identity that reflected the new vision and strategy of the company.
It has also enabled our people to pull together as a stronger team.”
performance driven
Some altura clients who have taken control of their corporate identityOur clients are predominantly B2B companies in industry, engineering, manufacturing and the service sectors. Some are young specialists like Umeco plc which provides services to the aerospace & defence industries. Others are global names like Sodexo and Saint-Gobain. Our clients are a mix of national, global, world leaders or start-ups.
www.altura.uk.com t +44 (0)7768 927427 e [email protected]
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Following the acquisition by Saint-Gobain it was imperative to maintain that focus albeit under new ownership and within a new brand architecture. What we needed was to bring clarity to the brand portfolio. This was achieved by developing the regional brand strategy which will ultimately lead to one global brand for the Gyproc business within Saint-Gobain.
Did it work?The first insight you can gain into a brand change effectiveness project is by monitor-ing the level of employees performance and understanding. The market, your customers, are generally very accepting of change as long as your staff convey a feeling of comfort with the change. If your staff say ‘’this is crazy, everything has changed, I don’t know who we are anymore’’ then customers will lose confidence.
In Gyproc we monitored our staff satisfaction levels and conduct structured customer satisfaction/brand surveys on an 18 month frequency. 3 years into this change we have maintained levels of loyalty through strong communication and focusing on delivering our promise – our Gyproc brand.