Marketing Communications

INTEGRATION OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS 19

instance, companies that are committed challengers in the markets in which they operate will be

more aggressive communicators, maybe using more direct guerrilla types of marketing and

thus communications strategies involving head-on sales promotion and comparative advertising

techniques. Also the principles of value marketers, like Th e Body Shop, will be refl ected in all

their communications eff orts. Sponsorship will be used to link the company’s image to envi-

ronmental causes such as wildlife concerns, and in-store communications techniques will be

used to convey the message of avoiding waste by recycling and simple, low-cost packaging.

Building and maintaining a corporate identity is more than just consistently using the

traditional tools to communicate a company’s core elements. Everything it does, and all the

material it uses, should be an integral part of the eff ort to convey a homogeneous and con-

sistent identity. Corporate symbolism o r corporate design , more specifi cally a consistent

house style on business cards, letterheads, vehicles, gift s, clothes, equipment, packaging, etc.,

is an integral part of the corporate identity, or at least of the way in which it is made visible.

The company name, logo and slogan are vital elements of the house style of a company and important elements of

corporate design. They are the visualisation of the corporate identity.

Logos and slogans should have a number of characteristics:

z A logo should be the long-term visualisation of the company’s strategy. One logo and one slogan should be used

for the whole company. The slogan should be a perfect summary of the company’s identity.

z Logos and slogans have to be distinctive. They are tools of differentiation between the company and its com-

petitors. As a result, slogans that are relevant but too general should be avoided, as well as logos that are too

similar to the ones used by the competition. The same goes for company names, for that matter. Often, images

and colours are much more important factors in recognising a logo or a brand and attributing it to the correct

product than the verbal elements of a brand (the brand name).

z Additionally, slogans should be relevant for the consumer, otherwise they will not be able to contribute to the

development of a distinctive corporate image.

z The logo and slogan should be timeless, but modifiable. All too often, logos refer to a short-term objective, or to

an issue that seemed important at the time the logo was designed, but loses all its relevance after some time.

Since logos and slogans should visualise the long-term image of a company, they should have a timeless capacity

that allows them to be used for a long period of time. Having said that, the perception of what is beautiful

changes over time. Logos should be modifiable in that the corporate design should be adaptable to changing

aesthetic preferences over time, without radically altering the whole house style.

z Slogans, but especially logos, should be usable in all circumstances and in all communications instruments and

tools. This includes advertisements, mailings and annual reports, but also business cards, letterheads, enve-

lopes, brochures, trucks, walls, films, ties, pens, press releases, etc. They should be equally distinctive on a busi-

ness card and on a large truck. The company should be able to combine them with other logos, to include them

in communications tools with different colours, with all kinds of letter formats and shapes.

BUSINESS INSIGHT

The visualisation of the corporate identity: logos and slogans

Source : InSites Consulting.

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