CORPORATE IDENTITY: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By George Odenyo Litunya-Corporate Communications Consultant

Think through your corporate identity

Men are visual beings. This statement is usually thrown around, when fellow men try to corroborate their infidelity. Luckily women have bought into the excuse.  Good for us (laughing). The statement has been said repeatedly that it has become some form of truth. Truth be told, imagery sells. A great visual/image will certainly spark emotions.

The same applies to corporations. Living in a world where people want to see what they are engaged with, corporations around the world are taking the whole corporate identity business seriously. For a moment imagine, the leading corporations in the world: Coca-Cola, McDonalds, AON, Barclays among others, what comes to mind? Their logos, taglines and corporate colours. Together, including other pertinent parts, they form a corporate identity.

In a world laden with information, companies may believe that they are indeed communicating, when in fact, they are not. It’s one big illusion. According to Christensen, it is easy to think that each message and every campaign are taken seriously and received in the ways designed. But such meanings are often malleable, unstable and of only ephemeral interest. This is cause for corporate communications managers to carefully re-examine their positions and ensure that their target audience gets the intended messages.

In regard to the corporate identity business, Africa is not taking it seriously. Kenya, case in point.

Africa is on the rise, has been the ‘it’ phenomenon. Seemingly, the world has narrowed their focus to Africa. This is because of the potential she has. Reports indicate that, start-ups are on the rise in Africa, like never before. In the tech industry, agribusiness, oil and gas (Kenya being the new kid on the block), transport and logistics, media among others. It is a great thing. Where are they? The start-ups, I mean. Where are they?

My reason for asking is, I haven’t witnessed a company launch event in our media outlets this entire time. Are the start-ups starting without letting the audience know? Where are the logos and corporate colours for us to associate with? Jambo pay is doing well in this department. In a move to monopolize the cashless system in Kenya, and their commercials, they make it hard for us not to notice them. The problem our start-ups are facing is a lack of a strong corporate identity.

Due to what every start-up struggles with, limited finances, owners of these business get designers who put together a weak corporate identity, which eventually they are not happy with. Thus the silent launch. This shouldn't be the case. Remember we live in a world saturated with information, assuming that we will communicate our core objective to the public is a lie. Instead, putting together a strong corporate identity, will not only guarantee that your message gets out there, but that it’s heard. Better yet, sought after!

Let’s suppose that you are the owner of a start-up, this is what you need to know about corporate identity.

Firstly according to Emma, corporate identity; refers to the combination of ways in which an organisation’s personality is expressed. Implying that, before the personality of a corporation and in our case any start-up is manifested, certain key parts need to be put in place. Once in place, then people will appreciate a corporation for what it is and does.

Secondly, Emma further states that, identity includes design aspects such as logos, colour, typeface and house style but also embraces less tangible elements such as behaviour, culture, values, mission, communication style and associations (with personalities, charities, political parties or other organisations via donations or sponsorship).

By this time, I believe you should have made the connection why our start-ups are not making launches-a weak corporate identity. Having the logo, doesn't make your corporate identity complete. For it takes quite a lot of aspects to make a corporate identity ready for dispatch!

Weak corporate identities are cheap but expensive. In the sense that, one year down the line, you won’t have made that dent in the corporate communications arena, where the battle for customers begins you will be forced to fold your business. I read in an article that it should take a logo ten years, before considering a change. How long has your logo lasted? Are you considering changing it? If yes, I am sorry to say that, you are a victim of a weak corporate identity.

Nobody starts a business aiming to fail. Circumstances, lead us to throwing in the towel. Such as, poor marketing strategies, lack of a business plan, lack of funds and of course a weak corporate identity. I cannot emphasize this enough.

To improve your chances for longevity, and reduce causes that may drive you to close your business, start by putting together a strong corporate identity.  Take time and with the help of a professional consultant (like myself) and other great ones out there and fashion a corporate identity never seen before. Think through the logo, colour, and typeface and house style. Remember the less tangible elements such as behaviour, culture, values, mission, communication style and associations, when doing this.

Once you have that, we soldier on to make you, formidable in the competitive market. Let me pepper my article with a little Mozambican…A luta continua!