Any search for the term “corporate id” on the internet will deliver thousands of results. The problem is that most explanation or definitions ought to come with a marketing insta-degree as I have yet to find one explanation on corporate id that I can decipher without consulting my dictionary.

When starting up a new company it is essential that one understands what a corporate id is as the correct id lays the foundation to successful communications with and attraction of your target client market.

So here goes…

Most people are familiar with the game “The Sims” basically a simulation of real life where you get to create a person, dress that person, give that person a look, name, personality, values etc before technology we use to have paper cut out dolls with different outfits…you get the drift, now a corporate id is the same so let’s think of your business as a person.

The first thing that happens when a person is born is they get a name – so now we name our company. The name ought to be relevant to what the company offers and does, for instance you are not going to give a boy a girl’s name, right? Let’s name our person/company Tom.

So now we have seen Tom and seen relates to visual, we do not yet know Tom and our first experience of him will be what we see – remember first impressions last.

If I was an uppity business type and Tom was well groomed and professionally dressed my attention would be drawn. If I was a young vibey student and Tom was groovy and casually dressed I would similarly be drawn.

Tom though would need undies, a shirt, shoes and trousers, my business would need a name, logo and slogan and these would have to be in the correct colors as would my suit or casual clothing. All the above added together would constitute my brand.

So now we’ve determined that what you look like generally determines what friends you’ll attract. Your companies “friends” are its client’s so make sure your company dresses the part.

Next Tom needs a personality. We have just been introduced to Tom and as any new introduction goes Tom tells us a little bit about himself. This relates to your company’s communication to the outside world, either by way of advertising, press releases etc. Is Tom a serious uppity business type? Then his ads will be filled with statistics and professional business jargon or is he a fun casual type? In which case his ad will probably feature the latest groovy tune and lingo. Is your personality compatible with the kind of friends a.k.a clients you are hoping to attract?

Lastly we have the part of “corporate id” which I like to call accountability.

We have now got to know Tom and Tom needs to live up to what he has told us he is.
This refers more to internal values of the company and if they live up to their promises. Here things like social responsibility, job creation and if you give your clients the service you have promised is important.

Always remember – actions speak louder than words…

So in a nutshell let’s recap

Corporate ID consists of three main components

- Corporate design i.e. what does Tom look like, dress like etc
- Corporate communication i.e. what does Tom say, how does he say it
- Corporate behavior i.e. does Tom live up to his promises

As you can see a corporate identity is just that, an identity.