CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
Ing. Kateřina Matušínská, Ph.D.
MARKETING COMMUNICATION 2/NAMK2
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
OUTLINE OF THE LECTURE
1. What are public relations (PR)?
2. Objectives of PR
3. Advantages and disadvantages of PR
4. Types of PR
5. Tools of PR
6. Unethical practices of PR
7. Relationship between corporate identity and image
8. Corporate identity
9. Corporate image
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
1. WHAT ARE PUBLIC RELATIONS?
• It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain
goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and
its publics: customers, employees, shareholders, trade bodies,
suppliers, government officials, and society in general.
• It is two-way communication designed to improve mutual
understanding and positively influence relationships between the
marketer and its internal and external publics.
• The management process of engaging productively with all
relevant internal and external publics, so that a firm´s improved
relationship with these groups enhances its reputation and
generates positive publicity.
• PR = purposeful, deliberate, systematic, planned, beneficial,
reciprocal, ethical communication.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
WHAT ARE PUBLIC RELATIONS?
• PR is about creating images, not making sales.
• PR is a long-term activity, with long-term pay offs.
• PR doesn´t require any immediate response from the observer.
• What good PR will do for the company?
• It helps to build a positive image.
• It can counter bad publicity.
• It can improve employee motivation.
• …
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PR
4th century B.C. Aristoteles is writing Rhetoric
1622 Pope is establishing Congregatio de Propaganda Fide
1641 Harvard University is publishing leaflets regarding the
fundraising
2nd half of 19th
century
Mass media use, development of literacy, first press agents
1900 The first PR agency Publicity Bureau in Boston
1914 - 1919 Propaganda expansion
1947 PR Society of America (PRSA) establishment
1948 Chartered Institute of PR (CIPR) establishment in GB
1952 - 1953 The formation of the second largest PR agency – Edelman
and Burson-Marsteller
1997 The beginning of multimedia messages publishing
2000 - present Digital communication boom, viral spreading of messages,
social media, interaction, ….
Source: Hejlová, Public Relations, 2015, p. 18-19
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
2. OBJECTIVES OF PR
• To gauge what various publics think and feel about the
marketer´s brands and about business issues.
• To establish a dialogue about various publics´ interests and
concerns.
• To enhance the marketer´s image.
• To build or rebuild trust and goodwill.
• To build a solid foundation for ongoing marketing efforts.
• Objectives of PR in general way:
• Persuade and influence.
• Inform.
• Create long-term relationships.
• Contribute to the reputation of the company.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
3. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PR
• Advantages of PR:
• Good resident
• Crisis management  communication in critical period
• Flexibility of communication
• Higher fair-mindedness
• Higher credibility and lower costs than advertising, …
• Disadvantages of PR:
• Difficulty of effectiveness measurement
• No direct increase in sale
• Poor checking, poor control of message
• Influence of media – media relations – PUBLICITY, …
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
4. TYPES OF PR
• External (employees, top management, co-workers),
• External (investors, politicians, government, local residents, media, experts,
general public ...)
According to targets groups of
communication:
• FMCG, industry, energy, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, government, nonprofit
sector, services, IT, sport, culture, ...
According to sector where PR are used:
• Issues management, internal communications, product PR, public affairs
and government relations, political PR, CSR, community relations, investor
relations, celebrity PR, ...
According to areas where PR are used
frequently:
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
5. TOOLS OF PR
• Media relations – press release, press conference, interview, …
• Events – exhibitions, fairs, opening of shops, roadshow, …
• Digital communication – social media, websites, …
• Crisis communication
• Endorsement – recommendations of celebrities, experts and
opinion leaders ...
• Sponsorship (charitable purpose) and fundraising – financial
support for the activities of the company or for a specific purpose.
• CSR (3 basic elements 3P – profit, people and planet).
• CRM (cause-related marketing  purchase of a product associated
with a commercial goal  e.g. from each sold yogurt 1 czech crown
will be given to UNICEF purpose, ….
• Lobbying
• And others.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
6. UNETHICAL PRACTICES OF PR
• WHITEWASHING – actions in order not to inform people about the
truth, and especially about the bad, immoral or illegal acts of the
company. Whitewashing also conceals or neutralizes the facts
about the activities of companies and individuals in history,
especially in armed conflicts.
• Hugo Boss – the sewing of uniforms for German soldiers,
employing 180 forced laborers and prisoners during the second
world war.
• Volkswagen – the whole concept and philosophy of the company
has been linked with A. Hitler to launch a "people's car" with
"popular price" modeled after H. Ford, employing many forced
prisoners during the second world war.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
UNETHICAL PRACTICES OF PR
• FRONT GROUPS (fake groups) - PR agency creates a specific
group which outwardly looks like a real non-profit, cultural or civic
group, which aims to promote certain ideas. In fact, it is financed
and managed by another organization, in whose interest it is. There
is mostly the innocent use of names such as the Association of
citizens of the city XY, ...).
• South Bohemian Mothers Organization (founded 1992), which
fought against the nuclear power plant  supported and financed
by the Austrian side.
• The Association of Municipal Administrators of Pennsylvania
State – the aim was to restrict the passage of truck traffic through
municipalities  supported and financed by specific rail carrier.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
UNETHICAL PRACTICES OF PR
• ASTROTURFING - is the practice of masking the sponsors of a
message or organization to make it appear as though it originates
from and is supported by a grassroots participant(s). It is a practice
intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by
withholding information about the source's financial connection.
• The term astroturfing is derived from AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic
carpeting designed to resemble natural grass, as a play on the
word „grassroots“. The implication behind the use of the term is that
there are no "true" or "natural" grassroots, but rather „fake“ or
„artificial“ support.
• Microsoft was accused (2001) when the US editorial offices were
overwhelmed with letters strikingly similar to the letters
disapprovingly responded to the lawsuit of the company with
Department of Justice in USA.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
7. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE IDENTITY AND
IMAGE
CORPORATE IDENTITY (CI)
Base Philosophy of company
Tools Corporate
Design (CD)
Corporate
Communication
(Ccom)
Corporate
Culture (CC)
Product + other
characteristics of
company (P +
other factors)
Result CORPORATE IMAGE
(CD + CC + CI)* CCom = CIm
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
8. CORPORATE IDENTITY (CI)
• It is the outward manifestation of the organisation, a visual
means of identification. It includes the corporate logo (the
symbol that the organisation uses on all its points of public
contact), but it also includes the style used on its letterheads and
corporate publications, interior and exterior design of buildings,
staff uniforms and fleet, and packaging and products, …)
• CORPORATE DESIGN
• CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
• CORPORATE CULTURE
• PRODUCT OR SERVICE
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE DESIGN (CD)
• It is a set of visual constants that are used to communicate
within, but also outside the company. Graphic form of individual
components of the visual style should be enshrined in the
design manual.
• Corporate design includes:
• Company name and method of presentation
• Logo
• Brand
• Font and colour
• Business graphics (promotional items, stationery)
• Orientation graphics (signs on buildings and interior
decorating)
• Graphic of packaging
• Other elements according to the business sector
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE DESIGN (CD)
• The graphic manual (complex processing of rules and
recommendations for both print and electronic visual
presentation) is the part of design manual.
• Graphic manual includes:
• Summary of graphical rules
• Define of documents layout
• Definition and rules for the use of fonts
• Colours definition and rules for their use
• Logo, its variants and the rules for its use
• Corporate documents (templates, letterheads, business cards,
...)
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE DESIGN (CD)
LOGO – ITS TYPICAL SHAPES AND OTHER ELEMENTS
NIKE Wing of Greek goddess,
the first trademark
without verbal title
NIVEA Typical style of font,
notable blue colour
ABSOLUT
Unique shape of bottle
ROLLING STONES Distinctive logo from the
60s of the last century.
Source: Vysekalová, Image a firemní identita, 2009, p. 51
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE COMMUNICATION (CCOM)
• It represents all means of communication, complex of all behaviour
forms, when the company tells something about itself (internal and
external communication).
• Corporate communication includes:
• Public relations - a public relation building
• Corporate advertising - corporate advertising, …
• Human relations (employee communication)
• Investor relations (trade and annual reports, information for
shareholders, publishing in professional journals, ...)
• Government relations
• University relations (Science, Research)
• Without adequate communication and presentation, the
companies can not create the desired image!!!! The growing
influence of social media – especially in the area of FMCG.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE CULTURE (CC)
• It expresses a particular character of the company, the overall
atmosphere, the inner life that affect thinking and behaviour of
employees of the company. These are the habits, values and
rituals in the company.
• Generally, corporate culture includes:
• Presentation of the company and its employees externally.
• Relations among employees, their thinking, behaviour patterns.
• The overall climate of the company, habits, and ceremonials.
• The values shared by most employees.
• Important rules during the creation of corporate culture:
corporate procedure, directives, the directives for working dress,
the seating arrangements at meetings, working time and length of
breaks, the employee code of conduct.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
9. CORPORATE IMAGE (CIM)
• Corporate image is the rating of the company by external and
internal public.
• The corporate image is a collection of ideas, opinions and
experiences of man in relation to a particular firm (brand).
• Corporate image can arise in these four sections:
• Quality of products and other services
• Social accounting, participation in public life, …
• Physical evidence (factories, shops, offices, …)
• Marketing communication (advertising, events, annual reports,
promotional materials, …)
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
TYPES OF CORPORATE IMAGE (CIM)
• Generic image - for an entire species or group of products, when
generalized emotional relationships of a particular class of
products play a role (automobiles SUV - image of expensive and
powerful cars).
• Product (brand) image - the image of a specific product brand,
which differs from the others.
• Corporate image – it is the perception of the company quality.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
TYPES OF CORPORATE IMAGE (CIM)
• The relationship between the corporate and product
(brand) image  three basic models of corporate identity:
• Monolithic identity (Yamaha, Tescoma, Sony)
• Strategy of individual brands (Procter & Gamble - Crest,
Tide, Ariel, ...
• Diversified identity (Czech Radio – Radiožurnál, Czech
Radio Prague, ...).
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
THE RULES OF CORPORATE IMAGE (CIM) CREATION
• The more information available, the better and more reliable is the
image.
• Image penetrates rapidly but strengthens slowly.
• Image is never rigid.
• Image acts selectively.
• Image is compact.
• Image arises from various sources.
CORPORATE IDENTITY AND IMAGE
CORPORATE IMAGE (CIM) MEASUREMENT
• Image analysis should be performed when:
• The company has a worse outputs than expected.
• The company opens a new branch or introducing a new brand.
• There is a new competition in the market and it is necessary to
clarify the company's position in the new competitive conditions.
• Methodological approaches to the analysis of image:
• Basic methods of data collection (observation, inquiry,
experimentation)
• Polarity profile - semantic differential
• Projective methods and techniques (physiognomic test, associative
processes, Thematic Apperception-test, ...)
• A comprehensive model for measuring relationship between
customer and brand and image - Brand Commitment