7 elements of a good corporate identity

July 28, 2021

The name reflects the aim! Corporate identity, as its name implies, is the identity of a company construed from its goals and values, its distinct character and the foundation which it has been built upon. The major aim of a corporate identity is to possess a unified company presence, which in turn is fundamental for the company to successfully reach its goals.

The seven components of corporate identity

T.C. Melewat and Elif Karaosmanoglu have documented the following seven dimensions of corporate identity:

Corporate culture: The corporate culture refers to the company’s internal communication and conduct. It encompasses the company’s philosophy, values, mission, principles and guidelines. The corporate culture is often characterized by a company’s history and its founders, as well as the geographical area where the company operates. Corporate culture has to be authentic — and that’s precisely why there’s a need to re-examine corporate culture within a New Work context.
Corporate communication: You can’t “not communicate”. Moreover, you shouldn’t want to “not communicate”, because the company’s values and norms can only be conveyed to a target group through successful corporate communication. Spanning from the social media presence to the newsletter and the landing page: to be convincing, companies need a consistent tone of voice specially tailored to their target group. For this reason, storytelling is a powerful communication instrument for promoting company growth.
Corporate behavior: Both the company’s public behavior as well as the internal conduct of its staff contribute to forming its corporate behavior. Keep in mind here, too, that when creating a successful corporate identity the company’s behavior needs to correspond with its values in order for it to be perceived as credible.
Corporate structure: The company’s structure is composed of its branding and organizational structure. Branding is essential because companies have to be viewed as strong brands to stand out from their competitors and gain customer loyalty. The organizational structure is interlinked to the organizational hierarchy, channels of communication and reporting lines. Here also, the company needs to communicate with a unified voice: a trendy New Work company with rigid hierarchies would come across as absurd.
Corporate design: There’s probably no company out there which obtained recognition value for itself by using an array of different logos designed with various colors and fonts. In corporate design, consistency is a key factor in generating a recognizable brand. At the same time, the company’s character — in essence its corporate identity — can be visually represented through its corporate design.
Industry identity: A company, of course, shouldn’t be viewed solely as a stand-alone entity, but rather within the context of its respective industry. Accordingly, companies should take into account the expectations and needs of their particular industry when forming their corporate identity.
Corporate strategy: A corporate strategy is absolutely essential for implementing the company’s corporate identity — both internally and externally.

The reason why corporate identity is particularly important for New Work companies

Basically all communication or information we receive from a brand and how we interact with it forms part of the company’s corporate identity. Particularly in a New Work businesses’ context, where many companies are more “purpose-driven”, the corporate identity becomes the essential communication strategy. Only companies armed with a strategically planned and implemented corporate identity can reach their business goals and maintain a consistent company image. Moreover, at a time when a lot of work is being done remotely, the corporate identity serves to fortify coherence among staff. If companies work on proactively creating their corporate identities from the very start, they realize that by using a holistic approach to communication, they are able to convey exactly what they stand for. So, how to take the first step? Let the seven elements described above guide your way and be sure to combine them harmoniously.