Different Types of Corporate Identity

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What is Corporate Identity?  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] How can a Company transfer its Corporate Identity into its products?

The type of corporate identity will determine the characteristics that link the product to its company or brand. According to Wally Olins, one of the world's leading branding consultants, there are three kinds of corporate identity. The identity can be monolithic, meaning that the whole company uses one visual style and that the consistency between the corporate identity and the product identity is very strong, the product reflecting the corporation directly.

The identity can also be endorsed where the subsidiary companies (brands) have their own style, but the parent company remains recognizable in the background. In this case, the link between the corporation and its different brands may take the shape of a common factor, tying the different brands together.

Finally, there is the branded corporate identity in which the subsidiaries have their own style, and the parent company is not recognizable. The products represent the brand identities rather than the corporate identity. All the same, a strong general corporate identity remains of great importance, as it defines the guidelines and strategies of the subordinate brands. Therefore the identities of the products of each brand are consistent with the main corporate identity and values.