Corporate branding refers to a form of branding aimed at making customers see the relationship between a corporation’s name and its entire advertising procedures. Success of corporate branding enables the customers to relate the name of a corporation with satisfactory experiences and uniqueness whenever they see or hear it.
Regardless of the services or products offered by the particular organization, the customers are influenced by the corporate name. One importance of corporate branding is that it facilitates the process of advertising. This implies that corporations whose corporate brands are strong can place their advertisements in movies or sports activities and attract positive response from customers .
Logo design refers to the development of text, symbols and graphical representations which give more information about a corporation’s brand value. A logo is therefore an iconic representation of a corporation. Although it might be small in size, it has great power in promoting a corporation’s image. A logo is important because it helps corporations to distinguish themselves from others and also communicates with the target audience in an effective manner.
History of Corporate Branding
Corporate branding came into existence in the 19th century following the emergence of packaged products. As a result of industrialization, household products such as soap which were produced locally gained market in centralized factories.
The factories were therefore supposed to brand barrels that carried their goods in order to distinguish them from those of other companies. That was how corporate branding came into existence. It was first started in India before it spread to other countries. Initially, it was not used in business but with time, it acquired widespread use in business.
Examples of Branding in Companies
Walmart
Walmart, a company that was established in 1962 had a simple initial logo. It was comprised of the brand name of the company in a printable font. The logo retained its initial design for several years apart from a few alterations like change of color and font that were made occasionally.
In 2008, the company changed the logo where caps were combined with small caps to write the brand name of the company. A tagline was also added with a symbol that took the shape of a star being placed on one of the sides. The symbol was yellow in color.
Current Walmart logo
Renault
Renault’s initial logo which represented the founder’s initials was designed in 1900. After this first logo, the company developed two successive logos which gave information about their products. The two products were tanks (1919) and automobiles of 1906.
After four years, the logo was changed by placing a grill at the front part of the vehicle. In 1925, the company decided to use a logo that took the shape of diamond, which is being used until today. In 1946, the logo changed again after it was painted yellow. It continued to undergo numerous modifications until the current one, which is shown below was unveiled in 2007 .
Current Renault logo
Apple
Apple came up with its first logo in 1976. It comprised of a scene that showed Isaac Newton seated under an apple tree during the time he discovered gravity. The logo then underwent modifications where rainbow stripes were included. This still happened in 1976. Further developments saw it turn into the image of an apple with some shadow. The final logo was developed in 2000 and is a monochrome apple as shown below.
Current Apple logo
Reference Page
Airey, D. (2009). Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities. New York: New Riders.
Poh, M. (2012). Logo Evolution of 25 Famous Brands. Retrieved from https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/logo-evolution/