The corporate image needs to be planned, monitored and managed, just like any other strategic activity of the organization. Unfortunately, in many cases the corporate image is rarely planned and almost never managed. This may result from the primary thinking that the corporate image was to be created by design consultants. After several years, the solitary corporate identity becomes diffused, abused and misused before it deteriorates into a multitude of associated images and identity platforms.

Is the design approach still suited today’s marketing environment? No! 

The marketing environment is moving up the marketing excellence ladder to dialogue excellence and relationship excellence. Organizations must manage their images more closely.

Corporate image management takes several steps further, because it

• Focuses on the process
• Aims to enable and to communicate change throughout the organization
• Monitor internal and external environments and the continual development of the organization and its image
• Is expressed both graphically and organizationally
• Is strategic and long term, it is an investment, not a one-off expense
• Uses strategies to develop two-way communication with key audiences and
• Adds value to the corporate, brand, product and service positioning of the organization

Source : Steven Howard, “Corporate Image Management A marketing Discipline for the 21st century”

Principles of New Marketing

• The primary objective of marketing is to sell more products to more people, more often and more expensive
• Marketing is a serious business and more people become aware that serious business is marketing
• Marketing is not magic, there is nothing mysterious about marketing
• Marketing is a professional discipline. You cannot let Mr. X or anyone who is not professionally trained
• Today’s market is a consumer democracy. Consumers have many choices, the marketers have to inform how they choose
• Plan your goal. Set up where you want to be, not where you think you can be
• Once you have a goal, develop a strategy to achieve it
• Strategy is your boss. Strategy which controls ‘everything’ and ‘anything that communicates’. You can decide to change your strategy but you cannot bend that strategy
• Marketing is a science. Marketing is about an experiment, calculation, analysis, revision and replication. You should be ready to change your idea
• Take into account any brand in the market area. Do it regularly and frequently, at least once in a month. Marketing should create profit. (to be continued in EGA briefings Issue no.5)

Source : Sergio Zyman, “The end of Marketing as we know it”