Most of the work undertaken is driven by change such as growth through acquisition, de-merger, repositioning, new culture, new products and services. Clients are in the aerospace, industrial, manufacturing, financial and service sectors. Transform your thinking brings together thought provoking articles on corporate identity. e: chris@altura.uk.com

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Chris Smosarski, creative partner ,altura Chris is an independent corporate and brand identity designer. Most of the work undertaken is driven by change such as growth through acquisition, de-merger, repositioning, new culture, new products and services. altura builds brands through corporate and brand identity programmes. Clients are in the aerospace, industrial, manufacturing, financial and service sectors.

altura corporate and brand identity

A well managed Corporate identity programme is not just about the design of a logo or symbol. Before you can begin to visually express the Corporate identity you will need to build the right Foundations - at the heart of these are: Core values, Customer value proposition, Substantiators (for the customer value proposition), Personality, Essence, identity architecture.

VALUES DRIVEvisualexpression Corporate Identity: • ensures an image consistent with the organisation’s defining ethos, character and values,• provides the visual cohesion to ensure that all corporate communications are coherent with each other,• presents a sense of individuality that can help to differentiate the organisation within its competitive environment,• is a powerful means of integrating the many disciplines and activities essential to an organisation’s success. • helps an organisation to build understanding and commitment among its diverse stakeholders, • is a powerful means of integrating the many disciplines and activities essential to an organization’s success.• attracts, retains customers and employees • helps achieve strategic alliances, gains the support of financial markets and generates a sense of direction and purpose.

If Values are the DNA that drives the organisation and Corporate identity ensures an image consistent with the organisation’s defining ethos, character and values, it is clear that the Visual expression of the Corporate identity must reflect the values wholly or in part.

Why?

Values are specific and unambiguous. They are: • fundamental - the DNA of an organisation, • with the organisation for the long term, • the guiding principles that cause people, who represent the organisation, to think and behave in certain ways, • not the same as vision or mission as they enable vision, mission and goals to be achieved.

If Values are the DNA then they should absolutely drive the visual expression in part or as a whole.

Values are not internal or external - they are relevant to everyone who has arelationship with the business. A set of values should cover all stakeholders. Not each value must do this, but the set of values taken as a whole, should

address and be relevant to all stakeholders. Realism should guide your judgment in writing a statement of values. To base the statement on what we are currently confidently capable of is the wiser starting point. To allow values to be hijacked by hyperbole will devalue them. Any values that are written to inspire us to reach new heights should have committed resources behind them.

For values to stick and become actionable and to make a difference, they must be translated into specific responses to known issues and requirements in your business. Clarity in this translation from the principle to the actionable is vital to success with values. If, for example, a company states that a key value is to always deliver on its promises, then it must go on to clarify what qualities in people, what policies, processes, disciplines and skills ensure that promises are made very carefully and that delivery will be reliable every time.

...Corporate identity ensures an image

consistent with the organisation’s

defining ethos, character and values, ...

published by altura corporate and brand identity © 36 sebright road, high barnet, herts en5 4hl

In a world where companies are changing their nature faster than ever, through take over’s, mergers and sell outs; in a world where a mother company can have several businesses that have little or no connection with each other, simply held together by a holding; how can a company keep its employees aligned, motivated, clear about their roles and about their future?

VALUES

The answer is:by Common Values.

Values are the glue and the umbrella under which employees can find their place and where they can test their comfort in belonging to a company.

People need:• to believe in what they are doing, to do it well. • to “belong” to be “disciples“ of a common cause.

In a world where States are becoming less important than Corporations, adhering to the principles of that corporation becomes essential to the wellbeing of the employees.

Values are not soft issues. The understanding and acceptance of Corporate Values gives rise to clarity, efficiency, speed and reactivity to change. Change is easier to accept if you have confidence in the organization and its beliefs. If I have faith, I will accept the unknown. If I don’t I will look for security and guarantees before committing myself.

Values also give rise to Value both internally and externally. More and more stakeholders are only willing to work with or invest in companies that have values and principles that are both acceptable and shared. An informed public when presented with a choice of products will buy a product from a company it respects before a company that it doesn’t trust.

A company that has strong Values is a company that is strong and unified. It is a company that is better able to accept the violent changes from outside and to remain strong in addressing these problems.

Where Values are driven by the leaders of companies and discussed and shared with employees, these companies are the ones where the employees feel part of and where trust in top management is stronger. The application of these values enhance accountability, collaboration and initiative of employees. Common Vision and common Processes are easier to have in companies that have common Values.

For Values to work there are a few simple rules:Values must be seen to be a priority for Leaders. The workforce must be part of the discussion.Values must be seen as having a higher purpose as opposed to current tasksValues are part of the Company’s brandValues must be clear simple and explicit; milestones that people can turn to when difficulties or controversy hit the company. They act as a control system against violations, excesses or veering off course.Values should be tested regularly in the light of change.Values are aspirational, signaling long term intentions that guide thinking about the future.Values are “The” key cornerstone to a company’s long term success. They give a shared purpose, reinforce teamwork and collaboration, help people decide and to do the right things, speed up the decisional process, take out fear and unlock creative potential.

John Purcell O’Dwyer: Transformation specialist FIOS INternationalBL. FRSA is a Specialist in the area of “Transformation” and a Senior Coach. He has 30 years experience with leading International companies, American, Anglo‐Saxon, French, Italian and Asian, in the areas of Change management, Culture, Innovation, Leadership and Quality. He has worked with companies in FMCG, Pharmaceuticals, Chemistry, AG‐Chemicals and Natural Resources. For 20 years he has worked at Management committee and Board level. He is multi lingual, multi cultural and has a passion for all things human with a belief that this is the last frontier to tap into profit not yet attained.http://fios-int.com

...Values are “The” key cornerstone to

a company’s long term success...

published by altura corporate and brand identity © 36 sebright road, high barnet, herts en5 4hl

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If you spoke to anyone and asked them what they valued in life, they’d probably be able to reel off a number of items that were important to them. And if you delved deeper, you’d find that it was their values they held close to their heart that drove their decision making and helped them be the person they were. And this is exactly the same in business.

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VA

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KXWhen an organisation takes time to define its values it’s making a statement of what it holds important and how it wants to be perceived in the way it does business.

But some organisations see the creation of values as a tick box exercise. They have an away day and sit around the table deciding what feels right and then have a launch back into the business to introduce them. The words get scattered into internal and external literature without any real process to embed them which ends up with everyone having their own interpretation of what they mean.

And when individuals are challenged by either their manager or a customer that they’re not living the values of the organisation, they don’t really know how to react. So don’t let that be your organisation. If you’re serious about creating values that will make sure you’ve done your homework. The list below provides you with a guide of what you need to do:1 It’s vitally important that you are

crystal clear about how you want to be perceived as an organisation both internally and externally2 Involve a cross section of people from the business who can become champions and role model the values,3 Test the values with rigor so that you understand how other people interpret them – this should be done with internal and external customers4 Map out how the values will link into business processes to ensure congruency in everything you do, especially internal and externalcustomer facing ones such as performance management and complaint handling5 Roll out to the business withawareness sessions so that

everyone is clear of how the values will drive expectations of attitudes and behaviours, outlining any consequences I remember having to coach a member of a senior team as they were continually providing mixed messages to their own team – they were passionate about the values, but the way they acted wasn’t in any way congruent6 Monitor and communicate quick wins – find case studies of people doing the right things as sometimes we need examples of what good looks like.

On a final note, when you introduce values to your organisation they should form the common thread for all your decision making processes.

If you’ve thought about your values long and hard before introducing them, then it will feel entirely right to have them at the centre of all your decisions.

If you find you’re making exceptions from time to time, you may find that one of your values needs rethinking!

Jane Hirst - People specialistJane Hirst has a real energy and enthusiasm for working with people and truly believes that a business achieves its potential through its staff. Having led Operational areas as well as Learning and Development, Culture and Internal Communications, Jane has not only experienced what makes people tick, but has used this knowledge to enable them to become more self aware fostering their own resourcefulness and resilience throughout the process. When not in consultancy mode, she writes and facilitates bespoke workshops to help develop your people achieve results in an interactive, energetic and fun way using tools and techniques that can be used as soon as they get back to the work place. When people work with Jane, they know what it is to live the brand .... they get to understand what the customer expects of them and find their own special way to bring it to life.http://janehirst.com/

...values should form the common thread

for all your decision making processes.

published by altura corporate and brand identity © 36 sebright road, high barnet, herts en5 4hl

IDENTITYshould add not

value,

cost

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For leading companies around the world, expansion comes generally through a combination of organic growth and multiple acquisitions? Whilst the expansion strategy can be extremely successful, lack of attention to the global structure and unchecked growth in isolationism and silo mentality can lead to regionalisation, with smaller and less well established operations unable to leverage the success of their bigger and better established brothers. This was the case for BPB, the world’s leading gypsum company. BPB had grown by acquisition, over a period of several decades, to become UK market leader, European market leader and eventually global market leader in its sector. The company remained, however, highly regionalised, and whilst it was enjoying success in its traditional markets, companies in the strategically important emerging markets were finding it hard to leverage the success of their established counterparts.

Major change neededIn an increasingly global industry, with competition growing, particularly from Europe and the USA, it had become clear that major change was necessary to keep the organisation on track. In the late 1990’s therefore, the board ordered a review of global corporate identity as the first stage in a programme designed to unify and strengthen the global organisation.

With no defined global structure or identity guidelines for new acquisitions,a mish-mash of individual identities had

developed throughout the group operations in 50-plus countries. There was no unifying theme – customers, even in the same country, would have no idea of the global infrastructure and expertise supporting their local supplier(s).

Global identity set the stageWith the launch of the Group’s new global identity in 1996, all of that changed. But it was not simply in the company’s external image that benefits were felt. Before Altura even began to consider designs, worldwide presentations and discussions took place, with each individual company buying in to the global concept. This set the stage for a new era of conversation and co-operation that was to eventually lead to the concept of a single global brand – albeit following the Group’s acquisition by Saint-Gobain.

Altura’s new global identity cleverly combined the BPB identity with that ofthe local company, retaining local links and company names within a muchmore powerful global imagery. It was

adopted and supported by local personnel around the world, who welcomed the professional imagery and feeling of belonging to a global ’family’. It also helped to build presence for the newer operations in emerging countries, enabling them to maximise their advertising and promotional budgets through joint initiatives, and to leverage group strength in other markets.

Perhaps more importantly, the new imagery was introduced into key areas, such as literature and packaging, enabling products from different countries to sit comfortably alongside each other on supplier shelves, and giving greater supply chain flexibility and price stability, in what were previously competitive markets. At the end of the day, the new identity was not just a whim; it was part of a carefully researched and executed strategy that added value and helped to facilitate the move to a truly global structure and enabled BPB to retain its market leading position in the face of strong competition.

Paul Smith - founder Smith PRPaul has more than 35 years experience managing advertising and communications within major international companies in the construction products and electrical components industries. He has a very wide experience at every level, from supporting new business launches to handling major corporate events and crises. He has also been responsible for developing and managing corporate dentity in an FT 100 company, including roll-out in more than 60 countries. He has run his own PR Company for a number of years, working for clients in the UK, UAE, Switzerland, France, Spain and Germany.

...carefully researched and executed strategy

that added value...

www.altura.uk.come: chris@altura.uk.comm: +44 (0)7768 927 427

published by altura corporate and brand identity © 36 sebright road, high barnet, herts en5 4hl