The document discusses the lifecycle of corporate identities and reasons why companies may need to change their identity over time. It provides examples of 10 strategic inflection points that can necessitate an identity change, such as changes in technology, consumer habits, culture, regulations, mergers and acquisitions, leadership, and business focus. The document proposes a model showing how these change factors intensify over time and put pressure on companies to reconsider their identity. Managing a corporate identity change is challenging as it is expensive and can confuse stakeholders if not communicated properly.

1. LIFECYCLE OF CORPORATE IDENTITIES
Tarun Menon Ankit Mogra
Research Executive Manager-Sales
IMRB, India Goodyear India Ltd.
tarun.menon@imrbint.com ankit_mogra@goodyear.com

2. Executive Summary
The research attempts to explore the need for a change in corporate identity by
organizations and to figure-out a pattern, if any, associated with such a change across
organizations.
As the introduction to the paper we have defined ‘Corporate Identity’, its purpose and
elements. In this paper we have limited our case studies to corporate identities that have
reflected some kind of a visual change apart from changes in any other element.
We have analyzed ten inflexion points ranging from mergers and acquisitions to business
re-orientation to changes in organizational culture and how these factors necessitate
changes in corporate identity. Based on this we have proposed a model which showcases
the growing impact of these factors over time and how the occurrence of World events
has intensified the ‘change factors’ which in turn are putting all the more pressure on
corporations globally to reconsider their identity. The intensity of these factors would
vary from industry to industry, with each industry having a different lifecycle.
The model brings out the paradox of shortened lifecycle of corporate identities which
itself poses an extraordinary challenge to companies for effectively elongating and
managing their identities. Changing ones corporate identity is not only an expensive
affair but can also create dissonance in the minds of the stakeholders, if not managed and
communicated properly. In order to succeed companies will have to exercise tremendous
clarity of thought and understand their purpose of existence.

3. Table of Contents
1. Corporate Identity : Concept and Purpose
2. Corporate v/s product brand identity
3. Corporate Identity Elements
4. Reasons for change : Strategic Inflexion Points
4.1. Change in Technology (Case Study : Intel; Kodak)
4.2. Change in Consumer Habits (Case Study : Intel; Kodak)
4.3. Change in Culture (Case Study : JWT)
4.4. Regulations and Societal Changes (Case Study : ITC; Altria)
4.5. Changes due to Mergers and Acquisitions (Case Study : Group Danone; AOL
Time Warner)
4.6. New Business Opportunities (Case Study : 3M)
4.7. Change in Name (Case Study : Sara Lee; Accenture)
4.8. Change in Leadership (Case Study : Intel; ITC)
4.9. Visual Considerations
4.10. Change in Focus (Case Study : Dabur India)
5. Conclusions
6. Bibliography

4. Introduction
Corporate Identity - Concept and purpose
The concept of corporate identity and its management evolved over the last 50 years, and
programs are now in place in most large organizations, in the private as well as the public
sector. Generally defined as a management technique for communicating an
organization’s unique characteristics in a memorable manner, corporate identity is based
on the premise that key publics must perceive an organization clearly and accurately if,
management objectives are to be achieved.
It can be said that every organization, regardless of size, has a corporate identity, and it
can be either formal or informal. The question is whether an organization manages its
corporate identity in the most effective and purposeful manner possible.
The function of management is to ensure that all corporate communications reflect the
organization and its goals in a consistent and positive manner, reinforcing each other. An
identity program is not a ‘quick fix’ to a problem of corporate communications, nor
should it be seen as a cosmetic that can represent something the institution is not. In
developing an identity one must examine the institution’s past, its present situation and
where it wants to be. Managing identity is taking a comprehensive view of an
institution’s activities, how these are being identified and how the public perceives the
institution. It involves long-range planning and represents an integral part of corporate
strategy. The aim is to minimize any dissonance between corporate identity and corporate
image.
Corporate v/s Product Brand Identities
There is a long-standing, often polarizing discussion about the differences between a
corporate brand, as opposed to a product brand identities. Upon certain thought one
realizes that there are big differences between corporate and product brand identity. For
the convenience of understanding, the differences can be categorized at the two levels –
analysis and execution.

5. At the analysis level, organizational philosophy plays the anchor role while
conceptualising a corporate identity whereas in case of the product brand identity it will
surely not play the role with the same intensity.
At execution level, the periphary for managing a product brand is restricted to the
understanding of the businesses whereas managing corporate identities are much beyond
the mere business/industry understanding. However, these differences may blur incase of
product or service brands that take the corporate name itself, say CitiGroup or HSBC.
Corporate Identity Elements
Every organization has a personality or an identity that is an amalgam of various factors
and which is symbolized through the use of a logo. While conceptualizing a corporate
identity a company must study four major components namely, architecture,
environment, communications and design.
Corporate Identity Elements
Design
Architecture Environment Communications
- Vision & Mission - Industry - Continuous media - Logo (wordmark
- Objectives - Competition Stationery & symbol)
- History - Size Calling cards - Corporate
- Culture - Location Signage Signature
- Philosophy - Society - Transient media - Type styles
- Ownership Print - Formats
- Political Scenario
- Management Television - Colours
- Relationships Internet - Product naming
- Subsidiaries system
- Businesses - Brand/product
- Core logos
Competencies - Business unit
names
- Brands / Products
- Divisions
- Job titles
-

6. Reasons for Change: Strategic Inflexion Points
We have analyzed certain trigger points that organizations face at some point of their life
that forces them to review their identity. These factors have been explained through
various case studies.
These inflexion points, for one, can not be studied in isolation for example like, a reason
for technology becoming extremely important for an organization could be because of
change in focus or vice a versa. And hence, the duplication of certain case studies under
different change factors.
Secondly, most of these factors are affected by World events; the affect of which on these
have been discussed later.
#1: Change in Technology
Technology is a significant factor when it comes to driving change and who would know
it better than tech giants like Intel and Kodak.
On January 2006, Intel unveiled a new brand identity; today that represents a significant
milestone in the company’s history and further signifies the company’s evolution to a
market-driving platform solutions company. The key technologies behind Intel’s platform
focus include the microprocessor, chipset and software that together enhance system
performance and improve the overall user experience.
The new brand identity involves changes to the widely recognized Intel Inside® logo that
was created in 1991, and the original Intel ‘dropped-e’ logo, which was created by
Silicon Valley pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore 37 years ago as they were
forming their new ‘integrated electronics’ company.
1969 1991 2006 2006

7. This change to the corporate identity stems from a change in their entire business model.
Under Grove and successor Craig R. Barrett, Intel thrived by concentrating on the
microprocessors that power personal computers. By narrowing the company’s focus, the
duo buried the competition. Today, Paul Otellini, the new CEO along with new CMO
Eric B. Kim have been instrumental in tossing this model out and pushing Intel to play a
key technological role in on four key market segments namely mobile, digital home,
enterprise and health.
But for a company that is pulling in nearly USD 1 billion in profits every month, many
would question such a change. The fact of the matter is Intel is facing a possible
slowdown. PC growth is slowing, even as cell phones and handheld devices compete for
the numero uno spot in people’s lives. Intel’s revenue growth has averaged 13% for the
past three years, but analysts figure it will see only 7% growth in 2006, to $42.2 billion.
Meantime, profits, which have surged an average 40% annually over the past three years,
are expected to rise a measly 5%, to $9.5 billion.
In addition to the possible market slowdown, there are a couple of more factors at work.
One is the public’s increasingly insatiable desire for ubiquitous computing. For example,
computer users want to procure music, photos, movies and other types of content out of
their computers. The other is that longtime rival AMD is steadily eating into Intel’s
market share and has out maneuvered Intel with the its 64 bit Athlon and Opteron chips.
Another company in the midst of a technology shift is Kodak. With the emergence of
digital photography, Kodak has been trying to extend or refocus its brand to include
digital products and services. As one of the strongest brands ever, Kodak is associated in
peoples’ minds with photography and, specifically, film.
In 2004, Kodak embarked on full blown digital transformation that will continue till 2008
and which will see them balance their commercial and consumer portfolios, achieve
attractive margins and generate substantial revenues.

8. Kodak’s strategy is to broaden their digital
presence in three markets, namely consumer,
commercial and healthcare and they are well
poised to handle these markets given the
brand, the technology and their expertise. In
this attempt to handle the shift, Kodak has
hived off its Remote Sensing Systems Unit, its
APS camera business and closed or
consolidated many of its global film and
photographic paper manufacturing units. The
company has also been restructured and it
now focuses on three main business areas:
Digital and Film Imaging systems, Graphic
communications and Health.
In 2005 more than half of Kodak’s revenues
came from digital products and with digital revenue growth standing at 40% and overall
growth up by 6%. (See table below)
In order to communicate this drastic change Kodak felt the need to change its corporate
identity and hence, the new visual identity. The new logo reflects the multi-industry,
digital imaging leader Kodak has become.

9. #2: Change in Consumer Habits
Linked very closely to technological changes is a change in consumer habits be it usage
patterns, consumer behaviour or rate of adoption. Intel and Kodak tie in very well with
the changing consumer paradigm. In the case of Intel it was the consumers’ requirements
with regard to omnipresent computing. The consumer wants to access information
wherever he is and doesn’t want to be tied down to his desktop. What this also means is
that the computer is now competing with mobile phones and PDAs.
In the case of Kodak, it involved the sudden rage surrounding digital technology and the
way the consumer has readily adopted the technology. The consumer made the transition
from traditional film to digital technology with consummate ease and this had Kodak
floundering for awhile.
#3: Change in Culture
In January 2005, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, J. Walter Thompson
formulated a brand new point of view for itself. “Buy People’s Time with Powerful
Ideas; New Creative and Performance Metrics, Corporate ID Signal Change.”
According to Bob Jeffrey, Worldwide CEO of J. Walter Thompson, ‘Time is the new
currency. Our job is to ensure that more people spend more time with our clients’ brands.
We need to create ideas that people want to spend more time with. The better the idea the
more time people will spend with it.’
2005
This change in corporate culture saw J. Walter Thompson become JWT. The new multi-
coloured logo reflects the multi-cultural aspect of the organization and also aims to
project it as a contemporary organization. In addition to this it also saw the formulation of
new Creative Standards, and a quantitative-and-qualitative evaluation tool that will move

10. the agency beyond using financials as the sole performance measure. Called the Health
Check, the evaluation tool considers an office’s work, people, client relationships and
reputation, in addition to the bottom line.
This initiative aims to shift in their focus from account management which was
historically the agency’s strength to creative strategy, award worthy work, and producing
ideas that stay with the customers beyond the duration of the message. Now the reasons
for this transformation are two. One, the industry was changing and JWT was falling by
the wayside. In 2002 and 2003, J. Walter Thompson’s flagship operation in New York
had competed in 20 new business pitches without a single win. It had lost cornerstone
accounts such as Kellogg’s; others (Merrill Lynch, for one) were hemorrhaging. Year-
over-year revenue growth was stalled at 5%, and employee morale was at an all-time low.
In India, with the fee based system increasingly replacing the 15% commission model,
advertising was becoming more accountable. Formula based advertising was making way
for compelling creative. The exit of the commission system has also led to the end of
long term contracts and the unbundling of services with divisions such as creative, media,
direct marketing and public relations becoming separate profit centers.
The second factor is the sheer size of JWT. There was a disconnect between the
company and its employees. Many a time employees were more clued on to the clients’
culture. The size factor also imposed another handicap – JWT was unable to attract the
best creative talent.
The renewed focus on creative and compelling advertising is surely working for JWT as
they’ve won 22 awards at Cannes 2006 as compared to their tally of 15 in the previous
year. For the fourth largest agency in the world, it still has a long way to go.
#4: Regulations and Societal Changes
ITC is one of India’s foremost private sector companies with a market capitalization of
over US $ 13 billion and a turnover of US $ 3.5 billion. Rated among the World’s Best
Big Companies by Forbes magazine and among India’s Most Respected Companies by

11. Business World, ITC ranks third in pre-tax profit among India’s private sector
corporations.
ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name of ‘Imperial Tobacco
Company of India Limited’. The Company’s ownership progressively Indianised, and the
name of the Company was changed to I.T.C. (Indian Tobacco Company) Limited in
1974. In recognition of the Company’s multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide
range of businesses - Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information Technology, Packaging,
Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Agri-Exports, Foods, Lifestyle Retailing and Greeting
Gifting & Stationery - the full stops in the Company’s name were removed effective
September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened ‘ITC Limited’.
The removal of full stops is not merely a facial
uplift in ITC’s corporate identity, it is a face of
the philosophy that the company has truly
believed in and worked towards under the
visionary leadership of Y. C. Deveshwar.
Despite the huge profits from the cigarette
industry, the company is aware that the good
times may not last. The Government is
tightening regulations and ITC has been forced
to stop sponsoring the Indian cricket team. In such a situation, keeping up brand loyalties
will get more difficult all the time. Initiatives like setting up `Wills Sport’ stores will only
have a limited impact owing to the small number of such stores and their upmarket
profile.
According to the company, the success of the strategy of creating multiple drivers of
growth leveraging the diverse competencies inherent in the various portfolios of
businesses is evident from the growing share of the non-cigarette business. Over the last

12. six years the net turnover of non-cigarette business has grown at a compounded annual
growth rate of 30% to Rs 4,707 crore in 2005-06.
The net effect of the skewed taxation policy of the Central government is an increase in
contraband cigarette sales apart from a gradual shift in tobacco consumption patterns in
the country. Cigarettes are one of the most highly taxed commodities in India, and almost
half the gross revenues of cigarette companies like ITC, Godfrey Philips, VST, and GTC
go towards excise payments. Present tobacco consumption is totally skewed in favour of
chewing tobacco and paan masala, with a lion’s share of 48 per cent, followed by bidis,
which constitute around 36 per cent. Cigarettes are the smallest component with a 16 per
cent share. Additionally, a ban on cigarette advertising has just compounded the matters
for tobacco majors already reeling under excessive taxation while advertising by
international brands continues unabated with increased penetration of satellite channels
into Indian homes.
ITC’s brands will also be under attack from foreign brands beamed through satellite TV
channels to Indian homes. The immediate danger is clearly the inflow of foreign
cigarettes through informal channels. Following the lifting of quantitative restrictions,
foreign brands are now sold with impunity by retailers.
The company also faces a threat from an unexpected quarter. For years it has battled bidis
that have burnt a hole in the cigarette market. Now, however, it is facing a threat from
chewing tobacco. The market share of cigarettes in tobacco sales has declined from 19
per cent five years ago to 16 per cent today, and most of the market share has gone to
chewing tobacco. Even the poor man’s bidi has been hit by the sudden fondness for
chewing tobacco. Chewing products now constitute 36 per cent of the tobacco market and
there are no prohibitions on advertising and sponsorships.
A similar example is that of Phillip Morris changing their
name to Altria. Even though they were the largest consumer
product company in the world, their corporate name actually

13. shared the name of their cigarette division which had a terrible
reputation and was rubbing off on the corporate brand. It was
an impediment to the other brands that they owned like Kraft
and Nabisco.
#5: Changes Due To Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and Acquisitions are extremely powerful corporate events that have the potential
to create critical issues with respect to the performance, survival and success of the
individual as well as the company. Companies coming together have to study each others
cultures, strategies, products and brands. It is essential that there is a synergy between the
brands and that this compatibility is articulated through a well engineered corporate
identity.
In recent years there have been some huge mergers and acquisitions especially in the oil
industry. It is part of a trend toward industrial and financial consolidations where
transnational corporations are seeking to strengthen their position amid tight global
competition. The nature of modern production requires access to markets and raw
materials throughout the world and possession of enormous amounts of capital. Examples
include BP Amoco, Chevron-Texaco and Exxon Mobil.
We have studied two cases to showcase the impact of M&As on corporate identity-
Group Danone and AOL Time Warner.
Two French glass companies, Souchon-Neuvesel glassworks and Glaces de Boussois
merged in 1966 to become Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel or BSN, boasting an annual

14. turnover of one billion French francs (€ 1.5M). By the 1970s, after more mergers and
acquisitions, BSN Gervais Danone was the largest food group in France, offering
everything from ready-to-eat meals to drinks, pasta and packaged foods.
By the early 1990s BSN Gervais Danone looked to emerging markets such as Asia, Latin
America and South Africa for millions of fresh, untapped consumers. To position itself as
a global food powerhouse, the company realized that the cumbersome and lengthy name
of BSN Gervais Danone was not evocative enough to match its new objective at the
global level. BSN wasn’t known and didn’t have any inherent meaning beyond the
company itself. From a consumer standpoint, the initials were completely invisible.
According to Landor Associates, BSN wanted to stand for
three things: purity, wholesome, and natural and after
extensive research, it was determined that the Danone
brand captured the three attributes best. Potential
downsides of bumping the product brand up to the
corporate level were considered and in the end, the
company was christened Groupe Danone and a visual mark
of a little boy gazing at a star in the sky was created.
A very different kind of example is that of AOL Time Warner. Three and a half years
after Time Warner merged with America Online (AOL), a tie-up which the two firms had
hoped would generate huge returns by distributing Time Warner’s films and music over
AOL’s global internet network, the world’s biggest media and entertainment firm was
simply known as Time Warner and the AOL prefix was dropped.
The collapse of the internet bubble wiped out much of
AOL’s market value, ensuring that the much-hyped
combination never yielded the promised results. The
merger had also been hampered by a culture clash
between AOL’s new media executives and their more

15. traditional counterparts at Time Warner, as well as a poor performance from the online
division in the years since the two companies joined forces.
It is believed that the Time Warner executives had been contemplating dropping the AOL
prefix, but the name change strategy acquired added momentum when AOL’s own boss,
Jonathan Miller, threw his weight behind it. Mr. Miller was neutral in the feud between
AOL and Time Warner executives, having been brought in after the original merger to
overhaul the company’s online activities.
Both parties are trying to distance themselves from the fiasco, with both of them trying to
rectify the situation and rebuild their equity.
#6: New Business Opportunities
A perfect example of a company that has had to change its corporate identity from time to
time because of new products and new businesses is 3M. Starting of as the Minnesota
Mining and Manufacturing Co. 3M quickly moved into sandpaper, Scotch® Tape,
defense materials, photographic products, carbonless papers, overhead projection
systems, medical products, pharmaceuticals, radiology ,energy control, optical films for
LCD televisions and cleaning products. Now due to these changes in its product
portfolio, 3M had to evolve and thus change its corporate identity.
The first 50 years saw a phase of nonchalant trademarking. The first appeared in 1906. It
was a complex amalgamation of the company’s full name, its headquarters location
(Duluth, Minn.) and, in a diamond at the center of the design, the term, ‘3M Co.’.
Variations of this design survived until World War II. But it was not the company’s only
logo. Sometimes, as many as three or four very different marks were used concurrently.
Most followed a hyphenated 3-M theme, but one spelled out the number so the logo read:
Three M. The second phase of mark-making began in 1950 with the debut of a simplified
logo. But with no standards manual to provide guidelines, variations of this logo
flourished. In some cases, the oval was completely abandoned and the ‘3M’ stood alone.

16. 1906 1950 1961 1977
By 1960, 3M was a major international corporation producing more than 27,000 products
with sales of $550 million, and a third logo phase began. While the decentralization of
the company into virtually autonomous divisions had sparked tremendous growth,
management felt that the company as a whole was suffering from an identity crisis. To
solve its identity problem, 3M hired Gerald Stahl & Associates, a New York design firm,
to create a definitive logo that would unite the corporation and all its business units under
a single sign. The result was a ‘3M’ with a decidedly industrial look. This exercise also
had its shortcomings.
By the 1970s, a change was needed. 3M was no longer a company focused on industrial
abrasives and tapes, but now had many innovative products for the commercial and
consumer markets. In 1977, 3M embarked on phase four in the evolution of the logo.
Siegel & Gale (S&G), a New York design firm, was hired to audit the existing system.
The result was the current 3M logo.
#7: Change in Name
A change in name is a compelling enough reason for a company to revisit and redefine its
corporate identity. This is exactly what happened to companies like Sara Lee Corporation
and Accenture although their reasons for name change are different.
In 1939 Nathan Cummings acquired C.D. Kenny Company, a wholesale distributor of
sugar, coffee and tea in Baltimore, which later became Consolidated Foods Corporation
in 1954 to emphasize its diversified role in food processing, packaging and distribution.
The name is selected to identify with more than one segment of the food industry.

17. In 1956 Consolidated acquired Kitchens of Sara Lee and entered the retail food business.
From then on the company acquired a number of companies like Electrolux in 1978,
Hanes in 1979, and Nicholas Kiwi in 1984, to name a few. In 1985 the company was
renamed Sara Lee Corporation to reflect the consumer marketing orientation of the
company and the high-quality, well-known branded products it markets around the world.
The diverse nature of its businesses necessitated a change in corporate identity. The
previous name had lost its meaning and relevance.
Accenture on the other hand is an interesting story when you consider the circumstances
for the change and the time they had to do it. The name change followed an independent
arbitrator’s August ruling in favor of Andersen Consulting in its arbitration with
Andersen Worldwide and Arthur Andersen. Under the terms of
the ruling, Andersen Consulting was excused from any further
obligations to Andersen Worldwide and Arthur Andersen, including any obligation to
make termination payments, and given until December 31, 2000 to adopt a new name.
The entire naming process — from conceptualization, analysis
and research to final name selection — was completed in what
is believed to be a record time of less than three months. Employees contributed 2,700
name ideas, Landor Associates added a few thousand and the winner was Kim Petersen,
an employee from the Oslo office. The word ‘Accenture’ is derived from ‘Accent on the
future’.
With the breakaway from Arthur Andersen and the fact that the partners felt that the word
‘Consulting’ in the name was a drawback, since the firm was moving into non-consulting
work such as outsourcing and ventures, it was only a logical step to adopt a new name
and a new identity.

18. #8: Change in Leadership
For the success of any corporate identity program, a strong leader is essential. He or she
should not only support the program but more importantly act as a catalyst.
Taking over the chairmanship from Krishan Lal Chugh in 1996, Y. C. Deveshwar had a
daunting task ahead of him, transformation not only of the company but also in the way
stakeholders use to look at the businesses conducted by the company.
Analyzing the speeches made by Deveshwar from 1996 to 2006 on ITC Annual General
Meetings, which is an extremely crucial event for any company to communicate itself to
all its stakeholders, one can not be hesitant in saying that he had an absolutely clarity
with respect to the fate that he had decided for ITC. The way he had prepared his team
for the sea change that lied ahead is reflected in the AGM speeches made by him:
In his first Annual General Meeting speech in 1996, the AGM title was ‘Economic
Dimensions of the Tobacco Industry’ and his opening lines were “Today, I would like to
highlight the immense growth potential of the tobacco and cigarettes industry, its
economic dimensions and related opportunities.”
Further in the speech the aspects touched were: the global tobacco market, the Indian
tobacco market, how tobacco industry in India can be structured by learning from the US
tobacco market and how tobacco of better quality can be produced.
Now take a look at 1997 AGM title ‘Reshaping the ITC of Tomorrow’ and the opening
lines nowhere talked about tobacco; even in the rest of the speech ‘Economic Potential of
the Tobacco Sector’ was just one of the aspects talked about amongst others such as ‘The
Emerging Economic Landscape’, ‘Core Business for the Future’, ‘Travel and Tourism
Sector’, ‘Packaging and Paperboard Sectors’, ‘Investigations Relating to Export
Transactions’, and ‘Company’s Contribution to the Economy’. But the most noticeable
aspect of the 1997 speech was Deveshwar bringing in a concept of ITC as an Indian
Enterprise.

19. It was in the year 1998 that he talked about the repositioning and restructuring of ITC and
change in the strategic focus and challenges; and all this he wanted to align with the
concept of Indian Enterprise with greater value addition. In successive years Deveshwar’s
concept of Indian Enterprise only gained more and more prominence in ITC’s strategic
intent and the company started addressing issues like how India’s economic growth could
be accelerated, how rural India could be more involved in the growth process, how
technology can be harnessed further for the betterment of Indian farmers, etc. Hence the
birth of initiatives like, e-choupal, etc.
From ‘Economic Dimensions of the Tobacco Industry’ to ‘Vision, Values and Vitality;
Powering ITC’s Transformation’, the title for the AGM speech made by Deveshwar on
July 21, 06, ITC has come a long way under his transformational leadership. It would not
be wrong to conclude that Deveshwar had a very clear vision of how he would be
integrating ITC’s growth with the country’s growth. Although in such strategic
restructuring instances time given to a leader is of immense important, the leader’s vision
for the company is the most important criteria for successful transformation. If the
numbers do all the talking, then here is the latest quarter fact (as reported in The Financial
Express dated August 12, 2006) where, the ITC’s non-cigarette divisions fetched over 50% of
net sales (Rs 9,791 crore), against 15%-20% a few years.
Intel is another company propelled by a visionary leader. Reorganization aside, CEO,
Paul Otellini also made dramatic changes with respect to the way products were
designed. While in the past engineers worked on ever-faster chips and then let marketers
try to sell them, there are now teams of people with a cross-section of skills. Chip
engineers, software developers, marketers, and market specialists all work together to
come up with compelling products. Otellini put most of Intel’s 98,000 employees into
new jobs creating new business units for each product area including mobility and
healthcare. He also added 20,000 new jobs in the past year.
Another important aspect is the impact of this change on the product portfolio. The
famous Pentium brand will be slowly phased out. In its place: a troika of brands, two of

20. those freshly minted. Viiv is the name of a new chip for home PCs, designed to replace
your TiVo (TIVO ), stereo, and, potentially, cable or satellite set-top box. Intel also will
launch a set of notebook PC chips under the three-year-old Centrino brand, as well as so-
called dual-core chips, which will put two processor cores on one sliver of silicon. The
new brand ‘Core’ will be put on products that don’t meet the specifications of the Viiv or
Centrino platforms.
#9: Visual Considerations
Many companies have changed their corporate logos because of certain visual
considerations. These according to us are cosmetic in nature and do not reflect a change
in a company’s corporate identity per se.
Pontiac Texaco
These considerations would include the existing symbol becoming controversial for some
reason, as in the case of Pontiac. The design itself has grown obsolete, appearing dated,
old-fashioned. This happened to Texaco. Perhaps the existing symbol created technical
problems, for example in being too delicate to reproduce well. An example in this case
would be that of the Citicorp logo. Another reason could be due to legal concerns as in
the case of AT&T.
Citicorp AT & T
#10: Change in Focus
Set up in 1884 by Dr S K Burman in West Bengal as a proprietary firm for the
manufacture of ayurvedic drugs, Dabur is now one of the top five fast moving consumer
goods (FMCG) companies in India, dealing in food and beverages, health care, oral care,

21. personal care products and a host of other products. Though its spread into various
segments has ensured that the company’s bottom-line has improved over the years,
Dabur’s positioning was not clear.
Therefore, in the early 2000s, the company went in for a restructuring which included
aligning Dabur’s brand architecture with Dabur’s brand equity; pruning products that did
not align with the brand architecture and launching new products.
Dabur shifted their focus from ayurveda to FMCG because the FMCG business was
clearly doing far better. They also focused on overseas sales and an international business
division has been set up within the company to promote exports. The company went
about this reorientation by streamlining their product portfolio, by realigning their supply
chain systems and by acquiring consumer goods companies Balsara and Weikfield.
But the most important task in any such change in business reorientation or restructuring
is the communication of the new philosophy to the stakeholders. So, after over two
decades of using the banyan tree as its logo, DIL decided to replace it with something
‘more contemporary and relevant’.

22. Hence, the new corporate identity was born which, through its
form and colours and the new logo combines freshness and
stability. It expresses a brand that is positive, proactive and
progressive. The burst of leaves and their colours symbolize
growth, rejuvenation and inner strength.

23. Conclusion & Findings
In the above model, on the vertical axis we have listed the factors (not an exhaustive list)
that have forced corporations worldwide to reconsider their corporate identities; of the
factors spelled out here, ‘change in name’ and ‘visual consideration’ are two factors that
are not bound by timeline or the World events.
On the horizontal axis are the World events on a timeline; the axis can be infinitely
elongated to the left but for the convenience of understanding the model we have taken it
from 1900 onwards.
The model helps us understand how the occurrence of World events has intensified the
‘change factors’ which in turn are putting all the more pressure on corporations globally

24. to reconsider their identity in order to keep pace with the fast changing times. Therefore,
the changing shades of blue colour in the model that signify the increasing intensity of
the factors framed against the timeline.
Another critical point that this model brings out is the shortening timeline. Towards the
beginning of the 19th century the World events were intense by themselves but could not
affect the factors in turn, to put enough pressure on businesses to reconsider their
corporate identities; but as the previous millennium was approaching the end the World
events were so strongly affecting the factors that corporations had not many options but
to reconsider their identities to communicate the change that had undergone or were
expecting soon. So the lifecycle of corporate identities is shortening every passing event;
be it a new technology that has forced Intel and Kodak to change their identities or
regulatory changes that required giant corporate brands like Philip Morris and ITC to
change their identities.
This paradox of shortened lifecycle of corporate identities itself poses an extraordinary
challenge to the companies for effectively elongating and managing their identities.
Changing ones corporate identity is not only an expensive affair but can also create
dissonance in the minds of the stakeholders, if not managed and communicated properly.
In order to succeed companies will have to exercise tremendous clarity of thought and
understand their purpose of existence.

25. Bibliography
Press Articles:
Dabur
Management Discussion and Analysis (2002-03)
Management Discussion and Analysis (2003-04)
Dabur Annual Report (2004-05)
Accenture to pen Dabur’s sales reform
Dabur says IT is its chyawanprash
Dabur India Ltd by Jaffe, Rosenthal & Gupta
Dabur pens Rs 500 crore e-sourcing strategy
FMCG consumption patterns largely static by Chiatali Chakravarty & J Padmapriya
Dabur plans product reallocation by Bhanu Pande
Dabur upbeat on growth strategy by Jyothi Datta
ITC
ITC to focus beyond tobacco; The Asian Age, 2001
ITC’s new mantra; Business Standard, 2001
Excise on cigarettes - Real bad for Big Smoke; Business India, 2001
Grey market afire as govt stubs out ITC ads; The Economic Times, 2001
ITC chief calls for deeper partnership in economy; The New Indian Express, 2001
Deveshwar stresses on Indianness; The Times of India, 2001
ITC’s non-tobacco drive to lift topline by Rs.2000 cr; Business Standard, 2001
ITC to hike investment in non-tobacco areas; The Financial Express, 2001
Govt. urged to drop cigarettes from free import list; Deccan Herald, 2001
Many ways of tobacco danger; Business Standard, 2001
ITC seeks reformed legal regime for tobacco sector; The Hindu Business Line, 2001
Keep cigarettes out of VAT, says TII; The Hindu Business Line, 2001
Where There’s A Wills; The Times of India, 2001
ITC calls for `pragmatism’ on WHO norms; The Times of India, 2001
Dressed to Kill; Business Today, 2002
ITC expects e-choupals to be biggest grosser; Business Standard, 2003
ITC sees big jump in foods division revenue; The Times of India, 2003
ITC: Where There Is Smoke, There’s Fire! The Financial Express, 2003
Smoking Proves Good For ITC’s Health; The Financial Express, 2003
Leading a focused conglomerate; The Financial Express, 2003
ITC To Ramp Up Hotel Business; Financial Express, 2004
ITC: The non-tobacco drag; Business Standard, 2004
FMCG: ITC steps on the gas; The Financial Express, 2005
Tobacco exit unlikely to hurt ITC: Deveshwar; Business Standard, 2005
Non-cigarette segment lifts ITC; DNA India, 2006
The morphing of ITC; The Financial Express, 2006
Chairman’s AGM Speech, 2006
Chairman’s AGM Speech, 1996, 97, 98, 99, 2000, 01& 02
Intel
Financial Statements from 1996-05
Intel’s New Brand Architecture, 2006
Intel in Healthcare: Connecting People and Information for better health, 2006
Business Outlook, 2006
AMD grabs Intel market share in desktop arena, 2004
Inside Intel, 2006
Intel: Repositioning, and new corporate logo ; www.identityworks.com, 2006
Intel Set to ‘Leap Ahead’ in 2006; Clint Boulton, www.internetnews.com, 2005
‘Intel Inside’ out, ‘Leap ahead’ in for new year, 2005

26. Intel Unveils New Brand Identity, 2006
The Industry Handbook - The Semiconductor Industry; www.investopedia.com
Historical Stock Chart; www.intel.com, 2006
Kodak
Eastman Kodak; www.identityworks.com, 2006
Kodak Introduces New Logo; www.adrants.com, 2006
Annual Report, 2004 and 2005
JWT
JWT re-defines role; www.wpp.com, press release, 2005
Advertising: Where change is a constant; The Hindu Business Line, 2004
J Walter Thompson is now JWT; The Hindu Business Line, 2005
JWT’s creative quest; The Hindu Business Line, 2005
Dialogue with Rohit Ohri, Senior Vice President, JWT; www.exchange4media.com, 2005
It’s time stupid: JWT; www.domain-b.com, 2005
Websites:
http://www.identityworks.com/tools/components_of_identity.htm
http://www.identityworks.com/tools/corporate_identity_process.htm
http://www.identityworks.com/tools/corporate_brand_platforms.htm
http://www.identityworks.com/tools/implementation_checklist.htm
http://www.identityworks.com/reviews/index.htm
http://www.brandensemble.com/content.html
http://www.ciportal.de/index.php?id=32&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=769&tx_ttnews[backPid]=6&cHash=7bd14b1bf2
http://www.logolounge.com/articles/default.asp?Archive=True&ArticleID=248
http://www.logolounge.com/articles/default.asp?Archive=True&ArticleID=210
http://www.logolounge.com/articles/default.asp?Archive=True&ArticleID=209
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n3_v40/ai_20141977/pg_1
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4001/is_200101/ai_n8940894/pg_1
http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=632
http://www.management-hub.com/brand-management-power.html
http://www.polaris-inc.com/
http://www.wpdfd.com/
Other Resources:
Designs of the Times by Tony Spaeth, 1991
Corporate Identity: A Watershed Year by Tony Spaeth, 1991
Logomania by Tony Spaeth, 1992
Do Logos Really Matter? by Tony Spaeth, 1993
What does it all mean? by Tony Spaeth, 1994
PowerBrands by Tony Spaeth, 1998
Corporate Identity Management: Applying the ACID Test by Tricia Fox, John Balmer, Alan Wilson, 2001
The role of trademarks in M&A by Tim Heberden and David Haigh, 2006
Seven Reasons for a Corporate Logo/Symbol Change by Tony Spaeth
Corporate Identity Implementation Checklist by Tony Spaeth
Managing your brand through your employees by Larry Oakner, 2005
Would a brand smell any sweeter by a corporate name? by Leslie de Chernatony, 2001
Aligning Your Organization and Your Brand for Performance, Interbrand, 2001
BrandAsset Valuator®, Young & Rubicam Group
Leveraging the Corporate Brand by James R. Gregory