Visual identity is an important aspect of public relations. PR involves the management of relationships with stakeholders and one way to start this relationship is to have your customers strongly associate themselves with your visual identity. Think about Nike and Apple. Their logos are so popular that you no longer need the name of the company to be used along with the symbol.
It’s not just companies that need a strong visual identity, but cities are also using it to generate positive PR. New York City does a great job of branding itself. The ubiquitous ‘I love NY’ logo can be seen on anything from a magnet to a T-shirt.
When I was in Rwanda, I noticed that there was a huge emphasis on gorilla tourism. Gorilla pictures were plastered on postcards and a big, plastic, gorilla greeted you at the entrance of the tourism board where you bought tickets to go see the endangered species.
In Bangalore, the funniest and most interesting visual identities for the city were slogans and images associated with the daily hassles of life in the city. I found the ‘swalpa adjust maadi’ slogan most interesting. (It translates to ‘please adjust a little bit’, a sentence regularly used by city officials when you need to get anything done fast. It asks you to tolerate delays). Bangloreans rightfully resented this sort of “branding” of their city and there have been protests demanding prompt action by elected representatives.
Visual identity is a useful tool for public relations because it gets people talking about your company, your brand or even your city. But there is need for caution. If people feel very strongly about your logo, they may feel alienated and may resent any changes. Check this out to see how customers reacted after Starbucks altered their logo.
And finally, read this interesting article that emphasizes the importance of visuals in public relations.
Happy holidays!