Corporate identities are part of the advertising landscape.  When out and about and long before we can make out the detail a company brand is identifiable.  Many logos come to mind such as those of Shell, Cadbury, Virgin, carmakers and television giants BBC and ITV. Corporate bodies pay telephone numbers when acquiring or changing their logos.  No upstart rival, even if their product was superior, could hope to compete against established brand names.

BT is a telecommunications company. BT does not manufacture telephones yet we often see the BT logo on equipment that we purchase.  I realised why when I spotted a two-inch news story in a copy of the Financial Times. Any telephone manufacturing company wishing to use the BT logo on their product first acquires a licence to do so.  This does not come cheap. I seem to recall that this figure is 10 per cent of the product’s price.  However, the BT symbol on a product is much more likely to be taken to the check-out than is an unknown brand.

Rentokil, which most think of as a pest control company is one of the great corporate giants of the world. With its tentacles in a myriad of global industries, Rentokil does not actually employ operators.  Rentokil sub-contracts out to local pest control specialists and after paying them sends the much-inflated bill to the Rentokil client.

When assessing two damp proofing specialists for Guild of Master Craftsmen accreditation the Rentokil uniformed two explained that they were carrying out contracts on behalf for Rentokil. Their hourly rate was about 20 per cent of what Rentokil charges the client.  My son is the factory manager of a company that makes specialist bags.  These bags are purchased by the likes of the NHS, Virgin Airlines, hotel chains, the Ministry of Defence. 

Such corporate enterprises do not buy direct from my son’s company but from an agent his company supplies.  The actual manufacturing cost of each bag is a fraction of what these illustrious bodies pay for the end product.  There lies the power of branding ~ or corruption.

ADVICE SUMMARY: Add to your company stationery a logo that identifies your business: for instance an awning, home, parasol or awning. This has the advantage of adding corporate credibility to your business profile.