Corporate Branding Management Proposal

January 14, 2009Proposal Phase 1

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Contents

Introduction 3

Brand Definition 4

Corporate Branding 5Design Concept 1

Master Branding 6Design Concept 2

Product Branding 7Design Concept 3

Reflective Branding 8Design Concept 4

Sub-Product Brands 9

Competition 10

2

Core Identity Elements 11

Tagline 12

Identity Prototypes 13-19

Branding Process 20

Branding Checklist 21 Phase 1

IC Alternative Logos 22

FD Alternative Logos 23

Creditntell Alt. Logos 24

ARMS Alt. Logos 25

Conclusion 26

Introduction

What is Brand Identity?

Brand identity is the face and outwardexpression of the brand, including itsname and visual appearance whichensures consumer recognition andindividuality. A brand identitytypically includes a name, logodesign, and other visual elementssuch as images or symbols.

NOTE: Consumers typicallyrecognize and remember visualexpressions more powerfully thanthey remember names or words.

The foundation of our visual identity system, theInformation Clearinghouse (IC) signature, is the mostconcise expression of the IC brand. It is responsible forcommunicating the qualities that make us unique andone of a kind.

Brands exist in many levels and many combinations.Today, mergers and acquisitions are commonplace andcan further blur and complicate a company's brand.

The purpose of this proposal is to define our brandingarchitectural system.

3

4

Brand Definition

Defining Your Brand

For simplicity, I have broken downfour branding strategies forevaluation. There are other variationsof these themes, but it can becomecomplex and is beyond the scope ofthis presentation.

Based on the brand platform, weshould go to market using a single,defining brand philosophy, which willbe implemented across all divisionsconsistently to build equity andunderstanding of the new brand.

Chose a method that works best andallows for growth.

Corporate Brand - By corporate brand, I mean "Ownership"of all product brands, such as Proctor & Gamble. The brandtakes the lead above the corporate identity. P&G chose notto advise consumers of its ownership, but there are no hardrules. Our position would most likely be to advise ourcustomers of IC ownership. The graphics do not need tobe relatable to all product brands.

Master Brand - A brand that can (or does) span a numberof closely or distantly related categories and currently hasother brands, sub-brands, and/or lines within its scope orrange. An example of this is how GE markets their products.Everything has the GE logo on it, while spanning multipleindustries. Their Master brand would be GE. The sub-brandsare Profile, Monogram, Lighting, Healthcare, Aviation, etc.The graphics should relate to all product brands.

Product Brand - Brands that generally stay in one or similarcategories, although they may have sub-brands. Graphicswould be the same but they are differentiated by title andcolor.

Reflective Brand - Incorporating the Corporate Brand strategyinto the Master Brand & Product Brand. All brands stay in oneor similar categories and are identified through divisions.Sub-brands would be difficult to market with this method.

5

Corporate Brand

Design Concept 1

Different logos with common ideasand colors. The objective is to havepowerful-looking logos that illustratespeed and global communication.

Corporate Brand - By corporate brand, I mean "Ownership" ofall product brands, such as Proctor & Gamble. The brand takes the leadabove the corporate identity. P&G chose not to advise consumers of itsownership, but there are no hard rules. Our position would mostlikely be to advise our customers of IC ownership. The graphics donot need to be relatable to all product brands.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Corporate Logo

F&D Logo

F&D R e p o r t s

Creditntell Logo

ARMS Logo

6

Master Brand

Design Concept 2

Following the corporate logo as a basisfor the product logos. They all haveelements and colors relating to oneanother as in the corporate brand. Theobjective is to have powerful-lookinglogos that illustrate speed and globalcommunication.

Master Brand - A brand that can (or does) span a number ofclosely or distantly related categories and currently has other brands,sub-brands, and/or lines within its scope or range. An example of thisis how GE markets their products. Everything has the GE logo on it,while spanning multiple industries. Their Master brand would be GE. Thesub-brands are Profile, Monogram, Lighting, Healthcare, Aviation,etc. The graphics should relate to all product brands.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Corporate Logo

F&D Logo

Creditntell Logo

ARMS Logo

7

Product Brand

Design Concept 3

Following the corporate logo as a parentfor the product logos. They are all thesame differentiated only by colors andtitle. You must be careful; as you expandcolors can be limited. The objective isto have powerful-looking logos thatillustrate speed and globalcommunication remains the same.

Product Brand - Brands that generally stay in one or similarcategories, although they may have sub-brands. Graphics would bethe same but they are differentiated by title and color.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Logo

F&D Logo

Creditntell Logo

ARMS Logo

8

Reflective Brand

Design Concept 4

This method takes the corporate logoand differentiates the product brandsor business units by title . This reflectivemethod can simplify your productbrand but it also can be limiting anddifficult to market.

Reflective Brand - Incorporating the Corporate Brand strategy intothe Master Brand & Product Brand. All brands stay in one or similarcategories and are identified through divisions. Sub-brands would bedifficult to market with this method.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Logo

F&D Logo

Creditntell Logo

ARMS Logo

9

Sub-ProductBrands

Design Concept

Sub-products are the products thatfall under a product line such as F&D'sScrambled Eggs and ARMS Eggs OverDelinquency Bulletin. We would marketthese sub-product brands using plaintext. The important sub-product wordwould be bold for an esthetic design.This method allows us a tremendouslatitude and eliminates any complicationsor problems with future products.

Scrambled Eggs

Eggs OverDelinquency

Bulletin

Bondwatch

Foodservice SectorNewsletter

Scrambled Eggs

Eggs Over Delinquency Bulletin

Bondwatch

FoodserviceSector Newsletter

10

Competition

Stand Out From The Competition

Effective branding and the right logocan go a long way in helping you tobuild brand loyalty.

There is a psychological aspect in howyour branding is perceived. Thisperception starts with your companylogo design.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Corporate Logo

D&B Logo

DebtwireLogo

CreditworthyLogo

SeafaxLogo

11

Core IdentityElements

Branding Identity Elements

Any combination of these elementswill help define your identity. Acorporate guidelines manual willcommunicate all specifications for thecompany.

Core Logo

PrimaryColor

Palette

PossibleTypography

Options

PrimaryGraphic

Elements

Myriad Pro - Futura - Arial

The circle can be used in any combinationthat best suits a design. Cropping andabstracting is acceptable.

12

Tagline

Words to Define Your Company

It is better to have no tagline than apoor one. While a company mightbenefit significantly from a tagline, ithas to be willing to develop a greatone. The real test of a tagline iswhether it is memorable and if itexpresses the true beliefs of thecompany.

I have created a few suggestions butrecommend the appropriate peoplethink about this and provide aselection for the team to review.

1. "Intelligent Business Resources"

2. "Resourceful Solutions"

3. "Your Connecting Financial Solution"

4. "Sound Financial Resources"

5. "Changing your way of business"

13

IdentityPrototypes

Design Prototypes

To give you an idea of how thebranding will be implemented I havecreated sample prototypes on thefollowing pages.

This cover page design represents theintegration of all reports into one ifwe decided to go in that direction.

Newsletter Cover Page

14

Newsletter Product Page

15

Letterhead

16

Website

17

PowerPoint Presentation

18

AdvertisingThis represents what an htmlemail or web advertisementmay look like. Ideally anythingthat is published should havethe branding. Plain text worddocuments or emails shouldbe a thing of the past.

19

PromotionsPromotional items includeumbrellas, caps, golf balls,etc. I have applied IC identityelements to further developand define our brand. Thewebsite would be present oneach item.

These items can be given topotential customers or simplyworn by employees for tradeshows and other businessrelated functions.

Golf Promotional Kit

Branding Process

Strategic Project Planning

This illustration outlines a briefsummary of each stage of thedevelopmental process. Below listsorder:

Phase 1 - Proposal PhasePhase 2 - Analysis and CritiquePhase 3 - Approved ProposalPhase 4 - Analysis and PlanningPhase 5 - Final Branding ApprovalPhase 6 - Implement Branding

A more detailed plan will bepresented during phase 4.

20

ProposalWho are we?

• Creative System Development

• Personality: Look, feel & style

• Creative platform: Messages,

visuals & stationary

Analysis & Critique

Where do we go from here?

• Findings, conclusions,

recommendations

• Revisions

• Informal focus groups

• Follow up presentation

Approved ProposalBrands evolve, adjust accordingly

• Test effectiveness of design

• Corporate Awareness

Branding ApprovalHave we forgotten anything?

• Review all checklists

• Set dates for launch

• Print all materials i.e.

business cards &

complete website

ImplementationIt’s time to act. Live your brand.

• Launch party

• Corporate guideliness

Analysis &Planning

Structure a plan

• Complete comprehensive

plan outline for all corporate

sectors & project phases.

• Final presentation of

branding designs

Branding Process

Branding Checklist Phase 1

Action Items

This list details all items that areneeded to complete proposal phaseof this project. Additionally it detailspending questions that need to beresolved. Timelines and revisions canbe made as the process develops.

� Branding Strategy

� FD logo design

� Creditntell logo design

� ARMS logo design

� IC logo design

� What to do with Market Service Inc.?

� Ideally, Information Clearinghouse should be everyone’s email address. Can that be done?

� What to do with FDCOS. Does it get its own logo? Should it be a sub-brand of ARMS or a sub-product?

� Fonts

� Colors

� Tagline

� Register and copyright logos

21

Branding Checklist

22

IC Alternative Logos

Alternative Designs

Alternative IC logos for committeereview. Some alternative logos willneed to be reviewed to ensure theywork with the overall brandingsystem.

Information Clearinghouse Inc.

Logos

23

FD Alternative Logos

Alternative Designs

Alternative FD logos for committeereview. Some alternative logos willneed to be reviewed to ensure theywork with the overall brandingsystem.

F&D Logos

R E P O R T S

DR E P O R T S

24

CreditntellAlternative Logos

Alternative Designs

Alternative Creditntell.com logos forcommittee review. Some alternativelogos will need to be reviewed toensure they work with the overallbranding system.

Is the .com necessary in thecreditntell logo?

Creditntell.comLogos

Creditntell.com

25

ARMS Alternative Logos

Alternative Designs

Alternative ARMS logos forcommittee review. Some alternativelogos will need to be reviewed toensure they work with the overallbranding system.

ARMS Logos

Accounts Rece ivab le Manangement So lu t ions

A c c o u n t s R e c e i v a b l e M a n a n g e m e n t S o l u t i o n s

A c c o u n t s R e c e i v a b l e M a n a n g e m e n t S o l u t i o n s

26

Conclusion

In conclusion,the Information Clearinghouse brandis a strategic asset, both externally (inour business relationships) andinternally (as a rallying force).However, brand equity is notperpetual; rather, it is built everysingle day by what we make, what wesay and what we do. This implies thatwe collectively share the duty ofmaintaining and developing ourbrand to the best of our capabilities.

A Sound Brand IdentityA Sound Brand Identity