Corporate rebranding: effects of corporate visual identity changes on employees and consumers

Abstract

Many organizations invest periodically in a new corporate visual identity (CVI). This study investigates the main effects of CVI changes in four organizations, taking into account three independent variables: stakeholder type (employees vs. consumers), the specific organization, and communication about the CVI change. The results show that CVI changes had positive effects on CVI appreciation and identity/image. However, the effects were different for employees and consumers and differed between specific organizations. Furthermore, adequate communication about the new CVI appeared to be important for people’s appreciation of the CVI. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• Corporate visual identity
• corporate identity
• corporate image
• design
• logo
• rebranding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.