Public participation and social marketing

Social significance of branding

Precisely because corporations are social entities, branding needs to transmit the purpose of their existence to society in the form of a social message.

The value offered through branding, whatever the nature of the corporation or public institution, should be a value with social significance. Out of the expectation that it would promote long-term stable growth of investment funds, interest in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has grown in recent years, but this is an area that should properly be reported under the results of branding and identity management; rather than being a concern of investor relations, it should represent the sum of corporate social value, customer value and employee value.

The crown and Denmark’s identity

The branding of public institutions creates a great social impact from the very start. For instance, Denmark’s public institutions (government and public agencies) have been given a visual identity centred around a logo based on an outline of the crown.

Interestingly, a different crown in modified form was designed for each of the different services.

For instance, the crown for the Royal Library is made to resemble a book. By right, the crown belongs to the Danish monarch, but here it has been thrown open to free design and given over to the public. This not only reflects on Denmark’s public institutions as free-spirited and human entities with a sense of humour, but also gives a sense of Denmark itself as an intelligent, democratic and attractive country.

Governments and state-operated organisations around the world should, like Denmark, show an interest in design and identity, and adopt attractive and readily comprehensible communication systems.

Crown of Denmark’s public institutions

Regional branding through public participation

The branding of South Tyrol began with the marking of tourism and regional products (farm produce and industrial products) with a special logo and symbol. Within a limited area and through the participation of producers and citizens, a regional identity was created.

The power of design and branding encouraged public participation and in the end gave rise to a grand movement which succeeded in revitalizing the area by attracting tourists from around the world.

South Tyrol products

National library and national identity

The British Library continuously gathers the world’s knowledge and thus has a significance for mankind. In order to secure sources of funding through its own efforts, the library researched and developed a method of assessing the value of its services, while attempting to clarify in terms of economic value the extent of its contribution to the British economy. It asked taxpayers, i.e. the public, who are its funding source, to consider its value and encouraged them to make use of it.
Additionally, to achieve these aims, it set about a fundamental reform of library services and how they were operated.

With the involvement of members of the public who use it, the branding and identity management of the British Library, which is committed to raising the intellectual level of the nation, carries the role of enhancing the whole world’s evaluation and image of Britain as a country.

Danish Royal Library

Value assessment of the British Library