Carmelo Cutuli, Of Counsel, Senior Advisor Italy, TransMediaGroup Inc.

Corporate identity is defined as the set of elements that represent a company's image and is part of what is called corporate communication, i.e. the communication of the identity, values and projects of a given entity. Elements such as the company logo, letterhead, website, brochures, signs, social page graphics and others are all part of a visual communication strategy.

As digital printing, social networks and opensource CMS became more and more widespread, corporate use of DTP, an acronym for Desktop Publishing, has been consolidated. Considered as strategic - as long as it does not result in an unprofessional do-it-yourself - DTP offers the opportunity to generate internally communication contents and therefore with greater promptness and control.

PR and Communication professionals working with startups, small businesses, boutique firms and nonprofits, which often have very smart needs but small budgets, are meeting their DTP needs by offering turnkey corporate identity packages at defined costs and times.

This innovative business model is having great success as it allows companies with limited budgets to rely on high-level professionals with years of corporate experience, who, at the cost of established fees, create coordinated corporate image kits for them.

These packages are more cost-effective than tailor-made solutions because they are normally built in a modular way, according to the average needs of the target market category. The professionals who provide these packages also interface with customers in a smart and informal way (Skype, Whatsapp, e-mail, etc.) and deliver all their work digitally, often with record-breaking timing.

Once obtained their kit, customers will have the ability to distribute it to their employees, departments or suppliers, who can use it immediately. Usually, in fact, graphics and templates are created by the professional with sophisticated high-end applications but are delivered to the customer in an open file format, editable by the most popular Office tools so that everybody can easily customize them without affecting the professionalism of results.

Corporate identity, to be effective, must focus on the values and objectives set by the company or the professional. The brand footprint must be simple, distinctive, clean and never exaggerated in design. It must be timeless, a corporate identity must be able to work even after years and overcome the fashions of the moment. If conceived and built with method and strategy, corporate identity generates and conveys a message of coherence and accountability to potential customers and other stakeholders.