Corporate image

A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a company stands for. Marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public. Typically, a corporate image is designed to be appealing to the public, so that the company can spark an interest among consumers, create share of mind, generate brand equity, and thus facilitate product sales.

A corporation's image is not solely created by the company. Other contributors to a company's image could include news media, journalists, labor unions, environmental organisations, and other NGOs.

Corporations are not the only form of organization that create these types of images. Governments, charitable organizations, criminal organizations, religious organizations, political organizations, and educational organizations all tend to have a unique image, an image that is partially deliberate and partially accidental, partially self-created and partially exogenous.

See also

• Corporate communication
• Employer brandingA corporate image is the perception that the general public holds about a particular business. Many companies invest a great deal of time and other resources in an effort to influence the opinion that consumers hold about the products offered by the business, as well as the business itself. This process of cultivating positive public relations extends to not only interaction with consumers, but also ongoing interaction with the media, labor unions, industrial associations, and other entities that have a direct and indirect impact on public opinion. Corporate image is the best way of perceiving and corporations image.

One of the most basic ways of shaping a corporate image is establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the general public. This effort usually begins by offering products that successfully meet the needs of customers, thus generating goodwill. As consumers come to know and trust the product lines offered by the business, they begin to share their opinions with others. This positive word of mouth helps to introduce other consumers to the products offered by the business, and makes it easier to establish a favorable perception in the minds of more people.