How do we distinguish our organisation from better-known related brands?

Recognition of a platform does not necessarily mean recognition of the organisation behind it. Start with audience research and stakeholder interviews to understand that relationship, rather than assuming a separate identity is the answer. Keep recognition, correct attribution and understanding of the organisation's contribution as distinct questions.

For Strategy Object, research revealed that its SOClass platform was widely respected while the company remained largely invisible. Interviews and audience research identified a contribution beyond the technology: enabling collaboration, innovation and trust between governments. That insight gave the organisational brand a clearer subject to communicate.

Internal perceptions also need scrutiny. In research for a maritime engineering firm, follow-up interviews traced negative employee perceptions to narratives carried over from a competitor. The practical lesson is to investigate why people hold a view before treating that view as a reliable diagnosis of the brand problem.

A clearer organisational identity does not always require complete separation from a better-known brand. The decision is whether the existing relationship helps audiences understand the organisation or obscures its contribution. Define the role the organisation needs to communicate, then decide which connections should remain visible.

Strategy Object's identity united the company and SOClass around a shared mission: to relentlessly reimagine the way the world trades. Typography and a code-inspired colour palette linked the organisation to its platform and developer community. The approach elevated the company while retaining the technology association.

ACT, The Ardonagh Community Trust, faced a different problem: it was often viewed as an extension of The Ardonagh Group rather than a charitable brand with its own voice. Its refreshed identity balanced distinction with subtle references to the group. These approaches illustrate different relationships, not a universal case for either separation or a shared identity.

Assess an organisational identity against the problem it is intended to solve. If audiences know the platform but not the organisation, the relevant questions concern correct attribution and understanding of the organisation's remit. Logo recognition and general brand equity address different outcomes and should not be treated as substitutes.

Transform reported that Mozilla's products still needed to be understood within the organisation's wider context after its identity reveal. Mozilla also reported brand-equity increases, but the reporting supplied neither measurement methodology nor organisational-role comprehension results. Those results therefore do not establish that audiences better understood Mozilla's role.

The Strategy Object and ACT accounts describe research, strategic choices and identity applications, but do not report measured before-and-after comprehension findings. They offer useful examples of how to address the problem, not independent proof of improved understanding. Funding decisions should preserve that distinction between a credible approach and a demonstrated outcome.

An organisational identity needs more than a new logo to explain who is responsible for the work. Its messaging, stories and applications should consistently connect the organisation to its contribution. Employees also need to understand the change and have the materials required to implement it.

For ACT, the website prioritised real people and tangible impact, with charitable work structured as "Actions" within a cohesive identity. For IBM, a storytelling platform translated complex achievements into concise accounts linked to familiar objects and experiences. The "This is IBM" campaign expanded from a UK and Ireland website into printed materials, event stands and geography-specific pages across Europe and Asia.

Employee involvement matters during rollout. Price Forbes involved employees in research and explained the rationale for its change. First Names Group coordinated its international launch so employees encountered the new brand simultaneously, supported by films, launch packs and branded offices.