A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a company "stands for". The creation of a corporate image is an exercise in perception management. It is created primarily by 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. Corporate redirects here. ... Perception management is a term originated by the U. S. military. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up marketing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Public relations (PR): Building sustainable relations with all publics in order to create a postive brand image. ... Scale model of a Wheaties cereal box at a pep rally Promotion is one of the four aspects of marketing. ... Public is of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; opposed to private; as, the public treasury, a road or lake. ... Interest is the rent paid to borrow money. ... One of the main objectives of Advertising and promotion is to establish what is called mind share (or share of mind). ... Brand equity is the value built-up in a brand. ...

A corporation's image is not solely created by the company: Other contributors to a company's image could include news media, journalists, labour unions, environmental organizations, and other NGOs. News media satellite up-link trucks and photojournalists gathered outside the Prudential Financial headquarters in Newark, New Jersey in August, 2004 following the announcement of evidence of a terrorist threat to it and to buildings in New York City. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... NGO is an abbreviation or code for: Non-governmental organization Nagoya Airport (IATA code) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

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.

Corporate image and product positioning

A corporate image should be consistent with the positioning of the company's product, product line, or brand. Any incongruency between the overall corporate image and the positions of individual product offerings will be confusing to potential customers and will tend to reduce sales revenue. For example, an oil company that has the image of being KANKER environmentally unfriendly will not be successful selling products that they try to position as "green". A company in such a situation should either: withdraw from the "green market", invest in promotional activities that will recast their corporate image in a greener hue, and/or follow a more environmentally friendly path. A good overall corporate image can be seen as the sum of all the images associated with the firm's individual product positions. A products position is how potential buyers see the product. ... Product lining is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several related products. ... A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. ...

The corporate name and logo must also be consistent with the overall corporate image. If you wish to craft a scientific/technical/innovative corporate image you would not call your company Mystic Sunchild, nor would you use a logo like the NBC peacock. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Likewise with advertising themes and distribution partners; they must also be consistent with your overall corporate image. If, for example, you wish to create a luxury/high-end corporate image, you should not distribute yourde products through Walmart nor use slapstick advertising themes.

A successful corporate image must also be believable. That is, the image must be relatively close to your actual behaviours to be credible.