Design of Corporate Identity Materials of Kenyan Government State Departments Targeting Selected Consumer Groups
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Date
2024-07
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
The essence of branding a company, organization, or government entity is to gain
recognition that helps the institution stand out from the rest of its competition. When
institutions brand, they apply different strategies for example rebranding, retro
branding, and co-branding. The choice on what strategy to apply depends on the target
consumer group of the institution and the needs of the market. Literature also has it
that, when branding, institutions should consider the needs and expectations of their
consumers as consumers are made up of cohorts that express themselves differently.
Brand equity only happens when a brand meets the expectations of a particular
consumer cohorts. A pilot study done on fifty-four (54) Kenyan Government State
Departments revealed that only 30% of the Departments had distinct corporate
identities that target specific consumers. Further, out of the remaining 70%, only 44%
used the Kenyan Government emblem as an identifier while a significant 26% did not
use any identifier at all. These statistics were contrary to literature that suggests that to
be able to captivate groups of people, institutions ought to create a link between the
services they offer and the individual consumer cohort. Once this link is created, strong
connection are created leading to the building of loyalty. Out of the findings of the
pilot study, there was therefore a need to redesign corporate identities of the Kenyan
Government State Departments to target specific consumer groups. The consumer
groups purposively selected for this study were millennials and centennials.
Exploratory research design was used to rebrand the corporate identity materials of
selected Kenyan Government State Departments. A design process that lay an emphasis
on elements and principles of design identified by the targeted consumer groups was
applied. The redesigned corporate identities were then branded on selected publicity
materials used by the State Departments under study. The results of the study showed
that 88% of the state departments had definite primary and secondary functions, 12%
of them had one main function. The primary functions from all of the State Departments
under study were used to derive the design conepts for the design process. Of the two
groups, it was found out that Centennials were a ‘rigid cohort’ who preferred the design
elements used in artworks targeting them to remain as they expect and not to be re adjusted. It is envisaged that the redesigned corporate identities would build a brand
equity between the deliverables of the state departments and the target consumer
groups. In so doing, the targeted cohorts will be better informed of the functions of the
selected Government State Departments and as a result, develop and sustain trust in
their government thereby increasing citizen engagement.This study demonstrates and
recommends the use of concept generation and the use of abstract experimentatioin in
solving design problems; reemphasizing on the aspect of Design Thinking in the design
process
Description
A Research Report Submitted to the School of Law, Arts And Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Masters of Arts (Fine Art) of Kenyatta University
June, 2024
Supervisors:
George Vikiru
Chai Baya