Priscila Lena Farias / Anna Calvera Marcos da Costa ... - Blucher

Corporate identity in a global market: the challenge of the Jotun company
SKJERVEN, Astrid / Professor PhD / Oslo and Akershus University College / Norway
Corporate identity / Globalization / Jotun / Dubai / China /
Branding / Akzo Nobel
Globalization is creating universality, but also estimation of difference.
This is a challenge to firms that are working globally. A
corporate identity should be comprehensible universally, but
also attractive in various countries. The branding of the Norwegian
firm Jotun is an example of this schism. The study shows
that Jotun’s competitiveness would be improved by communicating
its origin and making culture based local adaptations to
its products.
1. Identity in the era of globalization
The prevalent process of globalization has led to a certain uniformity
and sameness all over the world. This fact has been given
much attention, and adaptations to the situation have become
common practice. Gradually it has become evident that the process
has also created a contrary tendency, a cultivation of the
regional, local and individual. In this way it contains its own opposite.
One might also say that it consists of two poles. According
to the view of the sociologist Scott Lury, contemporary culture is
continuously expanding and is becoming more extensive, leading
to universalization. At the same time, and at a corresponding
pace, it is becoming increasingly intensive as regards relations,
media and pace of life. This has caused an opposite effect: the
creation of difference, and a higher estimation of it. 1 The phenomenon
is closely related to that of so called glocalization with
its slogan “think globally and act locally”. The term stands for an
ambition to combine the idea of globalization with that of local
considerations. 2 It is getting increasing support, and has led to a
greater appreciation of local culture.
In a world where everything seems to become more alike, it has become
of increasing value to be able to stand out as different from
others and to display a unique identity. The identity is regularly
constructed on the basis of local, regional or national cultural traditions.
The phenomenon comprises all entities, like nations, groups,
persons and business enterprises. It constitutes a great challenge
to firms that are working globally. A corporate identity that fulfills
the requirements of the era has to be comprehensible at a universal
level and at the same time attractive in several countries and to
different cultures. This has become a key success factor. It seems
to be of particular relevance for the private market segment, which
is the most intimately related to the construction of personal identity
based on cultural variations.
1 LASH 2010.
2 ROBERTSON 1992.
The branding of the Norwegian firm Jotun is an example of this
schism, which the following study aims to demonstrate. It consists
of a comparison between Jotun’s engagements in two different
countries, The Arab Emirate of Dubai and The People’s Republic
of China (PRC). The former was established when globalization
was at its initial stage, the latter when it had become more mature.
To throw light on the characteristics of Jotun’s branding policy, a
description of the corporate identity of its major competitor Akzo
Nobel is included. The logo is regarded as the main element of a
firm’s visual identity, and therefore constitutes the core object of
the investigation. It is based on literature, archival studies and interviews
in Norway, Dubai and China.
2. The corporate identity of Jotun
The still mainly family owned group of firms Jotun has its head
office in the city of Sandefjord, situated by the Oslo Fjord. It is
one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints and other protective
coatings and powders. The group has 8000 employees,
70 companies and 38 production facilities on all continents and
is represented in more than 80 countries. Its operations cover
development, production, marketing and sales of products for
the shipping, industrial and residential markets.
The characteristics of Jotun’s identity have their origin in its history.
The company was founded by Odd Gleditsch in 1926 as a
personal enterprise, characterized by inventiveness, strong family
ties and international ambitions. The site was the small city
of Sandefjord, at that time the centre of the thriving Norwegian
whaling industry. The name Jotun was inherited from a company
that had been taken over and used as a starting point for the new
enterprise. The term derives from Old Norse mythology and means
giant. An illustration of this fantasy creature was initially used as
a logo. In 1942, after many trials and failures, a penguin inscribed
in a circle was finally chosen as motif. While the circle symbolised
the world, the bird’s qualifications for the choice has been told to
be its tolerance to wind and bad weather, like good paints. 3 The
founder’s experience with these animals at whaling expeditions in
the Antarctic might also have been of importance. Additionally, the
great resemblance with the logo of the recently founded British
publishing house Penguin makes it an obvious model.
In 1976 the logo was given a more professional design, and the
penguin’s wings made spanning the globe. The work was done
by Jotun’s Marketing Manager Arne Langnes. 4 The choice of the
lively and strong colours yellow, red and dark blue seem to have
been a matter of habit, but the multinational firm Shell’s colour
3 BRYN 1998.
4 Ibid.
Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies / Proceedings of the 8th Conference of the International Committee for
Design History & Design Studies - ICDHS 2012 / São Paulo, Brazil / © 2012 Blucher / ISBN 978-85-212-0692-7