3M Company Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

3M Company Analysis - Research Paper Example It is a multinational corporation headquartered in Minnesota, United States. It was founded by five businessmen in the year 1902. The company had an annual sale of $ 29.6 billion in the year 2012. It employs more than 84000 employees all throughout the world. The company produces more than 55000 products which include adhesives, laminates, abrasives, dental products, fire protection, medical products, electronic materials, car care products, electronic circuits, optical films etc. The company operates in 65 countries. Its products are available in approximately 196 countries through retailers and distributors. Many products are also available online and can be purchased directly by ordering on the company’s website. 3M’s Brand and its message to the customers Brand is the term, name, symbol, design or some other feature which helps in the identification of a company’s products or services. Branding is a strategy adopted by the companies for differentiating their products from the competitors through a distinctive symbol. The brand is the most valuable and useful asset of a company. 3M is a new appearance for the Best Global brands in the year 2010 mostly because of a series of vast acquisitions which have provided the company a new and innovative brand identity system (3M, â€Å"3M Makes Interbrand’s List of Best Global Brands 2013†). This new brand identity has helped the company in unifying its diversified business. It has boosted the brand awareness of the company. Defining as well as strengthening of the 3M brand lying within the fragmented market area and increasing portfolio of global acquisitions has been very challenging. The goal of the company from the perspective of strengthening its position and brand in the market lies in two steps (3M, â€Å"Reinvigorating the Brand, Driving Growth†). The first step is by making the company an industry leader and the second step is by communicating to the customers about t he company’s ability to become end to end security provider. The brand identity system of the company have been enhanced recently for delivering the brand essence in more appropriate manner and positioning the brand and its value propositions throughout the world (3M, â€Å"Brand Identity in Action†). This new brand identity strategy has helped the company in differentiating 3M from its competitors and communicating a consistent and strong message to the key audiences. Logo and slogan Logo and slogan are the key elements of the brand positioning strategy. An effective brand positioning strategy always includes a visual identity i.e. logo and a tagline or a positioning statement i.e. the slogan. 3M’s logo is unique and communicates an appealing identity to the targeted audiences. The 3M Red Logo of the company is vertically as well as horizontally centred and covers almost 1/3rd of the total width of the screen. The background of the logo is white for enabling ma ximum readability (â€Å"3M Logo Animation and Soundmark†). The company has launched an animated video of the company’s logo where a sound mark is also available so that it can be used in pertinent applications (for example- online spots, television spots, videos etc.). 3M’s slogan is a short and impressive catch phrase, motto or tagline which has helped in identifying its products in advertisements. The business slogan which is most associated with the company is ‘Innovation’. The mission statement of the company is to be committed in active contribution to a