One of the many traps that lies in wait for unwary organisations is to confuse corporate identity with their brand. The visual aspects of an identity may reflect the firm’s personality and values, and a change may go in hand in hand with the development of a new strategic direction or culture, but a mismatch can be jarring if the stakeholder perception of the organisation does not marry up with its branding. The forces at play here are increasingly subtle and complex, not least because modern organisations are not just concerned with the way they portray themselves to their customers, but also their current and prospective employees and other stakeholders. Indeed for those firms deep in the trenches of the war for talent, the primary focus of their branding strategy may be how it helps them to recruit and retain their people and create the right working culture.