Corporate Identity: Starfish and the Eternal Rose

Corporate Identity: Starfish and the Eternal Rose

In a recent article on PJ Smith's blog, The New York Times discussed the Seraph Brand and its numerous "clan-like" entities.seraph brand Specifically, the article discussed how Seraph co-founded by Robert Cream, Jon Theodore, and Robert Young, are funded by several philanthropic foundations. The article discusses how these philanthropies, in addition to funding the companies operating under the umbrella of the brand, also funnel money to similar organizations under the pretense that they are serving the greater good. For instance, one of the main groups, called the "Global Fund," which is linked to the Gates Foundation and the Clinton Health Plan, uses the Seraph brand as part of its marketing and branding efforts.

In the main article, Smith and co-author Theodore go over some of the history of the Seraph brand, particularly its use during the Iraq War.seraph brand The article takes great pains to demonstrate how many major charities have used it as part of their branding strategies. In doing so, the authors explain how this is both bad and good. While it makes for a flashy website, with lots of differentiating features, it can also make charities look unreliable. It can also make people distrust the organizations behind such brands, especially if the products being sold are dubious or if there is no concrete proof of how they operate or where they get their funding.

While the main article is helpful in establishing the history of the Seraph brand, another piece of information is lacking. In the main article, Smith and Theodore describe two of the most important nonprofits that have adopted the Seraph name as part of their marketing strategies. However, they do not discuss how neither Charity Spring nor the Global Fund has used the Seraph name to promote themselves.

A similar situation presents itself when looking at another one of the main charities that uses the Seraph brand. This time, instead of a for-profit coffee company using the Seraph logo as part of its website, we find that it is a for-profit educational organization that operates under the name " Planetary Inc". Even though the website does feature some very nice images of planetary objects, there is no mention of what the charity does or why it exists. Furthermore, the only link on the site directs readers to the phone number of a sales representative who sells merchandise related to the nonprofit group. This raises questions about the operational status of the organization, as well as its capacity to raise funds and meet its needs as it continues to grow.

The two main corporations behind both charities use the "Corporation" part of their name in their corporate identities. They are, in fact, entirely separate entities. However, both charities end up using the Seraph brand to promote themselves. Although it might be possible for a charity to incorporate itself without necessarily using the word "corporation", it would be difficult to find one that has succeeded without it. It is likely that both Planetary Restoration and Hallger Corporation Incorporated are, in fact, one and the same.

If you have any suspicions that the Corporate entities in question may not actually be one and the same, then you should leave the task to an expert such as an expert legal or business advisor. By using this as a yardstick, you will be able to determine if the two companies are indeed one. In the past, it has been determined that the two companies share a common management structure. It is also common to assume that there is a high level of stock ownership, although the exact numbers vary from year to year. Regardless of the exact ownership percentages, there is no doubt that both Planetary and Hallger Incorporated have one primary purpose: to sell products and collect royalties from the sale of said products. The eternal rose emblem used by both charities is simply a small part of their overall marketing strategies.