When I first started in corporate identity, it was a "silo business"—a very distinct discipline that mainly revolved around graphics. It was heavily skewed to designing logos and design systems. Ad agencies controlled the strategic relationships with the clients. Slowly, corporate identity morphed into branding, and I'd like to think I played a role in the change. I kept saying, you can't really build an identity without a strategic message, positioning, a voice. The identity firms had direct contact with corporate CEOs, and chief marketing executives took an active role in reviewing research and committing to programs that had more content, more depth, and were more strategic. Advertising agencies, which had a lock on the client relationship when I started in the business, became a commodity business. Preoccupied with producing TV commercials, the agencies continued to make a lot of money, but they lost that gatekeeper role.
– Alan Siegel
