Corporate branding
Encyclopedia
Corporate branding is the practice of using a company's name as a product brand name
. It is an attempt to use corporate
brand equity
to create product brand recognition. It is a type of family branding
or umbrella brand
. Disney, for example, includes the word "Disney" in the name of many of its products; other examples include IBM
and Heinz
. This strategy contrasts with individual product branding
, where each product has a unique brand name and the corporate name is not promoted to the consumer.
Corporate branding can result in significant economies of scope
since one advertising campaign
can be used for several products. It also facilitates new product acceptance
because potential buyers are already familiar with the name. However, this strategy may hinder the creation of distinct brand images or identities for different products: an overarching corporate brand reduces the ability to position a brand
with an individual identity, and may conceal different products' unique characteristics.
Corporate branding is not limited to a specific mark or name. Branding can incorporate multiple touchpoint
s. These touchpoints include; logo
, customer service
, treatment and training of employees, packaging, advertising
, stationery
, and quality of products and services. Any means by which the general public comes into contact with a specific brand constitutes a touchpoint that can affect perceptions of the corporate brand.
It has been argued that successful corporate branding often stems from a strong coherence between what the company’s top management seek to accomplish (their strategic vision), what the company’s employees know and believe (lodged in its organizational culture
), and how its external stakeholders perceived the company (their image of it). Misalignments between these three factors, in turn, may indicate an underperforming corporate brand. This type of corporate brand analysis has been labeled the Vision-Culture-Image (VCI) Alignment Model.
Changes in stakeholder expectations are causing an increasing number of corporations to integrate marketing
, communications and corporate social responsibility
into corporate branding. This trend is evident in campaigns such as IBM
Smarter Planet, G.E. Ecomagination, The Coca-Cola Company
Live Positively, and DOW
Human Element. As never before, people care about the corporation behind the product. They do not separate their opinions about the company from their opinions of that company's products or services. This blending of corporate and product/service opinions is due to increasing corporate transparency, which gives stakeholders a deeper, clearer view into a corporation's actual behavior and actual performance. Transparency is, in part, a byproduct of the digital revolution
, which has enabled stakeholders -- employees, retirees, customers, business partners, supply chain partners, investors, neighbors -- with the ability to share opinion about corporations via social media
.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
. It is an attempt to use corporate
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
brand equity
Brand equity
Brand equity is the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Fact of the well-known brand name is that, the company can sometimes charge premium prices from the consumer . And,...
to create product brand recognition. It is a type of family branding
Family branding
Family branding is a marketing strategy that involves selling several related products under one brand name. Family branding is also known as umbrella branding...
or umbrella brand
Umbrella brand
An umbrella brand is an overarching brand used across multiple related products. Umbrella branding is also known as family branding. It contrasts with individual product branding, in which each product in a portfolio is given a unique brand name and identity....
. Disney, for example, includes the word "Disney" in the name of many of its products; other examples include IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and Heinz
Heinz
Heinz may refer to:People with the surname Heinz:*Drue Heinz, American arts patron*H. John Heinz III , U.S. senator from Pennsylvania*H. John Heinz IV , eldest son of Senator John Heinz...
. This strategy contrasts with individual product branding
Individual branding
Individual branding, also called individual product branding or multibranding, is the marketing strategy of giving each product in a portfolio its own unique brand name. This contrasts with family branding, corporate branding, and umbrella branding in which the products in a product line are given...
, where each product has a unique brand name and the corporate name is not promoted to the consumer.
Corporate branding can result in significant economies of scope
Economies of scope
Economies of scope are conceptually similar to economies of scale. Whereas 'economies of scale' for a firm primarily refers to reductions in average cost associated with increasing the scale of production for a single product type, 'economies of scope' refers to lowering average cost for a firm in...
since one advertising campaign
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
can be used for several products. It also facilitates new product acceptance
New product development
In business and engineering, new product development is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a new product to market. A product is a set of benefits offered for exchange and can be tangible or intangible...
because potential buyers are already familiar with the name. However, this strategy may hinder the creation of distinct brand images or identities for different products: an overarching corporate brand reduces the ability to position a brand
Positioning (marketing)
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization....
with an individual identity, and may conceal different products' unique characteristics.
Corporate branding is not limited to a specific mark or name. Branding can incorporate multiple touchpoint
Touchpoint
Touchpoint is the interface* of a product,* a service or* a brand...
s. These touchpoints include; logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
, customer service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
, treatment and training of employees, packaging, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, stationery
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
, and quality of products and services. Any means by which the general public comes into contact with a specific brand constitutes a touchpoint that can affect perceptions of the corporate brand.
It has been argued that successful corporate branding often stems from a strong coherence between what the company’s top management seek to accomplish (their strategic vision), what the company’s employees know and believe (lodged in its organizational culture
Organizational culture
Organizational culture is defined as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration" that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to...
), and how its external stakeholders perceived the company (their image of it). Misalignments between these three factors, in turn, may indicate an underperforming corporate brand. This type of corporate brand analysis has been labeled the Vision-Culture-Image (VCI) Alignment Model.
Changes in stakeholder expectations are causing an increasing number of corporations to integrate marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, communications and corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
into corporate branding. This trend is evident in campaigns such as IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Smarter Planet, G.E. Ecomagination, The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
Live Positively, and DOW
Dow
-People:*Herbert Henry Dow , founder of Dow Chemical Company*Charles Dow , founder of Dow Jones & Co*James R. Dow, professor of German language*Paula Dow , 58th Attorney General of New Jersey*Neal S...
Human Element. As never before, people care about the corporation behind the product. They do not separate their opinions about the company from their opinions of that company's products or services. This blending of corporate and product/service opinions is due to increasing corporate transparency, which gives stakeholders a deeper, clearer view into a corporation's actual behavior and actual performance. Transparency is, in part, a byproduct of the digital revolution
Digital Revolution
The Digital Revolution is the change from analog mechanical and electronic technology to digital technology that has taken place since c. 1980 and continues to the present day. Implicitly, the term also refers to the sweeping changes brought about by digital computing and communication technology...
, which has enabled stakeholders -- employees, retirees, customers, business partners, supply chain partners, investors, neighbors -- with the ability to share opinion about corporations via social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
.
See also
- Umbrella brandUmbrella brandAn umbrella brand is an overarching brand used across multiple related products. Umbrella branding is also known as family branding. It contrasts with individual product branding, in which each product in a portfolio is given a unique brand name and identity....
- Family brandingFamily brandingFamily branding is a marketing strategy that involves selling several related products under one brand name. Family branding is also known as umbrella branding...
- Individual brandingIndividual brandingIndividual branding, also called individual product branding or multibranding, is the marketing strategy of giving each product in a portfolio its own unique brand name. This contrasts with family branding, corporate branding, and umbrella branding in which the products in a product line are given...
- Brand architectureBrand architectureBrand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way in which the brands within a company’s portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another...
- BrandBrandThe American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
- Brand managementBrand managementBrand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand.The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble as a result of a famous memo by Neil H...
- Brand orientationBrand orientationBrand orientation is a deliberate approach to working with brands, both internally and externally. The most important driving force behind this increased interest in strong brands is the accelerating pace of globalization. This has resulted in an ever-tougher competitive situation on many markets....
- Employer brandingEmployer brandingThe term employer brand was first used in the early 1990s to denote an organisation’s reputation as an employer. Since then, it has become widely adopted by the global management community...
- MarketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
- TrademarkTrademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
Further reading
- Balmer, John M. T. and Greyser, Stephen A. (eds.), Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on identity, image, reputation, corporate branding, and corporate-level marketing, London: Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0-415-28421-X.
- Schultz, Majken; Hatch, Mary J. and Larsen, Mogens H. (eds.), The Expressive Organization: Linking Identity, Reputation and the Corporate Brand, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-19-829779-3.
- Ind, Nicholas, The Corporate Brand, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997, ISBN 0-8147-3762-5.
- Gregory, James R. and Wiechmann, Jack G., Leveraging the Corporate Brand, Chicago: NTC, 1997, ISBN 0-8442-3444-3.