A new context and emerging theories for product, place and corporate brands

Citation

Abimbola, T., Trueman, M. and Iglesias, O. (2012), "A new context and emerging theories for product, place and corporate brands", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 46 No. 7/8. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm.2012.00746gaa.001

A new context and emerging theories for product, place and corporate brands

Article Type: Guest editorial From: European Journal of Marketing, Volume 46, Issue 7/8

The first paper takes as its starting point, the theoretical ideas of Dewey on aesthetic expression. Hatch adopts an insightful perspective into corporate branding using Dewey’s theory of aesthetic expression that resonates with the “brand as a promise” approach to brand management. She discusses the power of an “expression of intent”; and how if, aesthetically managed, this helps employees to understand position and communicate a brand to a wide spectrum of stakeholders. To this end she explains the power of visual imagery, logos and symbols to underpin aesthetic communications as well as brand meaning, all of which lead to the creation of brand equity. She warns that brands are much more than labels, and to be effective they must represent and reflect the meaning and purpose of the organisation. In this respect they materialise as visual corporate statements and attract stakeholders only if they relate to commonly held values, ideas and identities. This insight illustrates Dewey’s observation that “Science states meanings: art expresses them”. In other words the management of brands by aesthetic expression is challenging since it requires a deep understanding of the tension between corporate statements and visual expression that resonate with a target audience. Yet, this understanding is essential if companies are to clearly differentiate and compete effectively among cacophony of jostling in a sophisticated consumption market.

Next a new perspective about Islamic Financial Service Institutions (IFSI) is presented by Rusnah, Melewar, Syed and Sharifah who note this growing phenomenon that represents important competition and challenges traditional financial institutions. The research explores and categorizes different segments of consumers in IFSI by means of a psychographic (value)-based approach that relates to brand positioning. From some empirical research four different consumer segments are identified in terms of: “Religious conviction”; “Religious conviction and economic rationality”; “Ethical observance”; and “Economic rationality”. This segmentation contributes significantly to the developing field of IFSI by offering empirical and management guidance to the institutions that are competing in this emerging arena. Overall it provides an aid to decision-making about marketing communications as well as brand positioning strategies.

A further insight into decision-making explores the symbolic benefits that are key drivers of purchase for luxury brands. In this regard, self-congruency theory is pivotal to in its relevance to our understanding of the purchasing process of these types of brands. The paper by Liu, Li, Jianyao, and Soh provides evidence that the brand’s user imagery congruity and the brand’s usage imagery congruity have a positive significant effect in brand attitude and brand loyalty. The authors test their hypothesis on two different product categories, luxury watches and luxury sunglasses, by means of structural equation modelling. Their findings suggest that visual coverage of these two self-congruity constructs must be consistent with the imagery expected and desired by potential customers, if a luxury brand wants to establish and develop long term relationships. The research also indicates that brands should apply user and usage imagery in marketing communications if they aspire to construct a unique position in the market. These are novel findings that further our understanding of the consumption of luxury goods.

Although brand names are central to the literature on consumer brand equity, there is a dearth of research that empirically justifies the importance and significance of symbolism and meaning in a name. In this context, Roper and Round explore the dimensions and relevance of consumer brand name equity for established services and products. The authors use a qualitative and exploratory approach that follows the guiding principles of template analysis. This paper provides empirical support to the claim that changes in brand name cause important discomfort to customers. Some in depth interviews show that brand names hold not only rational but also symbolic functions that facilitate the development of consumer-brand relationships. Another major contribution of the study is that most of the associations for the brand name are not company driven, but consumer driven. This raises some extremely important challenges since company managers are in danger of losing control of brand meaning and opportunities to develop brand equity.

Another approach towards brand equity management examines private label brands (PBL) that have often been underestimated, even if panel studies show that their market share in Europe has reached extremely significant levels. In fact, much of the academic research on this topic considers PLB as the unbranded alternative to manufacturer brands, and justifies its value purely on price related dimensions. This study by Yague, Cuneo and Lopez is the one of the first to provide empirical support that PLB can build brand equity. Moreover, the research indicates that equity can vary across different product lines and one of the most important opportunities for PLB to build brand equity is found in product lines with high levels of differentiation. Another relevant finding is that brand equity varies considerably within private labels competing in the same market. This study increases our understanding of PLB and provides interesting insights for manufacturer brands on how they might change their traditional vision and develop a more competitive brand strategy. In this respect PLB are “real brands” that compete in the same territory as manufacturer brands, since consumers take both into consideration when confronted with a purchase decision.

This leads to the notion of brand positioning and corporate social responsibility (CSR) but despite the impressive number of companies incorporating CSR into their branding strategy, very little research has examined how to leverage this concept into brand-building practice. Some work by Lindgreen, Maon, Xu and Wilcock offers a comprehensive model that provides an understanding on how to develop CSR brand leadership programs. This exploratory work identifies nine core tasks that are key to create and develop CSR brand value and suggests that the planning and implementation of global CSR brand programs should be fostered by means of a step-by-step managerial endeavour. These steps range from raising CSR awareness inside the organization, to institutionalizing CSR in the market place. Furthermore it shows how firms need to rely on different capabilities to build their CSR brands at each step in the process, where “executional” capabilities and a brand-supportive dominant logic appear to be the most important factors.

Similarly, in order to become socially meaningful, brand managers may attempt to develop associations with social causes. This raises the notion of cross-sector social partnerships such as private for-profit companies and public sector organizations. In this context the paper by Guzman and Sierra studies the impact of reference group influence (RGI) on brand decisions between commercial brands and public services. The study shows that RGI varies from country to country and is influenced by a range of cultural preferences and markets. These findings suggest that understanding RGI will allow companies to identify which public service brands are better choices for establishing and building partnerships, and how these vary in different markets.

The theme of brand association is taken further by Trueman, Cornelius and Wallace, who examine the relationships between business and city brands online. They note that the purpose of cities as generators of businesses has become blurred, particularly since the industrial revolution. In this respect most conurbations would do well to re-examine their business landscape in terms of identity and branding if they are to gain a twenty-first century perspective, with a particular focus on the virtual world to “kick-start” this process. They use the UK post industrial city of Bradford as a case study and develop the notion of a “constructed city brand” from an empirical analysis of 171 local companies. A new conceptual model is tested using structural equation modelling to illustrate the relationship between company brands and constructed city brands online, in terms of emotional connection, online experience, responsive service and trust. However the persistent negative brand association of Bradford illustrates how companies have disassociated themselves from the city, which, in turn, has been slow to build a contemporary brand identity and relationship with local companies.

In contrast Merrilees, Miller and Herington observe how a stakeholder approach can inform the meaning of city brands. They examine two community sectors – residents and business, – and use the “Gold Coast” area of Australia as a test bed. This work proposes that if a city brand is strong, then multiple stakeholders will be able to relate to it, but there may be identity problems for the city if those stakeholders attach multiple meanings to the brand. By carrying out a quantitative analysis this research finds that “social networking” and “transport” are predictors of the city as a place to do business, but not as a place to live. On the other hand social factors such as “nature”, “clean environment” and “safety” become more important for local residents. Interestingly both groups place a similar emphasis on cultural activities. Overall each stakeholder group has a different lens or filter to interpret the city brand, and the research calls for a multi-faceted approach towards the management of brands. They see priorities and “trade-offs” between different requirements, and make reference to the different filters that represent each stakeholder group. However there is a need to balance these multiple meanings with the need for a consistent, identifiable brand to differentiate one city from another.

The final set of three papers review the concept of corporate branding. Abratt and Kleyn explore corporate identity (CI) and corporate reputation (CR), using an integration and reconciliation approach. They assert that research into this field is within the four dimensions of discovery, teaching, integration, and application, with an emphasis on the two latter categories. A new conceptual framework is presented that integrates identity and reputation to achieve a corporate brand. This incorporates strategic choices, corporate expression, brand image and the dimensions of reputation based upon company performance and stakeholders perceptions. Their framework is built upon a wide review of the corporate identity and brand management literatures, and suggests that too often the power of visual identity is an understated, but important omission since it represents a conceptual anchor. They call for a more robust approach to the use of terminology since issues such as personality, communications, image, identity, experience, reputation and relationships may be coined interchangeably. In conclusion this work recognizes corporate identity as a strategic resource that requires strong leadership and direction if it is to be effective in the long term.

Building on this theme, Balmer presents a revised analysis of the AC⁴ID Test of corporate brand management to address a “constellation of corporate branding”, that is centred on the brand as a “covenant” or promise. These constellations range from “actual”, “cultural”, “conceived”, “desired”, “ideal” and “communicated” dimensions of corporate identity building. A comprehensive range of terminology, definitions, case studies and literatures are discussed together with a review of how this field has developed over time. There is an emphasis upon the strategic, economic, emotional, social and symbolic dimensions of corporate brands and a number of quotations are used to illustrate points. Much is made of the relationships between each dimension of the “constellation” to incorporate the multiple facets of corporate identity; and a number of diagnostic approaches are introduced to provide an insight for brand building, identity and management over time. Finally the notion of authenticity, believability, durability and profitability are discussed as a means of evaluating the appropriateness and strength of the brand.

To sum up, Cornilissen, Kinuthia and Christensen provide a critique of Balmer’s AC⁴ID test and view the notion of corporate brand identity from a marketing communications perspective. They observe that the AC⁴ID test does not distinguish between the need to create and communicate an identity. From this perspective, the authors argue the importance of identity as a two way process, and suggest that many models in the literature indicate only one direction, from company to stakeholders, and are therefore flawed. Instead they advocate the notion of co-constructed and de-constructed meanings and messages between stakeholders within and outside the organization that are constantly affecting brand reputation and identity. In other words they see brands as being in a state of “constant flux, shaped by ongoing interpretations and negotiations of different audiences” that underpin the notion of a “constitutive” model of communications.

Altogether these articles present a broad outlook on emerging and developing ideas about product, place and corporate branding. They offer opportunities for future research in a number of areas and highlight the role and relevance of theoretical ideas as a powerful lens to address the many challenges in the field of branding. With this volume we hope to have filled the need to provoke new ideas and open up a growing area of discourse. In conclusion, we are most grateful to numerous colleagues who acted as reviewers for their contributions and support throughout the process of compiling this special issue.

Temi Abimbola, Myfanwy Trueman, Oriol IglesiasGuest Editors