Showing papers on "Employer branding published in 1996"

The employer brand

Abstract: This paper tests the application of brand management techniques to human resource management (HR) The context is set by defining the ‘Employer Brand’ concept and reviewing current HR concerns Pilot qualitative research is reported with top executives of 27 UK companies, who were asked to reflect on their HR practices and the relevance of branding This exploratory research indicates that marketing can indeed be applied to the employment situation Bringing these functionally separate roles closer together would bring mutual benefit and lead to comparable performance measures, eg, trust and commitment Strong corporate equity with the brand's customers can improve the return on HR, while at the same time improved HR can improve the return on brand equity from external customers Formal, larger scale research would be required to substantiate the reciprocal benefits from a closer alignment of HR and marketing practices

Do we really need ‘Brand Equity’?

Abstract: Different meanings of the expression ‘Brand Equity’ are reviewed, concluding that the phrase has at least three quite distinct senses. These are identified as Brand Valuation, (consumer) Brand Strength, and Brand Description. It is argued that Brand Valuation is a form of forecasting and therefore quite different from measures of current Brand Strength. Many different measures of consumer Brand Strength are reviewed; as these measure different things, there can be no single measure which is universally meaningful. The author concludes that while much of the current emphasis on branding is helpful, and many different types of performance measures are relevant to it, ‘Brand Equity’ itself is not a scientific concept.

Resisting temptations to change a brand position/execution: The power of consistency over time

Abstract: Consistency in a brand position and execution over time provides the potential to own positions and symbols and to achieve significant communication cost efficiencies. In the face of these advantages, why are there so few Marlboros and Maytags? One reason is that pressures on brand strategists to change positions and executions can lead to unwise decisions. These pressures can be caused by managers' mindsets and strategic misconceptions. Managers tend to be action oriented, to have high (sometimes unrealistic) aspirations, and to lack ownership of current strategies. Strategic misconceptions can include the beliefs that a newly developed strategy is ineffective, that a new paradigm has emerged, that a superior position/execution can be found, and that customers are bored.

Current accounts and baked beans: Translating FMCG marketing principles to the financial sector

Abstract: As an area that is still experiencing a period of change and development, the financial sector is of particular interest to the brand marketer. While the more established and frequently analysed FMCG market clearly sets ground rules for all types of marketplaces, the dissimilarities between the two areas creates very particular challenges with regard to the marketing of financial brands. This paper looks at the sector in historical context and confirms its current status before exploring the limits of the FMCG model. Drawing conclusions from this exercise, the paper outlines how sound FMCG marketing principles must be adapted in their application to the financial marketplace and demonstrates this through a case study of the Nat West Small Business Adviser.

Latest thinking on the optimisation of brand use in financial services marketing

Abstract: This paper explores the tricky subject of brand optimisation in financial services with an emphasis on the latest thinking and most recent developments in this area.

Building a financial brand you can bank on

Abstract: This paper considers the implications if the global marketplace, with its increasingly more sophisticated consumers, for the financial services industry, and suggests ways in which individual businesses within the industry can survive by creating world class brands.

The use of brand management tools in charity fundraising

Abstract: Charities are under using one of their most powerful assets: their brands. This paper provides an analysis of how charities could use commercial branding tools to help with brand development. It is argued here that there are two areas in particular that are ripe for development by charities. Firstly, charities could look for ways to increase the symbolic, or ‘representational’ value of their brands; that is to look for ways in which donors would use their charities as ways of expressing donors’ own identities. Secondly, charities should look to position themselves clearly from their competitors by communicating what they do that is different from everyone else.

Manufacturers' food brands: Assessment of marketing opportunities in the UK supermarkets

Abstract: Manufacturers' food brands are under pressure from both own labels and ‘value’ products. Both the manufacturers' traditional marketing interface with the consumers through the advertising media and the retail outlets are becoming more expensive to use and more difficult to control. This research paper investigates the retailers' branding strategies which have generally weakened the market position of national brands in the UK grocery sector. Existing literature on British retailing suggests that the introduction of new differentiated brands and maintaining customer loyalty for established brands may be underestimated. The paper argues for a new promotional approach to aid national brand manufacturers look for greater quality control and objective measurements of promotional effectiveness. It was found that a push through successful product innovation, by exploring the manufacturer's unique assets and opportunities, weakened the retailer's limited brand management experience. It draws conclusions on retailers' marketing activities which tend to reduce market share of national brands. The manufacturer's market position is not nearly as desperate as previous research findings have suggested. The share of the market taken by national and own-label brands is determined by the consumer choice in the market place.

Winning the battle of corporate/brand images: An image-focused model for selection of names and logos

Abstract: As we approach the twenty-first century, the globalisation of marketing efforts and infusion of low-cost generic and private brands are forcing managers of well-established brands to alter their defence tactics from reactive ‘2-cents-off-deals’ to proactive strategies of building strong corporate and brand images. This paper incorporates modern theories of corporate and brand image building into a low-cost/easy-to-implement model for selection of brand names and logos which accurately portray a desired image to the target market. The image-focused model has been developed by the writer during a consulting project and has been refined in a series of experiments. It incorporates a series of advanced name and logo testing methods into a simple process. Brand managers and public relations staff can use the model to develop new names and logos or to modify their existing ones to better position their firms and products within their target markets. Minimal external agency services are necessary to implement the model. The cost is about 20 per cent of the expense involved using conventional models.

An invitation from MELNET96 to contribute to the ‘brand learning organisation’

Abstract: How will the future marketing company make the most of its two greatest creative assets: people and brands? Companies may decide that brand marketing has become too important as a value-adding process to be departmentalised. A common language is essential so that people of all functions can understand what value adding contributions need to be made with a ‘do now’ sense of urgency across the brand learning organisation. A vital requirement is a cultural attitude of mind which puts teamworking and leadership of quality/value, ahead of individual politics and preservation of the status quo. Fast achieving organisations will increasingly make full use of electronic media to share thoughts and information in a more intelligent way than was possible in mass marketing's first century.

Making a brand travel

Abstract: International brands are often defined by people who have too little direct influence on communications; and, more dangerously, by people without direct knowledge of the cultures and languages where the brand is present. They unquestioningly define the brand according to a lead-market hierarchy, which may be inappropriate to export markets. But developing ‘internationalness’, if done intelligently and with proper use of friendship-marketing tools, is a valuable source of the richness which characterises strong and durable brands.

Buying the brand at point of choice

Abstract: This paper provides the rationale for a research and analysis programme to understand better how to influence the way in which people shop fixtures in retail outlets. It argues that a retail outlet is a communications medium rather than merely a distribution channel, that a brand exists in a series of different in-store contexts which frame the way in which it is perceived on-shelf by the shopper, that at the point of choice three time frames coalesce — the past time of remembered advertising, the present time of packaging and promotions and the future time of anticipated use. Equally, people develop a number of editing or coping strategies to deal with the overwhelming choices that confront them in today's crowded marketplace. Research techniques need to be developed to understand how brand advertising, promotion, packaging and merchandising strategies interact with consumer strategies at the retail fixture — the point of choice.

The managerial challenge of brand diversity

Abstract: This paper provides the rationale for a research programme to better appreciate the way managers work as teams to develop and sustain brands. It argues why there may be different perceptions among the brand's team about the basis for differentiating their firm's brand. Using a seven component model of a brand, interviews were undertaken with managers in four financial services sectors. Varying degrees of diversity were seen among members of the brand's team and the managerial implications of this are considered.

The relevance of international advertising to international branding

Abstract: In order to investigate the efficacy of international or global branding, one key source of data relates to the international advertising practices of multinational companies and the rationale behind their policies. For instance, it is likely that many of the costs and benefits will be similar, if not identical. Analysis of the international advertising policies of the multinationals indicates firstly that there has been too much focus on the issue of total standardisation, where each executional element is standardised in each market. In other words a policy of international branding need not be an either/or choice, rather it can be a flexible policy that can be adapted to circumstances. Related to the above point, it would appear that too much emphasis has also been placed on the issue of market and consumer convergence, namely that if it can be established that convergence has taken place, then international branding is a viable policy and vice versa. Rather even if significant differences can be identified there might still be significant benefits to be obtained from a policy of international branding. A final consideration is that the efficacy of international branding should not be evaluated solely in economic terms, asking such questions as does it result in increased sales or profit? Rather its benefits need to be viewed in a wider context, and international organisational and process issues are likely to exert considerable influence on how the benefits of an international brand are determined.