Colin Jevons

Global branding and strategic CSR: an overview of three types of complexity

Purpose – There is general agreement that global brands should ensure that they incorporate social responsibility. To do this properly, organisations must understand what it means to be socially responsible and how they can leverage their actions. The paper proposes consideration of three distinct areas: the range of social responsibility issues, what the organisations actually do and how to leverage those corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. This paper seeks to conceptually develop these three areas of complexity – Issue, Organisational and Communication – as it is only after organisations understand these three areas that they can effectively leverage socially responsible activities in their brands.Design/methodology/approach – This research undertakes a review and synthesis of the academic, practitioner and industry literature examining CSR and the brand, addressing the three areas of complexity – issue, organisational and communication.Findings – The research finds that within these three ar...

Trust, Brand Equity and Brand Reality in Internet Business Relationships: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Trust and the concept of the brand are increasingly of interest in the study of business relationships on the Internet. Synthesising studies of trust from other disciplines such as accounting, sociology, psychology and biology can provide useful insights into the application of trust both specifically and generally, to Internet business relationships. While there is a plethora of models, those with potential application for Internet business relationship theory are described and analysed. The argument is extended to discuss the concept of the brand as a surrogate for trust, and hence as a reliable identifier of a certain cluster of values.

Universities: a prime example of branding going wrong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a call to action for universities to practice what they preach in developing and communicating differentiated brands.Design/methodology/approach – Reviews some recent literature on university branding and contrasts this with other industries.Findings – For the benefit not just of intending students, but also for the benefit of potential and existing staff as well as research clients and graduate employers, universities should develop meaningfully differentiated brands to communicate their strengths.Research limitations/implications – University brand managers should seek to clearly differentiate their offerings from the competition. Aspects of a universitys brand attract students, staff, and industry seeking staff or consultancy.Originality/value – The large amounts of expenditure on university marketing would be more efficiently used if the principles of brand management taught within them were applied properly.

Aesthetic theory and logo design: examining consumer response to proportion across cultures

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate reactions to the divine proportion (a ratio of 1: 1.618) in logo design across different cultures.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is a survey in three different countries: Australia, Singapore and South Africa.Findings – Results showed there is universal preference for the divine proportion across cultures. Logos based on forms found in nature that were expressed in the divine proportion were most preferred, but for artificially constructed logos, a 1:1 ratio was preferred.Research limitations/implications – A limited set of ratios were considered. Further research could investigate different ratios and different logos.Practical implications – International brand managers should commission designs that use natural forms based on the divine proportion. Different national cultures react similarly to logo designs, in contrast to many other fields of business where strong cultural differences exist.Originality/value – This paper is the first exp...

Understanding issue complexity when building a socially responsible brand

Purpose – To discuss the importance of understanding corporate social responsibility (CSR) by analysing the issues that comprise CSR. Without this understanding it will not be possible for organisations to develop responsible brands.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the existing business and marketing literature to define four aspects of issue complexity. It also draws on a range of real and hypothetical examples affecting local and global organisations to explain the four components.Findings – Developing CSR requires intensive corporate commitment and failure to deliver on stakeholder expectations will result in reputational damage. It is essential to understand CSR issue complexity and to consider carefully CSR‐linked brand positioning. Basically, the implementation of CSR activities requires something substantial and communicable in the first place.Research limitations/implications – The work is conceptual in nature and additional research needs to be undertaken to better understand how ...

Customer and brand manager perspectives on brand relationships: a conceptual framework

Purpose – To provide a conceptual framework to help researchers and managers understand the complex factors affecting the associations between brands.Design/methodology/approach – Brand extension, co‐branding and other associative techniques together with an increasingly communicative environment are resulting in an increasingly complex set of networks and relationships between brands, with singular and multiple relationship forms. There are two key perspectives on these complex relationships, that of the customer and that of the brand owner, i.e. what is seen at the point of transaction and what is expressed by the various brand constructors. Two key perspectives on brand relationships are used that of the customer and that of the brand owner, to describe and discuss an analytical classification of these relationships.Findings – A conceptual synthesis of the dynamics of brand networks and business relationships is presented and a 2 × 2 matrix is developed to classify and describe the four categories that...

The voice of the consumer speaks forcefully in brand identity: user-generated content forces smart marketers to listen

ABSTRACT User-generated content (UGC) is attracting a great deal of interest—some of it effective, some misguided. This article reviews the marketing-related factors that gave rise to UGC, tracing the relevant development of market orientation, social interaction, word of mouth, brand relationships, consumer creativity, co-creation, and customization, largely through the pages of the Journal of Advertising Research over the last 40 (or so) of its 50 years. The authors then discuss the characteristic features of UGC and how they differ from (and are similar to) these concepts. The insights thus gained will help practitioners and researchers understand what UGC is (and is not) and how it should (and should not) be used.

The duality of political brand equity

Purpose – The democratic political product is complex and untangible. An underlying assumption of a democratic system is the involvement of voters, or consumers, but with contemporary political apathy this aspect is relatively unacknowledged. This paper aims to explore the role of the consumer in political branding.Design/methodology/approach – Two contrasting case studies compare the balance between the corporate brand of the political party and the brand image of two different kinds of local politician. Aakers “Brand Equity Ten” is adapted to provide a suitable conceptual framework for the case study comparison.Findings – Investigating the interaction between the community and politicians drew out important implications for the political brand. The paper concludes that managing the political brand entails a recognition of the inherent duality that resides in the political product. In an environment of reduced differentiation of political offerings to the electoral marketplace it is important for politi...

Names, brands, branding: beyond the signs, symbols, products and services

Purpose – The paper aims to stimulate discussion of what branding actually is, does and maybe should do.Design/methodology/approach – A reflective essay is presented which briefly outlines the history of meanings of branding leading to speculation about future meanings.Findings – The paper finds that the term “brand” is now used extensively in previously unimaginable areas, yet the common examples and textbooks seem to be inexorably linked to little beyond the brand management of products or for‐profit consumer services.Practical implications – With this piece, the Journal of Product & Brand Management starts a new section that aims to bring discussion beyond products brand management – taking thinking about brands beyond the current conventions.Originality/value – This paper provides a detailed call to action for academics and practitioners interested in exploring possible futures of branding thought.

Shop Often, Buy Little: the Vietnamese Reaction to Supermarket Retailing

Abstract Whilst the evolution of intermediaries and retail channels has been extensively researched, the reaction of consumers to newly evolved retail forms is not well understood. This paper investigates the reactions of Vietnamese consumers in Hanoi to the introduction of supermarket style retailing. Surveys show that these consumers have reacted positively to supermarkets, but consistently exhibit an inefficient pattern of buying few products (average 2.9) and shopping frequently (often more than three times per week). These findings support work conducted in other developing countries such as China and East Europe where similar patterns were observed. Qualitative research showed that the attraction of Vietnamese consumers to supermarkets can be explained by a combination of novelty seeking, a preference for fixed pricing and the desire for foreign brands. The high level of shopping frequency and low number of purchases resulted from a genuine enjoyment of shopping, a lack of planning and status seeking, not infrastructure or economic factors suggested by past researchers.