John M.T. Balmer

Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing ‐ Seeing through the fog

Outlines 15 explanations for the fog which has enveloped the nascent domains of corporate identity and corporate marketing. However, the fog surrounding the area has a silver lining. This is because the fog has, unwittingly, led to the emergence of rich disciplinary, philosophical as well as “national”, schools of thought. In their composite, these approaches have the potential to form the foundations of a new approach to management which might be termed “corporate marketing”. In addition to articulating the author’s understanding of the attributes regarding a business identity (the umbrella label used to cover corporate identity, organisational identification and visual identity) the author outlines the characteristics of corporate marketing and introduces a new corporate marketing mix based on the mnemonic “HEADS”[2]. This relates to what an organisation has, expresses, the affinities of its employees, as well as what the organisation does and how it is seen by stakeholder groups and networks. In addition, the author describes the relationship between the corporate identity and corporate brand and notes the differences between product brands and corporate brands. Finally, the author argues that scholars need to be sensitive to the factors that are contributing to the fog surrounding corporate identity. Only then will business identity/corporate marketing studies grow in maturity.

Corporate brands: what are they? What of them?

This article examines the nature, importance, typology, and management of corporate brands. Argues that in making a distinction between corporate brands, corporate identities, and product brands, the underlying characteristics of corporate brands can be uncovered. A key thesis of the article is that a corporate brand is a valuable resource: one that provides an entity with a sustainable, competitive advantage if specific criteria are met. These criteria are defined in terms of an economic theory known as “the resource‐based view of the firm”. An affirmation of this economic doctrine requires corporate brands to be rare, durable, inappropriable, imperfectly imitable, and imperfectly substitutable. Also contends that the traditional tripartite, branding typology be expanded to reflect the new modes in which corporate brands are being utilised. These new corporate branding categories are: familial, shared, surrogate, supra, multiplex, and federal. Finally, reasons that the management of a corporate brand requires the orchestration of six “identity types”. The critical identity type is the “covenanted identity” because it underpins the corporate brand. The covenanted identity comprises a set of expectations relating to an organisations products/services and activities. Internally, it acts as a standard against which an employee/employers actions can be evaluated. Argues that employees are crucial to the success, and maintenance, of corporate brands. Speculates that the current interest in corporate brands is redolent of a new dynamic in marketing. As such, corporate brands are symptomatic of the increased importance accorded to corporate‐level concerns and concepts. This interest in corporate‐level concerns should form the basis of a new branch of marketing: one that weft and weaves the concepts of corporate identity, image, reputation, communications along with corporate branding. The article concurs with Balmer and Greyser who argue that this area should be known as corporate‐level‐marketing.

Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation

Abstract The concepts of corporate reputation and corporate identity represent a relatively new and supplemental lens through which top management can address the strategic issues facing their firm. To help guide the thinking of senior executives in managing their organization’s reputation and image, the authors present a pragmatic operational model. The model shows that in addition to an understanding of corporate reputation and image, managers needs to understand their firm’s corporate identity and corporate communications, and the interrelationships amongst these components. The authors argue that in today’s sensitive business milieu, a firm’s ultimate survival may well depend on developing and maintaining a recognizable image and favorable reputation.

Corporate marketing: Integrating corporate identity, corporate branding, corporate communications, corporate image and corporate reputation

– The aims of the paper are to examine the nascent area of corporate marketing., – The paper draws on some of the key literature relating to the history of marketing thought., – The study reiterates the case that corporate identity, corporate branding, corporate communications, and corporate reputation should be integrated under the umbrella title of corporate marketing. The paper introduces the 6Cs of corporate marketing., – The paper integrates British and US perspectives on the area and draws on Balmers work vis‐a‐vis corporate marketing and Greysers historical overview of marketing written for the Marketing Science Institute (MSI)

Social Identity, Organizational Identity and Corporate Identity: Towards an Integrated Understanding of Processes, Patternings and Products

This paper provides an overview of previous work that has explored issues of social, organizational and corporate identity. Differences in the form and focus of research into these three topics are noted. Social identity work generally examines issues of cognitive process and structure; organizational identity research tends to address the patterning of shared meanings; studies of corporate identity tend to focus on products that communicate a specific image. Nonetheless, across these areas there is general consensus that collective identities are (a) made viable by their positivity and distinctiveness, (b) fluid, (c) a basis for shared perceptions and action, (d) strategically created and managed, (e) qualitatively different from individual identities and (f) the basis for material outcomes and products. This paper calls for greater cross-fertilization of the three identity literatures and discusses requirements for the integration of micro- and macro-level analyses.

Managing the Multiple Identities of the Corporation

In the wake of corporate acquisitions, mergers, and spin-offs, considerable senior management attention has been devoted to corporate identity and its communication to key stakeholder groups. This article provides a framework to help management achieve clearer understanding and better management of their corporations identities. Many firms operate with a belief in a single monolithic corporate identity. Our research leads to a different view: organizations have multiple identities. We delineate five kinds of identity, within a framework termed the AC²ID Test™(ACCID), namely, the actual, communicated, conceived, ideal, and desired identities. These reflect respectively: the current, distinct attributes of the organization; what the organization communicates about itself; the perceptions of the corporation by stakeholders; the optimum positioning for the organization; and corporate vision from the perspective of the CEO or management board. Not only should management understand its multiple identities, it also should be alert to critical misalignments among them, as these can seriously weaken a company.

Identity based views of the corporation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider advances in corporate identity scholarship on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the first special edition of corporate identity to appear in the European Journal of Marketing in 1997.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a literature review.Findings – The notion of, what can be termed, “identity‐based views of the corporation” is introduced. Each of the ten identity based perspectives that inform the above are underpinned by a critically important question which is believed to be of considerable saliency to marketing scholars and policy advisors alike. As a precursor to an exposition of these ten perspectives, the paper discusses five principal schools of thought relating to identity and identification ((the quindrivium) which can be characterised as: corporate identity (the identity of the organisation); communicated corporate identification (identification from the organisation); stakeholder corporate identification (an indivi...

Corporate Identity: There Is More to It than Meets the Eye

This article looks at the surge of interest from marketing scholars and organizational behaviourists in two distinct but inextricably linked areas - corporate identity and organizational identity.

Corporate identity and corporate communications: creating a competitive advantage

Recent environmental trends are forcing senior managers to give greater import to corporate identity and corporate communications. They are discovering that conventional methods of redressing identity problems are becoming progressively less effective because, in our opinion, the traditional focus has viewed corporate identity and corporate communications as functional rather than as strategic. We suggest a much broadened view that looks at corporate communications as a three‐part system process – primary, secondary, and tertiary. In many companies these three are out of balance. Primary communication should present a positive image of the company and set the stage for a strong reputation. Secondary communication should be designed to support and reinforce primary communication. Tertiary communications should be positive and result in a superior reputation if the other two stages of corporate communication are properly conceived. The authors postulate that senior managers who implement this can invest the...

Corporate identity and corporate communications: the antidote to merger madness

This article examines the potential relevance of corporate identity and corporate communication to the merger and acquisition process. Recent studies indicate that around 50 per cent of all mergers failed to produce the synergistic benefits that were expected of them. The authors argue that this failure rate may be attributable to the neglect of corporate identity and corporate communication issues and have identified nine reasons why mergers fail, chief among which are: the undue attention that is given to short‐term financial and legal issues to the detriment of long‐term identity and communication issues; inadequate recognition of the impact of leadership issues on identity and communication; and failure to secure the goodwill of a wide range of stakeholder groups common to both companies. The authors offer a template pertaining to corporate identity and corporate communication issues in the merger and acquisition process which they call the merger mix.