While most companies are good at positioning their products and brands, they are unsure of what defines a corporate brand. What does the name of an enterprise represent, how does the market look at the brand of an enterprise, and how can one make good use of it?
Brand is the key to unlocking company value, and every company tries to create brand value. To understand the difference between corporate branding, marketing and product branding strategies, we must first understand what is a brand. A brand is not just an eye-catching symbol, or a product name. A product name that is often advertised does not necessarily make a good brand. On the contrary, because the scope of a corporate brand is generally much broader, a successful corporate brand should evoke a range of expectations, not just in the specific product or service under it, but in the myriad of expectations, imaginations, and the more the merrier.
The corporate brand itself gives the public an impression that it meets public expectations. Whether it is brand value or personal value, its value is rarely communicated actively. If someone told you they were generous, or even gave you a sum of money to back up that statement, would you consider that person to be generous? Probably not. But if the person keeps donating over a period of time and thus demonstrates his generosity, you might conclude that the person is indeed generous. What is the first thing you can associate with the internationally known brand "Apple"? Many people around the world know what the iPhone is, but what does "Apple" stand for? You may think of her as the leader of technological innovation, creativity, and the future direction of technology, and we have countless expectations and associations for all of Apple's products and services. We need to have consistent behavioral requirements for corporate branding, and to adhere to these values consistently at all times, so that corporate branding are clearly separated from marketing and product branding.
Corporate brands look for consistency in a changing world
Success in marketing comes from understanding the consumer or customer: knowing what product or service they want, knowing how to provide the product or service to them, and knowing how to sell it to them. Therefore, good marketing personnel always listen to the market and are prepared to change their product or service strategy accordingly.
On the other hand, in a corporate branding strategy we must find the values associated with a company's brand, and its brand needs to be able to adhere to these values consistently at all times. A clear and consistent corporate brand is essential in marketing strategy, not only does it enhance the image of the product and facilitate the development of new markets, but it can also help the company recruit and retain employees, and to protect the company's reputation from being damaged. However, many companies have difficulty articulating and effectively communicating their corporate brand.
Many successful corporate brands originate from a set of values set by their founders. Brand building usually starts with one person or a small group of people, which has certain advantages in corporate branding. They can decide to do what they want without having to face a lot of discussion and can quickly decide on the company's position and values, which are often represented by the founder's history and story. So in order to build a successful brand, does this mean that only the founder can determine the value of a successful brand? Probably not.
Many large companies are very successful in building corporate brands, and they stick to those brand values throughout. Founded in 1902 in the United States, 3M Company is a globally diversified enterprise, producing more than 50,000 kinds of products, including abrasive materials, tapes, mixtures, electronic products, display products, medical products and household products. Its corporate brand stands for innovation, never stopping research and development. The key to the continued success of 3M's brand over the years has been based on its shared values, including its commitment to "satisfy our customers with superior quality and value." This makes it easy for consumers to identify and differentiate products belonging to 3M. Successful corporate brands tell consumers what to expect from the company and its products, and connect consumers' memories with the brand, directly or indirectly, at any time.
How to build a strong and personalized corporate brand
If we want our corporate brand values to be tested over time, we need to build a corporate brand strategy that: a) has a good understanding of the intrinsic values that exist within the company and the company's management; and b) ensures that the corporate brand has a "personality" quality. If a corporate brand has a personality like a human being, then that personality can be analyzed like a human being. It starts with a psychological analysis of the brand values, because the people in charge of the company will have their own set of values, and whether this set of values can be agreed with the corporate brand values a unique set of corporate values may be derived via a detailed and systematic analysis, and these values will become the strategic blueprint of the corporate brand strategy.
Mr. Bernard Ling
Chief Strategy Director of Amber Hill Group
Mr. Ling has held a number of key positions with international organizations including AB Insurance, AIA Group, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Market, Genting Hong Kong Limited, Fidelity Investments Group, Credit Suisse AG and BNP Paribas.
Amber Hill Group is a fast-growing global investment firm dedicated to providing personal financial planning to high net worth clients around the world. The core quantitative trading systems created by the Group have performed well, and the assets under management of the Group's subsidiaries and affiliated companies exceed US $1,000,000,000.
