Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...

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The Internet-Based Democratisation of Corporate Brand Management – An Exploration of Managerial Perspectives Bjoern Asmussen, Oxford Brookes University, UK Sally Harridge-March, Oxford Brookes University, UK Nicoletta Occhiocupo, Oxford Brookes University, UK Jillian Farquhar, University of Bedfordshire, UK The internet-based democratisation of brand management is a widely debated phenomenon in the academic world (Berthon et al. 2008; Kozinets et al. 2010; Schau et al. 2009) as well as in marketing practice (Edelman 2010; McConnell & Huba 2007; Mooney & Rollins 2008; Valos et al. 2010). However, an interdisciplinary review of academic literature has shown that one pivotal stakeholder group has hardly been given a voice within the discourses that are participating in the debates about the internet-based democratisation of brand management: the professional brand managers themselves (Asmussen et al. 2010). It would therefore be useful for future academic research to explore what the people who are potentially most affected in their everyday working lives, by the radical changes caused by this democratisation, think and feel about this phenomenon. The purpose of this research project is to make a contribution to this under-investigated area. The research aim is to explore the internet-based democratisation of corporate brand management from the perspective(s) of corporate brand managers. Corporate brand management has been chosen for the present research project, since this area is one of those most affected in the context of the democratisation of brand management (Greyser 2009; Laforet & Saunders 2005). One of the biggest challenges to achieve the above stated research aim is the high level of complexity when it comes to brand management research (de Chernatony & Dall‘Olmo Riley 1998; Heding et al. 2009; Louro & Cunha 2001) or corporate brand management research (Balmer 2001; Schultz et al. 2005). Brodie and de Chernatony (2009) indicate that organisational theory in particular provides useful guidance under these circumstances for brand management researchers – since organisational theory is ‗concerned with the complexity of organizations and management processes‘ (p. 99). Based on this rationale – a sense making approach was chosen for the present context. The concept of sense making has been developed mainly in the discipline of organisational behaviour – particularly by Karl Weick (see further Weick 1995 & 2001) to investigate cognitive processes in complex organisational and managerial scenarios. The concept itself can mean different things to different people (Klein et al. 2006a) but is quintessentially about ‗the making of sense‘ (Weick 1995, p. 4). It is about giving meaning to experience. This includes processes such as structuring known as well as unknown stimuli by placing them into a mental frame of reference or creating new ones (Klein et al. 2006b; Starbuck & Milliken 1988; Waterman 1990; Woodside 2001). Such mental frameworks can be used as a generalised point of view, which directs people‘s interpretations. Based on this sense making approach, the aim of the present research project has therefore been translated into the following research question: How do corporate brand managers make sense of the internet-based democratisation of corporate brand management? To answer this exploratory question, in terms of methodology, a social constructivist grounded theory-led approach (Charmaz 2006) has been applied. In-depth interviews with 13 UK-based corporate brand managers have been conducted. The interview participants have been recruited from a broad choice of industries; and large as well as small and medium sized organisations. The research results indicate that corporate brand managers‘ mental frameworks regarding the internet-based democratisation of brand management are mainly determined by two parameters. Firstly, their attitude towards the democratisation phenomenon, which can range from positive, i.e. seeing the democratisation as an opportunity, to negative, i.e. seeing the democratisation as a threat (Figure 1). The second parameter appears to be the managers‘ general perspective on brand management, which can range from very company-centric to strongly external stakeholder-oriented (Figure 1). Corporate brand managers with a company-centric perspective and a positive attitude towards the brand democratisation, find the technical opportunities of social media empowering for their organisation. In terms of new product development they appreciate the possibilities of involving customers more and more in the different stages of the product development process. For them it is a relatively controlled form of outsourcing or crowdsourcing (Howe 2006). But equally, the availability of additional ‗marketing tools‘ such as a Facebook site, (the CEO‘s) blog, or a company-controlled online community is appealing to some of them. The company-centric-oriented managers with a negative attitude towards the democratisation phenomenon, feel that they are losing more and more control over the brand management process. Some of them are experiencing a cognitive dissonance since the ‗old control logic‘ is not working anymore. Corporate brand managers with a positive attitude towards the internet-based democratisation phenomenon and an external stakeholder orientation, focus less on the technical opportunities of social media but rather on the positive outcomes of external stakeholders‘ activities on the internet. They feel that customers who, for example, write a positive online review about an organisation‘s products or services become ambassadors of the brand. These ambassadors essentially promote the organisation to others and therefore ‗do the marketer‘s job‘ to a certain extent. The generation of electronic word-of-mouth can be interpreted as a relatively uncontrolled form of crowdsourcing or brand meaning co-creation. Furthermore, these corporate brand managers also feel that they benefit from being able to listen to and learn more about their customers on the internet through monitoring user generated 18
content (UGC) or even direct interaction with their customers and other stakeholders. Finally, corporate brand managers who have an external stakeholder-oriented perspective on brand management and feel rather pessimistic about the internet-based democratisation phenomenon, are worried about negative and fake user generated content, for example, negative online product reviews written by competitors. Or, in extreme cases, customers apparently demand to be offered special discounts and threaten otherwise to write a negative review about the organisation online. In terms of limitations, this research is just a first work-in-progress report about the exploration of managerial perspectives on the internet-based democratisation of corporate brand management. Further investigation is needed. Regarding originality, this research represents one of the first applications of second generation grounded theory method in marketing management research. Furthermore, the findings are based on interviews with senior corporate brand managers, a group who have hardly been interviewed in the past when it comes to phenomena like the internetbased democratisation of brand management. And the erosion of control felt by some of the corporate brand managers leads to the conclusion that, at least in some cases, there is a demand for a new brand management paradigm. Figure 1: Managerial perspectives on the internet-based democratisation of corporate brand management References 1. Asmussen, B., Harridge-March, S., Occhiocupo, N. and Farquhar, J. (2010): The Internet-Based Democratisation of Brand Management: The Dawn of a New Paradigm or Dangerous Nonsense? Proceedings of the 39th EMAC European Marketing Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark, June. 2. Balmer, J.M.T. (2001): Corporate Identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35, 3/4, pp. 248-291. 3. Berthon, P., Pitt, L.F. and Campbell, C. (2008): Ad lib: when customers create the ad. California Management Review, Vol. 50, 4, pp. 6-30. 4. Brodie, R.J. & de Chernatony, L. (2009): Towards new conceptualizations of branding: theories of the middle range. Marketing Theory, Vol. 9, 1, pp. 95- 100. 5. Charmaz, K. (2006): Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London, Sage. 6. de Chernatony, L. & Dall‘Olmo Riley, F. (1998): Defining A ‗Brand‘: Beyond The Literature With Experts‘ Interpretations. Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 14, 5, pp. 417-443. 7. Edelman, D.C. (2010): Gaining an edge through digital marketing. McKinsey Quarterly, 3, pp. 129-134. 8. Greyser, S.A. (2009): Corporate brand reputation and brand crisis management. Management Decision, Vol. 47, 4, pp. 590-602. 9. Heding, T., Knudtzen, C.F. & Bjerre, M. (2009): Brand Management, Research, Theory and Practice. London, Routledge. 10. Howe, J. (2006): The Rise of Crowdsourcing. Wired, Vol. 14, 6, pp. 176-183. 11. Klein, G., Moon, B. & Hoffman, R.R. (2006a): Making Sense of Sensemaking 1: Alternative Perspectives. IEEE Intelligent Systems, Vol. 21, 4, pp. 70- 73. 12. Klein, G., Moon, B. & Hoffman, R.R. (2006b): Making Sense of Sensemaking 2: A Macrocognitive Model. IEEE Intelligent Systems, Vol. 21, 5, pp. 88- 92. 13. Kozinets, R.V., de Valck, K., Wojnicki, A. & Wilner, S.J.S. (2010): Networked narratives: understanding word-of-mouth marketing in online communities. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74, 2, pp. 71-89. 14. Laforet, S. & Saunders, J. (2005): Managing Brand Portfolios: How Strategies Have Changed. Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 45, 3, pp. 314-327. 15. Louro, M.J. & Cunha, P.V. (2001): Brand Management Paradigms. Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 17, 7/8, pp. 849-875. 16. McConnell, B. & Huba, J. (2007): Citizen marketers. When people are the message. Chicago, Kaplan. 17. Mooney, K. & Rollins, N. (2008): The open brand. When push comes to pull in a web-made world. Berkeley, AIGA New Riders. 18. Schau, J.H., Muniz, A.M. & Arnould, E.J. (2009): How brand community practices create value. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73, 5, pp. 30-51. 19. Schultz, M., Antorini, Y.M. & Csaba, F.F. (2005): Corporate Branding. Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School Press. 20. Starbuck, W.H. & Milliken, F.J. (1988): Executives‘ perceptual filters: What they notice and how they make sense. In: Hambrick, D.C. (ed.): The executive effect: Concepts and methods for studying top managers. Greenwich, JAI, pp. 35-65. 21. Valos, M.J., Ewing, M.T. & Powell, I.H. (2010): Practitioner prognostications on the future of online marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 26, 3/4, pp. 361-376. 22. Waterman, R.H., Jr. (1990): Adhocracy: The power to change. Memphis, Whittle. 23. Weick, K.E. (1995): Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, Sage. 24. Weick, K.E. (2001): Making Sense of the Organization. Oxford: Blackwell. 25. Woodside, A.G. (2001): Editorial: Sense making in marketing organizations and consumer psychology: Theory and practice. Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 18, 5, pp. 415-421. 19
Page 1 and 2: Book of Proceedings Brand, Identity
Page 3 and 4: Session 1.1 Emotional Branding in T
Page 5 and 6: p.31) consumers tend to those sourc
Page 7 and 8: Tables and figures Brand perception
Page 9 and 10: Malaysia‘s Global Halal Hub - ―
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Page 17: Table-5 Facebook Members of Homeles
Page 21 and 22: Fierman, (1991) found that 47% of c
Page 23 and 24: Multiple Dimensions of Brand Identi
Page 25 and 26: Session 1.3 Corporate Identity, Cor
Page 27 and 28: CSR are the ideals and ethics of co
Page 29 and 30: Corporate Brand Identity Management
Page 31 and 32: To study the influence of B2B relat
Page 33 and 34: Antecedents And Consequences Of Bra
Page 35 and 36: 22. Gurviez, P., and Korchia, M. (2
Page 37 and 38: Non-monetary factors, such as effor
Page 39 and 40: 23. Holbrook, M.B. (2006). Consumpt
Page 41 and 42: Brand Extensions and Culture: The I
Page 43 and 44: avoidance tend to prefer more infor
Page 45 and 46: Virtual Internal Brand Communities:
Page 47 and 48: References 1. Algesheimer, R., Dhol
Page 49 and 50: associations based on their percept
Page 51 and 52: shift in the psychological contract
Page 53 and 54: 10. Berthon, P., Ewing, M., & Hah,
Page 55 and 56: Session 2.1 Global Brand Relationsh
Page 57 and 58: G. Brand Personality Excitement Hon
Page 59 and 60: The Impact of Relationship Marketin
Page 61 and 62: ‗United 2010-one for all, all for
Page 63 and 64: Brand Equity Trends in Top Global B
Page 65 and 66: Uncovering ‗Meanings‘ through A
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Thus, from a design perspective, we
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Keywords Brands, marketing, meaning
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How Important is the Brand Name Ele
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References 1. Aaker, D. (1991). Man
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Simon Cowell and Branding the X Fac
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Dead or Living: Which Celebrity To
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Reference 1. Bagozzi, R.P. & Yi, Y.
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has been adopted and within this an
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Organizational Factors Contributing
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examine and reconcile existing lite
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Effects of Corporate Social Respons
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15. Morsing M, & Schultz M. (2006).
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1989). But if the information avail
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An Inquiry into Corporate Heritage
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3. Balmer, J. M. T., & Greyser, S.
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Research questions and methodology
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Building Corporate Reputation: A Di
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Session 3.1 Financial vs. Consumer-
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For indicating brand equity, one of
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Financial Brand Valuation: an exper
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Figure 1 Religiously Motivated Cons
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I Don‘t Like It! - Understanding
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Session 3.2 Advertising Agency Empl
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applications of the Repertory Test
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The Life Cycle of Mavens Lynne Free
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Exploring the relationship between
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internal branding process. Internal
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proper branding strategy. With the
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Profiling the Image of Urban Busine
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Finally, the paper confirms the cau
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Table 3 Image differences according
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associated with the brand‖ (Aaker
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Figure 1 - Number of adjectives sel
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Figure 5 - Main attributes of a gol
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Empirical Studies For both studies,
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Figure 2: Perception of the City of
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Co-branding places? Andrea Lucarell
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12. Lucarelli, A., & Berg, P. O. (2
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the place brands, as has been showe
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Session 3.4 Innovation and Entrepre
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The interviews were conducted in th
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Country-of-Origin Effects on Brand
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7. Kaynak, E., Kucukemiroglu, O. &
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Results The demographic profile ind
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use games consoles (Childwise, 2001
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Plenary Session 2 Brand Performance
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Uncles, M.D. & Kwok, S. (2008). Gen
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Brand Management Framework Empirica
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Coneptualising Branding in Indian P
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characteristics could be zeroed upo
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Concentrating on the actual practic
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ooking attractive in greater detail
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Session 7.2 Brand Personification a
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Importance of Country Image to Mega
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Table 1: Evaluative Responses for t
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To be Similar or Unique? Implicatio
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Brown, T. J., Dacin, P. A., Pratt,
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A brand-driven strategy oriented to
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Rheingold, H. (1993). The Virtual C
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A Framework for Public Sector Brand
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Conclusion Public sector organisati
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A strategic investigation into the
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There are also some changes in term
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Brand Hypocrisy Sanne Frandsen, Cop
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Table 1: Empirical Findings Theory
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Brand Governance in Social Networki
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Determinants Brand Orientation Va
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When Individual Experience becomes
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Impact of Storytelling on Consumer
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The Role of Communication in Establ
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Culture‘s Influence on Consumer P
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+ Top-Down Dynamic between Luxury F
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Analysis and results We assessed th
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An Exploration of Own Brand Retaile
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11. ETI 2010. Ethical Trading Initi
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When investigating unique significa
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Session 8.2 Closing the Gaps - the
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accomplishing reality rather than d
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Reddy, 1998, p.40). As a result, br
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Figure 2: Doves Real Beauty Billboa
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Literature review, as a complete re
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Segmenting McDonalds: Measuring Bra
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A simple eyeballing of the segment
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Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4 235
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Session 8.3 Brand Attitudes and the
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when preceded with the related conc
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What keeps smokers from quitting? U
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Table 1: Description of the cigaret
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Exploring differences in product at
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Based on the results some general c
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Data was collected by independent j
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Sonic branding: A review of literat
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How is green seen? Exploring the im
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were in evidence. The inability to
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Generally speaking, people use exte
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How Retail Banks Use Atmosphere to
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Actually, we don‘t feel constrain
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Introduction Reputation and Financi
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Chun, R. & Davies G. (2009). Employ
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Identity, Reputation and Organizati
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Introduction Factors Affecting Bran
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A quiet important approach then bec
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27. Gentry, C.R., ―Building on Br
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Together these issues have resulted
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elations. If the contact persons tr
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How do you Really Know? Exploring B
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Originality/value The psychology li
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asked ―did you see any of these c
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expressivity (Ω experts = 0,96 p
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Next are brand associations, also r
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Table 1: Selection of variables, it
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Special Session Issues in Brand Gov
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A Competance based Brand: Meaning a
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Session 12.4 Special Session Topic:
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Brand Meaning Co-Creation of Newcom
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Leonor Vacas de Carvalho, Évora Un
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Ronaldo Schutz, University of the A
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