Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...
Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...
Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...
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Two from above-mentioned eleven RM indicators have been demonstrated in this abstract, whereas the demonstration<br />
of all eleven indicators is added in the full paper.<br />
Proving Advantage through Customers or other Stakeholders‘ Experiences<br />
The second season of IPL in 2009 was held in South Africa following several propositions from other cricket hosting<br />
countries. After losing the opportunity to host IPL in Engl<strong>and</strong>, the ECB chairman Giles Clarke expressed his frustration<br />
along with the well wishing for the IPL as:<br />
Despite missing out on the potential financial benefits that hosting the tournament could have brought to<br />
the English game, I am pleased for the sport as a whole that the IPL had found a new home in South<br />
Africa (Clarke, 2009, np).<br />
Again, after the successful completion of IPL-2009, the CEO of Cricket South Africa expressed his gratitude as:<br />
The IPL lifted spirits enormously. Our industry also got an extra bite of the cherry against the negative<br />
world economic trend. Certainly, at home it added even more value to Proteas cricket. It has also<br />
brought in unexpected <strong>and</strong> very welcome funds for the further development of South African cricket<br />
(Cricket South Africa, 2009, np).<br />
Therefore, ‗proving advantage through customers‘ or other stakeholders‘ experiences illustrates a distinct competitive<br />
advantage in the target markets for IPL. The reinforced corporate br<strong>and</strong>, identity <strong>and</strong> reputation that IPL has attained<br />
through such a RM indicator reflect significantly on their annual growth. As a result, IPL have promoted successfully a<br />
corporate br<strong>and</strong>, reputation <strong>and</strong> identity image in the market (customers, competitors <strong>and</strong> other associated stakeholders)<br />
as:<br />
Associating with the br<strong>and</strong> (here IPL) prolifically exceeds your (customers <strong>and</strong> other<br />
stakeholders) anticipation.<br />
Relationship Factor Focused <strong>Br<strong>and</strong></strong>ing<br />
Arsenal has introduced ‗N5‘ as a br<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> offers various ‗N5‘ merch<strong>and</strong>ises (Online Store, 2009). Actually:<br />
N5 is a tiny postcode of London. In the north-western corner of N5 is Arsenal football ground. It is<br />
one of the country's most recognisable grounds, <strong>and</strong> not just by virtue of the side's success (London<br />
N5 Guidebook, 2008, np).<br />
Arsenal players <strong>and</strong> fans have an associated life-long emotion, feeling <strong>and</strong> nostalgia with Arsenal, its stadium <strong>and</strong> the<br />
club‘s location, the N5. Jack Staniforth, a footballer, who represented Engl<strong>and</strong> in the decade of 1960, has expressed his<br />
emotion about N5 <strong>and</strong> Arsenal when he was invited from Fulham, for a trial instead of Arsenal as:<br />
When I invited to trial with Fulham in 1957 pre-season, I would not realise me, which is just as well<br />
because my heart was in N5...Yes Arsenal is much more than a football club to me (Staniforth, 2009,<br />
np)<br />
Significantly, Arsenal uses these emotions <strong>and</strong> feelings of Arsenal‘s players <strong>and</strong> fans to develop the N5 br<strong>and</strong> for a<br />
different range of merch<strong>and</strong>ise to accelerate their sales revenues. As a consequence, ‗Relationship Factor Focused<br />
<strong>Br<strong>and</strong></strong>ing‘ is emerged as another RM indicator from the Arsenal‘s RM practice as Arsenal adapted <strong>and</strong> introduced the<br />
range of N5 br<strong>and</strong>, which is originated from the emotion <strong>and</strong> feeling of Arsenal‘s players <strong>and</strong> fans as a relationship<br />
factor. Consequently, Arsenal‘s practice of relationship indicator focused br<strong>and</strong>ing highlights that it helps to reinforce a<br />
unified br<strong>and</strong> reputation between a corporation <strong>and</strong> its target market. Through such a reinforced corporate br<strong>and</strong>,<br />
identity <strong>and</strong> reputation, a corporation could convey a br<strong>and</strong> message to their customers that they (customers) represent<br />
the br<strong>and</strong>.<br />
Implication <strong>and</strong> Conclusion<br />
The RM practices of the sport cases reveal that reinforcing corporate br<strong>and</strong>, identity <strong>and</strong> reputation is an interrelated<br />
process between a corporation <strong>and</strong> their target market, especially while reinforcing br<strong>and</strong>ing outcome through RM<br />
practices. The analysis indicates that a reinforced br<strong>and</strong>ing effect is a consequence of meeting corporation <strong>and</strong> target<br />
market‘s aspiration concurrently through a br<strong>and</strong>ing message or appeal. For example, focusing on Hawthorn‘s current<br />
<strong>and</strong> prospective members (supporters, but not current members), the br<strong>and</strong>ing message of Hawthorn for the year 2010 is<br />
‗United 2010-one for all, all for one‘ (Hawthorn FC, 2010, np). Such a br<strong>and</strong>ing message concurrently meets Hawthorn<br />
<strong>and</strong> their prospective members‘ aspiration. Since, through such a br<strong>and</strong>ing message, Hawthorn could appeal to their<br />
prospective members to become Hawthorn‘s member, as well as prospective members (supporters), who abide the<br />
similar value like Hawthorn, could be more fanatical about their beloved club.<br />
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