Brand Management: Research, theory and practice

Where most companies fail is getting the organizational identity right, aligned
with the remaining three supporting themes. Also, ‘Ignoring issues of identity is
not a feasible option, particularly for managers. Indeed, it only tends to exacerbate
the problem. Identity does not go away, and can surface with a vengeance’
(Balmer and Greyser 2003, p. 34). The involvement of employees in the co-
creation of brand identity is extremely difficult and requires great skill and
persistence. This section introduces the reader to the managerial guidelines of how
the four supporting themes – corporate identity, organizational identity, image and
reputation – can be managed and aligned into a coherent brand identity.

Aligning vision and culture in practice

Any management process and activity, big or small, requires the right insight into
the elements that are to be managed. In the case of brand identity, the goal is not to
get information about the supporting themes separately, but to observe and analyse
the interplay between them. As described in the section on theoretical building
blocks, it is their alignment that is the key to a strong brand identity. The pivotal
goal of brand management in the identity approach is therefore the alignment of
the four supporting themes: image, reputation, corporate identity and organiza-
tional identity. In practice, these elements have different constituencies and
different drivers; top management drives the vision (corporate identity), while the
employees are drivers of culture (organizational identity). The drivers of image

The identity approach 71

Culture

Vision

Image

Aligning image

and vision gaps

Driver: Top

management

Driver:

Stakeholders Driver:

Employees

Aligning culture

and image gaps

Aligning vision

and culture gaps

Figure 5.9Drivers of the alignment process of brand identity; from Hatch and Schultz,
‘Are your strategic stars aligned for your corporate brand?’ Harvard Business Review,
February 2001, reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review, copyright © 2001 by
the Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved