As mentioned previously, this line of thought originates from the idea that people
base their evaluations of brand identity (the brand image) on their total experience
of a company. This notion makes employees the pivotal instrument for brand
management. The ability of employees to deliver the content and promise of the
brand in the long run creates corporate image and reputation.
The ‘living the brand’ construct is often used in this perspective. The concept
describes how organizational members can become so attached to the brand that it
becomes an important part of the creation and enhancement of brand equity.
Employees are expected to ‘live the brand’, acting as brand ambassadors and co-
creators of brand equity. The brand is brought to life in the interaction between
consumer and employee, demanding a high level of commitment to the brand
from the employee. In an ideal world, organizational culture is altered and nursed
by embedding certain values in the culture and behaviour using tools such as
storytelling, internal training and employee branding. This process aligns
employee behaviour with the brand vision and brand identity. Since employees
increasingly demand empowerment and a meaningful workplace, and companies
demand committed employees, this approach seems like a win–win situation for
both employees and companies. But in reality it is often different; the proven
effect of internal employee branding (the storytelling and value-based
management tools used to alter organizational culture) is questionable. Several
studies conclude that the majority of employees do not really buy in on internal
branding efforts long term. Once activities have died down, resistance to change
and old routines win the battle. Hence, managing brand identity through the
creation and enhancement of organizational identity is not an easy task, but if it is
done with success, the result can be an unbeatably strong and unique brand
identity. The methods of how to go about creating an organizational culture as a
brand manager and some of the problems and how to overcome them are further
explained in ‘methods’ (p. 64) and ‘managerial implications’ (p. 70).
Box 5.4 Culture in the identity approach
In the identity approach, culture is defined at micro-level (while the cultural
approach highlights branding in the context of macro-level culture). In the
micro-level culture definition of the identity approach, organizational
culture is to be understood as a concept that provides a local context or
frame for the organizational identity. The organizational culture
furthermore contributes with symbolic material to the construction of
corporate identity. Culture is regarded as the expression of everyday life in
an organization – the values (the ‘taken-for-granted assumptions’), the
behaviour (‘the way we do things around here’) and the formal internal and
external communication as well as the more informal communication of
internal organizational stories.
SourceHatch and Schultz (2000)58 Seven brand approaches