and reputation are all stakeholders. These different constituencies require that
information is gathered from multiple sources and a variety of methods are used
before misalignments or opportunities are uncovered.
Gaps between vision and culture occur when the strategic vision top management
plans for the organization is not in line with the reality (organizational identity) of the
corporation – when employees are not able or willing to live up to the ambitious
goals set by management. To uncover these gaps between vision and culture, it must
be investigated if and to what extent employees support the visions planned by top
management. It is also essential to uncover if all functions or subcultures (from R&D
across production, marketing and eventually the sales force and pre-sales service
function) in the organization approve and support the vision. If not all subcultures or
groupings of an organization work to achieve the same goal it is very difficult to
build a coherent brand identity. Since the vision and culture are the primary drivers
of difficult-to-imitate differentiation, it is also important to investigate the vision and
culture of the corporation stand out compared with the competition and hence
deliver sufficient grounds for the differentiation of brand identity. A general
tendency is that management practices have evolved from focus on control mecha-
nisms and extensive identity programme manuals to focus more on empowerment,
the use of experience and story telling to build commitment and cultural affiliation.
Detecting identity gaps
Gaps between image and culture occur if employees do not deliver on the brand
promise and thereby disappoint consumer expectations. Here, the focus of investi-
gation is on the extent to which employees’ perception of brand identity is in line
with stakeholder associations and evaluations of brand image and reputation. It is
vital to uncover how brand stimuli and the interaction between employees as
carriers of brand identity and stakeholders contribute to the formation of brand
image. Finally, gaps between image and vision are an expression of a situation
where top management is alienated from what consumers expect and perceive of
the brand identity. Misalignments between vision and image can result in
consumers rejecting new product launches or marketing activities if they do not
feel that it is the right direction for the brand. Misalignment between vision and
image is serious and can be a symptom of inertia or lack of sufficient consumer
intelligence. As a consequence, the company will miss out on market potential and
consumer loyalty. To detect whether there are dangers of misalignment between
vision and image, it must be identified who the primary stakeholders of the brand
are and what these stakeholders expect from the brand identity. Effective,
continuous interaction and communication with stakeholders are required in order
to avoid misalignment between the two sources of brand identity.
Aligning identity gaps
In practice, brand managers can use knowledge about the multiple identities and
their alignment to manage the brand in a direction that is in line with consumers’
72 Seven brand approaches