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Abimbola (2009) PDF
Abimbola (2009) PDF
The traditional boundaries between brand the more positive the customer experi-
management and other management areas ence, the stronger the brand, and the
are dissolving. An important resulting greater the positive reputation for the
change is that the goodwill or franchise organisation. Reputation is the more or
embodied in the brand has become a less favourable regard in which a firm is
major source of value through which held by its stakeholders.5 Such a regard,
organisations engage with the consumer. which translates into a greater reputation
While these permeate consumer when compared to competitors, allows
thinking and behaviour (witness the suc- firms to cope with the intense competi-
cess of Apple’s iPod/iPhone and Nintendo’s tion and offer intuitive, relevant and cus-
Wii and Brain Academy), this is just begin- tomised values to their customers.
ning to attract the attention of those who Therefore, while branding cannot (and
still see brand management as ‘something should not) be just a functional responsi-
done to a good product’ and not a rig- bility, it is inconceivable to develop repu-
orous aspect of business strategy. Of par- tation for an organisation’s offerings
ticular importance here is the increasing embodied by its brand. The question
role that brand, organisational identity would be: reputation for what?
(OI) and reputation occupy in competitive In marketing, OI has variously been
markets loaded with symbols and mean- explained in terms of company logo, the
ings, through which organisations express design style, colour scheme, graphic
themselves.1 design,6 the behaviour of employees,7
Brands develop through consistent and communication towards internal and
positive consumer experience over time. external stakeholders.8 Fundamentally OI
Empowered by access to information, is concerned with (and addresses) the
consumers are driven not just by the brand reality of what the firm is all about9,10 in
alone, but also by an evaluation based on time and space. OI entails the constellation
their views of the organisation behind the and manifestation of an organisation’s
brands.2 Consumer technological sophis- competency, capability, resources and
tication3 and an array of information structure that enables it to innovatively
(through blogs, word of mouth, employee, create, develop and maintain its brand and
industry news, and so on) influence what entrench its reputation.
a brand offers to become worthwhile to Conceived this way, brand, OI and rep-
the consumer. In this regard, what a brand utation seemingly fit into a broader inte-
offers encompasses a lot of traditional ele- grative big idea requiring a holistic approach
ments, as well as those that are based on in addressing their importance and influence
the characteristics of the firm behind the in determining competitive success. In the
brand.4 With a successful brand as its raison dynamic environment that we are wit-
d’etre, every interaction with consumers nessing, what has traditionally been regarded
and other stakeholders influences and adds as functionally different and less important
to the accruing brand equity of the firm: variables (in practice and in theory) are now
© 2009 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 1350-23IX BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 16, NO. 4, 219–220 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2009 219
www.palgrave-journals.com/bm/
EDITORIAL
Temi Abimbola
Joint Editor-in-Chief
220 © 2009 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 1350-23IX BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 16, NO. 4, 219–220 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2009