Lecture 9: Corporate and Moral Branding & Anti-Brand Activism

Moral Brands

• Communicate and reflect moral and ethical issues and concerns in society

• May operate within a corporate brand

• May influence the organisational culture and identity

Moral Branding

• Brands must stand for something, and get involved in addressing societal, political or environmental issues

• They must actively work to protect the values of their customers

• Companies that align with a worthwhile cause may help bolster reputation and create a lasting impact as well as can breed loyalty in customers, staff and the business

• Brand must be authentically aligned with the cause

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as Brand Strategy

• CSR focuses on different responsibilities: PESTLE, philanthropic, ethical

• CSR programmes need to be more than just well-intentioned: they need to be effective

Corporate Reputation

• refers to an individual’s reflection of the historical & accumulated impacts of previous identity cues

• corporate reputation is built by the actions of a company as perceived by those it affects (transparency, trust, feedback)

• companies need to communicate their corporate values so that stakeholders can see it is living out its mission and values

• it is something that is cultivated over time

Difference Between Product and Corporate Brands

Corporate Branding

• when a company markets itself

• the corporate brand defines the organisation that will deliver and stand behind the offering

Corporate (Re)Branding

changing markets may force organisations to engage in corporate rebranding to ensure that the organisation identity and external image are balanced and affiliated.

Sense of Belonging Structure

Anti-Brand Movement

• actions against brands

• most actions are organised from third sector organisation

• types: boycott, activism, humour

Brand Responses to Anti-Brand Movement

Avoidance Strategies Include:

• pre-emptive registration of brand names and sub-brands

• use of social media and genial media monitoring tools to seek evidence of infringement

• staying vigilant

• legal action against those seen as responsible for infringement

Action can draw more attention to the problem