summary connective branding

© Dr Claudia Fisher – Buttinger & Dr Christine Vallaster

A Special Report

Special Report Connective Branding

© Dr Claudia Fisher – Buttinger & Dr Christine Vallaster i

Dear Madam, dear Sirs, We live in a demanding world – demanding because many of our fundamental beliefs are put to the test along with established pillars of both society and the economy. The recent financial crisis alone has wiped off a reported € 39 bn1 of the value of global brands. This makes it particularly important to check the validity of old habits and old paradigms so that we can break away from outdated patterns of brand theory, brand management and brand strategy and replace them with adequate tools that can respond to the forces that shape the future of branding. In our book, Connective Branding, we have attempted to analyse these forces and their impact on branding. We want to empower our readers to see new patterns emerge, draw relevant new connections and build successful brands in this new branding environment. Connective Branding also guides the reader through a step-by-step practical process which can be followed in sequence or used in a modular fashion. In more than 120 interviews with marketing practitioners, branding experts, and academics we have confirmed our hypotheses about the way branding is changing. We have researched and surveyed brands from across the globe in order to give the book sufficient cultural depth, incl. Aer Lingus, Aral, BMW, BP, Deutsche Bank, Ducati, Edun, Google, innocent drinks, Lacoste, LEGO Group, Manner, Maggi, Orange, Old Mutual, Rabobank, Sony, SOS Childrens Village, Siemens, Thomas Sabo, TED/United, TUI, UBS, Vauxhall, Wal-Mart, Wikimedia and many more. Hopefully this will entice you to read the entire book! Dr Claudia Fisher- Buttinger Dr Christine Vallaster [email protected] [email protected] For a free sample chapter or to buy a copy of the book please go to www.connective-branding.com. The book is also available in all major book stores around the world.

1 The Guardian, September 23 2008


© Dr Claudia Fisher – Buttinger & Dr Christine Vallaster ii

SPECIAL REPORT CONNECTIVE BRANDING

I. 5 Key Insights.............................................................. 1

II. Core Model .................................................................. 6

III. Process and Critical Success Factors ........................... 9

IV. Key Questions............................................................ 10

V. Selected Reviews....................................................... 11


© Dr Claudia Fisher – Buttinger & Dr Christine Vallaster p.1

I. CONNECTIVE BRANDING PROVIDES 5 KEY INSIGHTS

The current branding environment is shaped by a number of market forces that are

playing together to redefine the ground rules of branding:

• Control issues. Complex and global supply chains as well as increasing pressure

to outsource various parts of the supply chain reduce companies’ ability to control

all aspects of their business. This leaves companies in a position of increased risk

to make mistakes (not necessarily of the company itself but e.g. of less

experienced partners). Blaming mistakes on such partners no longer protects the

brand or reduces the negative impact (e.g. child labour used by contractors in

India, hazardous material used by manufacturing facilities in China).

• Megaphone Internet. The Internet acts like a giant megaphone into a “socially

networked” world, exposing and magnifying any irregularities related to business

conduct. It is no longer possible to retain information related to negative news

within a controlled group of stakeholders since the Internet actively defies

“censorship” and also has caused the blurring of boundaries between stakeholder

groups.

• Environment of Distrust. A never ending series of corporate scandals from Enron

to Parmalat, the current global financial crisis, the after-math of 9/11 and the

Bush government in the US all have contributed to the erosion of trust in (large)

companies and established authorities in the economy and society at large. This



results in increased scrutiny of company and brand activities, further amplifying

the vulnerability of brands.

• CSR Imperative. As the consumer has learned that their money is an effective

way to pressure companies into action, they are looking to companies to save our

world and our planet, not governments. Sustainability and ethical business

conduct are no longer PR gimmicks but need to be addressed as part of a holistic

business and brand strategy. Window-dressing and green-washing are easily

spotted and no longer tolerated as opportunistic means of getting attention or

seeking differentiation. The expectations of brands are high in general, but even

more so if a communications focus is placed on CSR related issues.

Based on this understanding of the current branding environment, we have identified

the following 5 key insights that make it necessary to break old patterns and adjust

brand strategy:

1. BACK TO BASICS: EARN YOUR TRUST

Brands – in particular large global brands - need to regain the trust of their key

audiences, foremost that of the employee and the customer. While large companies

and brands once were a pillar of consumer confidence, they are now viewed with

suspicion or even scorn.

Connective Branding explains how brands need to put programs in place that proof

to their key target audiences – including customers and employees – what their

values really are and why they are trustworthy (before they can do anything else).



2. LIVE THE BRAND SO THAT IT CAN RADIATE OUTWARDS

In traditional branding concepts brands are created primarily through an external

image built on advertising and other forms of one-way information disseminated in

main stream media. This used to work particularly well for product brands. However,

in today’s world a brand is delivered through every single point of interaction

between the brand and key stakeholders, including word-of-mouth communication,

the purchasing experience, the product itself and post-purchase interaction points. In

order to increase the consistency of stakeholder experience across these interaction

points, all employees have to live the brand. If all employees – not only those who

are directly customer facing, but literally all employees – embrace the values of the

brand and live them, every day and in everything they do – the brand can radiate

outwards. This also means that employee engagement has become a much more

important element of branding.

Connective Branding explains how to engage employees and systematically increase

consistency of interaction points in order to let the brand radiate outwards and

optimise stakeholder experience.

3. STRENGTHEN THE BRAND THROUGH INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Traditional branding was based on a one-way, often manipulative communication

paradigm. With the proliferation of the Internet the long awaited shift in

communication power has finally happened – the consumer is now in control of

when, where, and how to interact with the brand. This necessitates a more engaging

communications paradigm and a whole range of new skills and competences.



Connective Branding explains how to create interactive relationships with all key

stakeholder audiences by recognising the new rules and requirements that embrace

the online world.

4. EXPAND THE ROLE AND AUDIENCE OF THE BRAND

Increased scrutiny by the market place, the blurring of stakeholder boundaries, the

shift of power caused by the Internet, and the move by some companies to place

their branding focus on the company instead of the product level, all put the entire

organisation into the limelight. As a result, the entire organisation and all its actions

are at the heart of the brand. This not only broadens the target audience of the

brand since it now has to address a number of “new” audiences ranging from special

interest groups to the financial community (i.e. it is no longer limited to customers),

but it also adds a number of new tasks and required skills to the list, including

driving the share price, increasing employee retention, build relationships with

distributors and retailers, and engaging NGOs.

Connective Branding explains how the role of the brand has expanded to include all

stakeholders and how to satisfy the resulting different, in some cases conflicting,

expectations and needs.

5. ADOPT A NETWORKED APPROACH TO BRAND MANAGEMENT

Traditionally, a brand manager was responsible for both creating and maintaining the

brand, with limited interaction with other departments and functions. However, the

necessity to deliver on the brand in every interaction point has made it paramount

for branding to become a shared concern of all internal functions and processes.



Branding can no longer be the sole responsibility of the marketing department but

needs to adopt a networked approach towards fulfilling the brand promise.

Connective Branding explains how such a networked approach can work by assigning

brand responsibilities to a number of different teams across the entire organisation,

thereby breaking down silos and properly anchoring the brand.



II. CORE MODEL

Connective Branding presents a framework that helps companies build and maintain

strong brands even in the current challenging environment.

In the core model of Connective Branding, the two key drivers of brand equity are

(i) Alignment of brand promise and actual brand experience

By identifying and eliminating misalignment between elements that define

the brand (e.g. brand principles, brand vision, brand architecture) and

elements that deliver the brand (e.g. brand metrics, enabling processes,

actual employee behaviour), the brand becomes more trustworthy, more

authentic and more credible.

(ii) Strength of emotional connection with all key stakeholders

By continuously finding meaningful ways to engage employees, customers,

and other stakeholders in a welcome, appealing dialogue, a brand can

effectively counter scepticism and build emotional connections with all key

stakeholders, and at the same time satisfy stakeholders’ heightened need

for information and create transparency.

The Connective Branding framework is designed to systematically build the twin

imperative of brand alignment and strength of emotional connection into the brand.

The core model is organised around four brand levers – brand strategy, brand

management, brand building through engagement and brand building through

alignment of processes and structures (see Graph 1 below).



Graph 1: Core Model of Connective Branding with 4 Levers

1. Brand Strategy

Connective brands have a clearly defined role that is consistent with the brand’s

mandate and power to act, they are built around a welcome and engaging brand

promise (or purpose), they have a clear brand vision that outlines the future strategic

direction, and they are aligned with business priorities and company culture.

2. Brand Management

Connective brands are owned by the CEO, represented by a C-level executive and

managed by a branding team that understands the new paradigms of stakeholder

engagement and networked collaboration. The branding team is empowered to work

with all relevant functions and departments to facilitate alignment of brand promise

and corporate actions. A system of actionable metrics provides regular feedback on

where to improve and where things are going well.



3. Brand Building through Engagement

Connective brands continuously find ways to engage employees in order to create

commitment and motivation to act in line with the brand promise; they also seek to

engage customers and other key stakeholders such that deep connections and

meaningful relationships are created. They also manage the complexities of

converging stakeholder groups.

4. Brand Building through Alignment

Connective brands are able to deliver on the brand promise to their stakeholders in

every touch point by continuously improving alignment of enabling processes and

structures with the brand promise and brand vision.



III. Process and Critical Success Factors Reflecting the brand promise in every single point of interaction between company or

brand and key stakeholders is a difficult task. We know from practical experience

that many companies are struggling with this issue. Therefore, Connective Branding

proposes a process of five simple steps that will increase alignment of brand promise

and actual brand experience over time.

The process is designed in a modular fashion, allowing companies to either work

through the entire sequence (rarely the case) or to focus on individual steps of

particular relevance to their competitive situation and business goals (much more

likely). For each step, the critical success factors are identified (see Graph 2 below)

and illustrated with a rich body of original case studies from around the globe.

In addition, a tool box with key questions is provided for each step, helping the

reader to find solutions for their particular business and brand issues.

Graph 2: Connective Branding Process – Step-by-Step and Modular



IV. SUMMARY AND KEY QUESTIONS

Connective Branding provides a model based on engagement and alignment that

helps companies adapting the brand strategy to the new branding environment.

After reading Connective Branding every brand strategist should be able to answer

the following questions

� How can I strengthen the brand? Where do I start? What are the critical

success factors? Who needs to be involved?

� How do I know if every part of the organisation lives the brand? How can I

make sure this is the case?

� How can I create a strong and relevant connection between the brand and

key stakeholders?

� How can I develop and expand the brand? How can I make sure it can

facilitate key business objectives?

� How do I best manage the brand? How do I cultivate and empower brand

enthusiasts in the organisation? How do I foster and leverage networked

collaboration?

� How can I address CSR as part of brand strategy?

� How can I strengthen or protect the brand in times of crisis and turmoil?

If you would like to discuss any of these issues and questions with us, we would be

delighted to work with you. Lemontree Brand Strategy is a young and dynamic

consulting firm with lots of ideas and expertise. Please do not hesitate to drop us a

line with feedback, questions, or ideas: [email protected]



V. SELECTED REVIEWS

“Fresh and fascinating with a host of in-depth best practice case studies. A must-

read for every brand strategist, Connective Branding demonstrates how to

accomplish the twin brand imperatives of brand engagement and brand alignment.”

David Aaker, Vice Chairman of Prophet, Author of Brand Portfolio Strategy

and Spanning Silos

Connective Branding presents a much broader view than traditional association-

based branding. Presenting a brand as a set of values that must radiate outward to

all stakeholders offers managers superb opportunities for enriching their brands. I

highly recommend this original book.

Bernd Schmitt, Author of Customer Experience Management and Big Think

Strategy

The foundations for brand building are changing radically. All the stakeholders of the

brand are connected at a global scale expecting brands to engage in a responsible,

transparent and customized dialogue with each of them. In this exciting book, Fisher-

Buttinger and Vallaster take the reader through a compelling journey of how brands

transform themselves in this new reality without loosing sense of who they are.

Majken Schultz, Copenhagen Business School, Co-Author of The Expressive

Organisation and Taking Brand Initiative

“Reading Connective Branding will change the way you approach brand building.

While Connective Branding does not claim to have all the answers (thank goodness -

I hate being patronised ), it will certainly get you musing on how best to improve

your brand strategy. If you are challenged by the principles raised here - what better

way than that to leave that comfort zone of always doing the same old thing? Brand

Management is Dead ..... Long Live Brand Management!”

Paul Harrison, Marketing Manager, General Motors



The days when branding was a function somewhere in the marketing department are

over. Connective Branding explains in a systematic way the current and future

challenges of branding with a broad and thoroughly researched spectrum of real life

examples. After reading this book, you will not look at your brand the same way as

you did before.

Marco Meyrat, CMO, Hilti Corporation

It's refreshing to see the long-standing pillars of conventional branding tumble in

Fisher-Buttinger and Vallaster’s text. In Connective Branding we consider the new

rules for engaging stakeholders in the brand and for aligning brand promise with

actual brand experience.

Rob BonDurant, Vice President of Marketing and Communications,

Patagonia, Inc.

Today’s great companies must understand that their success depends on nurturing a

living brand that embodies company values at every level and through every

interaction. Sound tough? It is. But Connective Branding will show you how essential

it is for survival today, and how to successfully implement a living, strong brand in

your organization

Matt Gardan, Communications Manager, innocent drinks France