The Brand Inside
Maritz, sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, undertook original research to identify the habits and practices of companies who achieve a good fit between their brand promise and the way in which their people think, feel and act.
'Brand has a powerful, often overlooked role in the organisation' says James Brooke, Brand Consultant, Maritz Ltd.
Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with Senior Executives from large organisations including: Barclays, HSBC, McDonald's Whitbread, Safeway, Tesco, Unisys, Vodafone and Xerox.
The research uncovered eight key principles that illustrate the unmistakable link between brand management and organisational attitude and behaviour.
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Emphasise freedom not control
Effective brand management requires the company to agree a number of steadfast principles, which will always form part of the brand experience. Beyond that staff need to be trusted to get on with things.
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Decentralise
Companies who succeed in delivering a desired brand experience, tend to roll back the frontiers of head office.
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Do things differently
Companies who build world-class brands emphasise processes and practices that are uniquely owned by them. They do not emphasise generic best practice.
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Communicate your brand positioning to your own people before you communicate it to your customers
While many companies are finally recognising the need to run at the same pace inside and outside the organisation. Leading edge companies focus takes this principle a step further. Brand management on the inside of the company outpaces the outward-facing elements of brand management.
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Keep it simple
Drive for simplicity in everything the organisation does.
This applies both to the language and the processes that the company uses.
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Operate across functions
The most progressive companies increasingly work in a networked or cross-functional way. This enables the company to look at the way in which the brand promise is delivered to customers in a more holistic way. It also ensures that the way that people are hired, trained, measured and rewarded fits with the brand.
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Think longer term
Brand building needs to be viewed as a seven to ten year planning cycle as opposed to an eighteen-month planning cycle.
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Measure
Measurement focuses the mind and top performing organisations measure things that really matter to the brand. The crucial thing about measurement, however, is what happens to the results and the extent to which they are fed back to front line staff in a way that really drives actions.
Maritz Limited is part of the Maritz Group which was founded in 1894 in the US and has a global presence in over 40 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas, with a group turnover of more than $1,3 billion. Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Maritz Limited employees 500 staff and operates with a turnover of £90 million. For more information see www.maritz.com.