| 1. |
- Balmer, John M. T., et al.
(author)
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Monarchical Perspectives on Corporate Brand Management
- 2005
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We report the insights gained from a major international landmark study into Monarchies as Corporate Brands. We were granted privileged and unprecedented access to Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden, to members of the Royal Family and to Senior Officials of the Royal Household of Sweden. Our study, drawing on field research and drawing on the extensive literature on monarchy, resulted in identifying nine elements, relevant to managing a corporate brand. We call this ‘The Corporate Brand Management Protocol.’ The protocol requires orchestrating nine elements, which we identify as responsibility, identity, affinity, philosophy, activity, community, consistency, sensitivity, and connectivity. A key affirmation from our study is the necessity for on-going guardianship of corporate brands: we label this duty ‘Corporate Brand Custodianship. For monarchies this resides with Sovereigns and their Royal Courts and, in business contexts, this falls to the CEO and to Senior Management. They are the ultimate defenders of the corporate brand.
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| 2. |
- Balmer, John M. T., et al.
(author)
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Monarchies as corporate brands
- 2004
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This paper explores monarchies through a corporate branding lens. It is based on extensive field interviewing of individuals with knowledge and experience in what we (not they) term “managing the Crown as a brand,” including senior members of the Swedish Royal Court and the Swedish Royal Family. It also draws from literature regarding monarchies across a range of disciplines beyond management; we found no previous brand-related literature on the topic. The principal questions we examined were:• What makes the Crown (monarchy) a brand (especially one similar to a corporate brand)?• How has the positioning of the monarch and monarchy (the Crown) evolved over time in terms of relationships with the nation and the people?• What are the essential attributes of the Crown as a brand—what we term the “royal 5R’s”?• What are the core values and the brand promise of a monarchy, its covenant with its people?• What roles can communications play in supporting/defending the Crown?• How are concepts from branding employed to build and protect the Crown?• How does and should a monarchy judge “How are we doing?”• What can threaten a monarchy as a brand?• What conclusions emerge from the above regarding understanding and managing monarchies as brands?Our conclusion is that the monarchy, as a institution, is very much like a corporate brand, including amenability to being managed in a manner analogous to that for a corporate brand, especially one with a heritage. Among the twelve other key conclusions are:• A monarchy’s strength rests significantly in its symbolic nature and its use of symbols.• The monarchy as an entity transcends the reigning monarch as a “brandrooted institution.”• A constitutional monarchy depends upon its people’s and parliament’s approval and willingness to support it. These are the primary criteria for assessing the performance of individual monarchies.• The Crown can be threatened by reputational trouble leading to erosion of public approval and support for the institution, as is the case for corporate and nonprofit brands.• Managing a modern monarchy’s “brand image” requires balancing responsiveness to high media interest and the need to maintain respect and relevance in a time when the public seeks a less remote monarchy.• “Managed visibility” on behalf of the Crown is done without traditional corporate advertising and public relations; however, proactive management of its identity and image can reduce the risk of reputational erosion.• There is a key difference between branding on behalf of monarchies compared to companies. Companies try to employ branding concepts to leverage their brands in order to improve their financial balance sheets and shareholder value. In contrast, we think a monarchy typically can be seen as trying to employ them to enhance the country’s social balance sheet and core values.
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| 3. |
- Balmer, John M T, et al.
(author)
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The Crown as a corporate brand: Insights from Monarchies
- 2006
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In: Journal of Brand Management. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1479-1803 .- 1350-231X. ; 14:1, s. 137-161
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction In an age when brands have seized the imagination of so many, the corporate landscape has become a brandscape. Recently, corporate branding has emerged as an important agenda item for many senior executives. Brands are viewed as a significant corporate asset. The corporate brand is viewed as an important profile builder for corporations. It is seen as an invaluable tool for attracting key constituencies such as customers and employees. It can imbue a corporation with a distinctiveness that is not readily replicated. Financially, it can be one of an organization’s most coveted and cherished assets. For customers, it serves as a guarantee of expectations, much like an informal contract. In short, a corporate brand often is invested with the Midas touch and this explains why corporate brands enthrall companies and customers alike. In a world saturated with products and messages, brands represent an important navigational tool for stakeholders. This is particularly the case in crowded categories where the cacophony of communication means that corporate (and product/service) messages are often unheard. As such, corporate brands give voice to an organization’s key values and enable the organization behind the brand to cut through the communications hubbub that characterizes much of today’s corporate world. Longevity is sometimes cited as a key attribute of corporate brands. Consider global brands such as Coca Cola, Ford, Reuters, and Nokia. These are corporate brands that have held strong positions in their markets for decades. Some corporate brands have older pedigrees, of course, such as the Wells Fargo and Hudson Bay companies in North America. In Europe, Rothschild’s (bankers), Stora Kopparberg (mining), and Cadbury (chocolates) provide other examples. However, these corporate brands are relative adolescents in another realm of brands, when one considers an institutional group that appears to have strong corporate brand characteristics—namely monarchies. Some monarchies have existed for over one thousand years, such as the Japanese and Swedish crowns. They are not corporations but in our view they are brand-like institutions in many ways. As a case in point, the Swedish Crown has, by any branding measure, impeccable credentials. Its brand loyalty (from its citizens) is approximately 70%, and has been at a high level for some considerable time. It has avoided many of the vicissitudes that have beset other monarchies in recent years. It is a brand that was not engulfed in the wave of “institutional regicide” that swept away most European monarchies in the aftermath of World War I. It is a brand that has accommodated and embraced change. It is a brand that still adds value and gives meaning to its key constituencies – an element that is for us a core tenet of branding. And it is a brand with considerable financial value in terms of benefits to the country’s businesses, tourism, and general public.
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| 4. |
- Baumgarth, Carsten, et al.
(author)
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Brand orientation : Past, Present, and Future
- 2013
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In: Journal of Marketing Management. - 1472-1376. ; 29:9-10, s. 973-980
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The articles in this special issue contribute to the advances and development in the scholarship of brand orientation. They encompass a wide range of sub-topics, and collectively offer a unique insight into the still-emerging concept and new paradigm of brand orientation. In the process, they show how researchers across the world are contributing to the advancement of theory and practice. Our open-minded Call for Papers yielded fruitful cross-fertilisation and innovative perspectives. This special issue can thus be claimed to be a milestone in the enhanced understanding of the concept of brand orientation, and we are delighted to have had the privilege of being its Guest Editors.
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| 5. |
- Greyser, Stephen A, et al.
(author)
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Teaching Note: The Swedish Academy #MeToo Scandal and the Reputation of the Nobel Prize
- 2018
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In: HBS Case Collection. ; :919-410
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A classroom guide to teaching the case, “The Swedish Academy #MeToo Scandal and the Reputation of the Nobel Prize” (HBS No. 5-919-410). A fictional case protagonist must present his evaluation to the Nobel Foundation of the scandal affecting one of the Nobel independent network members and its implications for the Foundation. Key issues include the reputational effects of the Swedish Academy scandal on the prestige of the Nobel Prize in Literature (awarded by the Academy) and on the Nobel Prize more broadly.At its heart, this is a case about the reputation of an international symbol of achievement and about managing an iconic brand. The case provides insights into the nature of a prestigious “heritage brand” and its challenges and opportunities to remain relevant and differentiated in the 21st century. In “protecting and safeguarding the standing of the Nobel Prize” the executive board faced the paradox of continuity and change with the reputation of “the world’s most prestigious award” at issue. A respected magazine article on the Nobel Prize concluded: “No other prize has anything like the stature of a Nobel. . . . But some do whisper, ‘for how much longer?’” (The Economist, January 2, 2016)
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| 6. |
- Greyser, Stephen A., et al.
(author)
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The monarchy as a corporate brand - Some corporate communications dimensions
- 2006
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In: European Journal of Marketing. - : Emerald. - 0309-0566. ; 40:7-8, s. 902-908
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of corporate communications on behalf of the monarchy as a corporate brand. Design/methodology/approach - Draws on the preliminary findings of a major study on monarchies. Findings - Argues that corporate communications is an important aspect of corporate brand management (especially in relation to constitutional monarchies). Research implications - That monarchies are analogous to organisational brands and are amenable to being managed as such. Originality/value - Draws on a unique study relating to monarchies as corporate brands.
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| 7. |
- Greyser, Stephen A, et al.
(author)
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The Reputation of the "World's Most Prestigious Award": The Nobel Prize
- 2018
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In: HBS Case Collection. ; :919-401:919-402
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- At its heart, this is a case about the reputation of an international symbol of achievement and about managing an iconic brand. The case provides insights into the nature of a prestigious “heritage brand” and its challenges and opportunities to remain relevant and differentiated in the 21st century. In “protecting and safeguarding the standing of the Nobel Prize” the executive board faced the paradox of continuity and change with the reputation of “the world’s most prestigious award” at issue. A respected magazine article on the Nobel Prize concluded: “No other prize has anything like the stature of a Nobel. . . . But some do whisper, ‘for how much longer?’” (The Economist, January 2, 2016)
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| 8. |
- Greyser, Stephen A, et al.
(author)
-
The Swedish Academy #MeToo Scandal and the Reputation of the Nobel Prize
- 2018
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In: HBS Case Collection. ; :919-409
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In May 2018, the Swedish Academy was engulfed in a #MeToo scandal that threatened its reputation, especially its reputation as the organization that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature. This scandal, which was first revealed in the previous November, also raised questions about the reputation of the Nobel Prize. The case is about reputation and crisis management, and more specifically about “reputational contagion” – “how one bad apple can spoil the barrel.” Reputational contagion occurs when something that happens in a related entity migrates to the subject entity. The case provides insights into an identity and reputation shaped and shared by several entities, and the potential consequences of a crisis in one of the associated entities. In this case, the reputation of “the world’s most prestigious award” – the Nobel Prize – is at issue.
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| 9. |
- Greyser, Stephen A, et al.
(author)
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What Does Your Corporate Brand Stand For?
- 2019
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In: Harvard Business Review. - 0017-8012. ; January February 2019:January February 2019, s. 82-89
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Companies are extremely good at defining their product brands. Customers, employees, and other stakeholders know exactly what an iPhone is and means. But organizations are often less sure-footed when it comes to the corporate brand. What does the parent company’s name really stand for, and how is it perceived and leveraged in the marketplace and within the company itself?A clear, unified corporate identity can be critical to competitive strategy, as firms like Apple, Philips, and Unilever understand. It serves as a north star, providing direction and purpose. It can also enhance the image of individual products, help firms recruit and retain employees, and provide protection against reputational damage in times of trouble. Many firms, however, struggle to articulate and communicate their brand.
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| 10. |
- Lund, Kaisa, 1967-
(author)
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Transfer of brand associations over time : the brand extension of Nivea
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Brand extension has been the source of strategic growth for many firms during recent decades. Introducing new products under existing brand names is one way to use the image of a brand name to enter new markets. Previous research has shown that the success of a brand extension depends on the transfer of the parent brand associations to the extended product. Although the transfer of brand associations from the parent brand to the extension is recognised as crucial for the success of brand extension, surprisingly little research has been conducted on how brand associations actually are transferred. In the present research, I argue for expanding the view on brand extension to include market communication of product introductions. Explanations are provided on how brand associations are transferred in multiple brand extension from an advertising perspective.The empirical data are based on a case study of the personal and skin care brand Nivea and include an advertising analysis that spans a time period of 72 years, interviews with executives, and a document analysis. The interpretation of the case is guided by a review of the literature on brand extension, brand associations, and brand personality. Insights into how brand associations are transferred in multiple brand extension are advanced in the conclusion, emphasising that brand associations are transferred not only from parent brand to extended product but also from one extension to another. The results also show that the brand associations change due to contextual changes as a consequence of the transfer to a new product. The context refers to the intended user or usage situation. Furthermore, the study suggests that corporate associations reinforce brand associations of extended products. Finally, I propose that future research should include the organisation as part of the brand extension process. The study is intended to contribute to an increased understanding of brand extension, facilitating the creation of new hypotheses, research designs, and methods in the research area.
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