Connective Branding

This book bridges the gap between strengthening the 'employee brand' and the building 'external brand image' by synthesizing the two approaches. The result is a blurring of the boundaries and assigning creative powers to both. A customer has a number of interactions with the company, and each of these interactions has an impact on the brand equity account - either positive or negative. Examples of interactions include: the product itself, the purchasing process, the consumption experience, the 'face' of the organization, the call center, media etc. The real issue for the company is how to translate the optimized 'ideal' customer journey into effective company programmes, how to track their progress and their actual impact on brand equity, customer satisfaction and loyalty.

This book takes a holistic view to brand management and distills this complex system into palatable chunks, involving all functions of the company. The book demonstrates the effect of an organization that facilitates and rewards employee brand commitment on 'external brand equity (eg: customer satisfaction and loyalty) and 'internal brand equity' (eg: product improvement and innovation potential resident in the organization).

While the more obvious benefits of this approach include the usual suspects such as increased sales and revenues, less obvious benefits include employee stress reduction through the elimination of tensions and incongruity between external and internal value systems. The result is a significant contribution to creativity, brand commitment, overall employee satisfaction and, finally, a company's ability to attract and retain talent.

The above is achieved via a very practical, step-by-step guide, lavishly illustrated with case studies from over 100 fascinating brands (the authors have researched and surveyed companies such as: Aer Lingus, BMW, BP, Deutsche Bank, Ducati, Edun, Google, innocent drinks, Lacoste, Lego, Manner, Maggi, Orange, Old Mutual, Rabobank, Sony, SOS Childrens Villages, Siemens, Thomas Sabo, TED/United, TUI, UBS, Vauxhall, Wal-Mart, Wikimedia, any many more) the authors are able to paint a very real picture of the issues facing business and provide powerful solutions.  Refreshingly, this book draws on examples from across the globe, giving the book cultural depth. Each case helps demonstrate the arguments put forward by the authors.

After reading this book the audience should be able to answer the following questions:

• How can I build a strong brand? Where do I start? Which analyses do I have to conduct? Who needs to be involved?
• How can I make sure every part of the organisation lives the brand?
• How can I revive the brand ? How can I create a new and relevant connection between the brand and key target audiences?
• How can I develop and expand the brand? How can future orientation become part of the brand?
• How can I best structure the brand portfolio? Which role should each of the brands adapt in order to optimise results?
• 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?

Dr Claudia Fisher is the founder of Lemontree Brand Strategy, a consulting firm based in Munich, Germany, and advises blue chip companies all over the world on high profile marketing and branding issues. She is the author of several articles on branding and has contributed to David Aaker's latest book, Brand Portfolio Strategy. Claudia holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Marketing from the University of Innsbruck.

Dr. Christine Vallaster is Research Fellow at the Marketing Department of the University of Giessen, Germany. She has published a number of articles in highly ranked academic journals such as Business Horizons, European Journal of Marketing, and the Harvard Business Manager (German Edition). She works as a consultant in the field of brand management and also speaks regularly at marketing conferences. Christine holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Innsbruck.