Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing · KeywordsCorporate identity, Corporate Communications, Brands, Corporate image AbstractOutlines 15 explanations for

EuropeanJournal ofMarketing3534

248

European Journal of MarketingVol 35 No 34 2001 pp 248-291 MCB University Press 0309-0566

Corporate identity corporatebranding and corporate

marketingSeeing through the fog

John MT BalmerBradford School of Management The University of Bradford UK

Keywords Corporate identity Corporate Communications Brands Corporate image

Abstract Outlines 15 explanations for the fog which has enveloped the nascent domains ofcorporate identity and corporate marketing However the fog surrounding the area has a silverlining This is because the fog has unwittingly led to the emergence of rich disciplinaryphilosophical as well as ` nationalrsquorsquo schools of thought In their composite these approaches havethe potential to form the foundations of a new approach to management which might be termed` corporate marketingrsquorsquo In addition to articulating the authorrsquos understanding of the attributesregarding a business identity (the umbrella label used to cover corporate identity organisationalidentification and visual identity) the author outlines the characteristics of corporate marketingand introduces a new corporate marketing mix based on the mnemonic ` HEADSrsquorsquo[2] Thisrelates to what an organisation has expresses the affinities of its employees as well as what theorganisation does and how it is seen by stakeholder groups and networks In addition the authordescribes the relationship between the corporate identity and corporate brand and notes thedifferences between product brands and corporate brands Finally the author argues thatscholars need to be sensitive to the factors that are contributing to the fog surrounding corporateidentity Only then will business identitycorporate marketing studies grow in maturity

Introduction` FOG IN CHANNEL plusmn EUROPE ISOLATEDrsquorsquo So ran a famous headlineappearing on the front page of The Thunderer[1] in the early 1900s Thisheadline has achieved some notoriety and is sometimes used as a metaphor forEnglish insularity and isolationism Using fog as a metaphor is apposite for` business identity studiesrsquorsquo The area may be broken down into three mainstrands plusmn corporate identity organisational identity and visual identity As thisarticle will reveal there are numerous factors which have contributed to the fogthat is enveloping business identity studies In the authorrsquos opinion the ` fogrsquorsquohas stunted the recognition of the strategic importance as well as themultidisciplinary nature of business identity However isolationism has asilver lining in that it can result in scholars and practitioners achieving a highdegree of creativity and innovation This appears to have occurred in the broadarea of business identity studies where distinct schools of thought haveemerged from national and disciplinary roots However what is becomingincreasingly apparent is that the provenance to guide identity studies is not

The research register for this journal is available at

httpwwwmcbupcom research_registers

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

httpwwwemerald-librarycomft

The author is indebted to all those who have assisted in the preparation of this article includingthe invaluable assistance given by the reviewers This paper has been reviewed separately bythe European Journal of Marketing review board

Corporate identitybranding and

marketing

249

solely limited to marketing scholars The current cross-fertilisation takingplace among the various literatures on the broad area of identity studies has ledthe author to the conclusion that in time these distinct strands are likely tocoalesce and give rise to a new cognitive area of management called corporatemarketing

A growing number of scholars are beginning to appreciate themultidisciplinary foundations of business identity In the above context thevarious disciplinary national and cultural approaches when reviewed inisolation may appear to be little more than a modest tour drsquohorizon In theircomposite they represent a veritable firmament with the potential to form thekey building blocks of a new area of management However while the area islikely to be enthusiastically embraced by marketing scholars since it supports anumber of concepts that have a long lineage in the marketing discipline plusmnbranding communications image reputation and identity plusmn these conceptswhen applied to the corporate level are invariably more complicated than whensimply applied to products Furthermore such corporate concerns areinextricably linked to questions pertaining to corporate strategy and toorganisational behaviour and human resources As such marketing at thecorporate level requires a radical reappraisal in terms of its philosophycontent management and process

The article opens with a brief overview of the growing consensus gentiumamong many managementscholars with regard to the importance of theidentity concept This is followed by an examination of the 15 reasons for thecause of the fog In focusing on these reasons it is hoped that marketing andmanagement scholars will concentrate on the opportunities rather than thedifficulties associated with the identity concept What is clear is that theidentity concept is particularly salient for a host of management disciplines andprovides a new supplemental lens by which an organisationrsquos quintessentialattributes may be revealed nurtured managed influenced and altered

The growing importance of business identity studiesThe last decade has seen a burgeoning interest among the business andacademic communities in what the author calls for the sake of expediency` business identityrsquorsquo Business identity encompasses a triumvirate of relatedconcepts and literature which are

(1) corporate identity

(2) organisational identity and

(3) visual identity

It should be noted that business identity is viewed as encompassinginstitutions in the public not-for-profit and private sectors as well as supra andsub-organisational identities such as industries alliances trade associationsbusiness units and subsidiaries A sign of the heightened importance attachedto business identity can be seen in the number of management conferences and