Citizen Brands
Putting Society at the Heart of your Business
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Beschreibung
In a world where consumers are becoming more fickle and more demanding the task facing companies and brands is daunting - how to build and maintain reputation, trust and loyalty. Recent high profile corporate scandals have fuelled consumer cynicism over the motives of companies and their executives - what exactly do companies stand for and how do they relate to society as a whole? In order to build competitive and sustainable brands, companies need to understand the mindset, apprehensions and concerns of the consuming public by engaging in a much more proactive way with society and its citizens. They need to become Citizen Brands - building up a stock of goodwill and trust to maintain their reputation in the challenging and uncertain times head.
Michael Willmott presents a compelling and persuasive argument - based upon an impressive array of supporting evidence - that being a better corporate citizen is the right business call. He specifically illustrates the crucial role of such behaviour in branding and the building of brand equity, and demonstrates why a whole range of macro trends will make this an even more important part of successful business management in th e future. He finishes with a 'strategy checklist' on how to become a Citizen Brand.
'Citizen Brands should be read by everyone involved in long-term business strategy and marketing.' Marketing
'Michael Willmott has written a crucuial book which will help anyone with an interest in the corporate sector understand how the issues of branding and corporate responsibility interact.' Tom Bentley, Director, DEMOS
'If you can only read one book on corporate social responsibility, this is the one.' Adrian Hosford, Director of BT Group Social Policy
What is the most important issue facing business today? Globalization, the technological revolution, supply chain management, core competencies, staff retention, price competition?
Important though all of these are, something else is emerging as an equally critical challenge facing companies in the technological, globalized, knowledge economy ahead. It is the concept of Citizen Brands. Its importance arises because it embodies not just one, but three crucial strategic issues for the business world:
* Values (what the company stands for);
* Corporate citizenship (playing an active role in society);
* Branding (the tangible and intangible attributes that are encompassed in a name or trademark).
This book is about how these three elements come together in an integrated way; about how they define a company's relationship with all the relevant people and institutions it has to deal with - customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government or whoever. Put another way, it is about achieving corporate success through putting society at the heart of the company.
Companies through their direct actions (for example employment) and through their intermediaries - brands - are an integral part of the social and economic world in which they operate, needing to reflect the values and aspirations that exist; the differences and similarities. This is why corporate managers need to bring society into the company; why they need to turn their brands into citizen brands.
In the emerging networked, post-industrial world, managing that relationship is one of the most important challenges that companies face. And companies that understand and embrace this are likely to be the ultimate winners in the future.
Autor*in
Michael Willmott
Themen in »Citizen Brands«
Business & Management Business Self-Help Ratgeber Wirtschaft Wirtschaft /Ratgeber Wirtschaft u. Management