Living the Brand: Effective Branding for Environmentally Conscious Companies

Transcription

1 Living the Brand: Effective Branding for Environmentally Conscious Companies Drayton Beebe Elon University, M.A. Interactive Media 100 Campus Drive Elon, NC ABSTRACT In order to effectively build an internal brand, companies must inform their employees of the company values. The employees then need strong role models to embody these values. With a strong internal brand and good communication, the company can communicate this brand image with consumers. Through social media and consumer interaction with brand managers and employees, the company can strengthen these relationships. Sustainable companies can pair these tactics with their values to convey the importance of their messages and build strong long lasting relationships between consumers and the brand. Keywords Interactive Media, Sustainability, Environmental Companies, Social Media, Internal Branding, External Branding 1. INTRODUCTION There are many different branding, advertising and marketing strategies that companies may use, including internal and external branding, social media, and interactivity. Internal branding incorporates the company culture and values with employees, whereas external branding is the company image projected to consumer. These strategies communicate the company s message and values to consumers. Environmentally sustainable companies have a different set of values than companies that more highly value growth. These sustainable companies value and support environmentally and socially responsible causes. By investing in these companies, consumers are better informed of these causes and support for important ideas will grow. These sustainable companies therefore need a unique way to convey their values and connect with consumers. Tactics for building a strong brand for sustainable companies will be identified through internal practices and branding, external consumer branding, social media, interactivity, and how these tactics can be applied to environmentally sustainable companies. 2. Internal Branding In order for companies to connect with consumers and accurately convey their values, companies need to define their own values. From defining these values, companies can build a culture among its employees to accurately project these qualities to consumers. Communication is an essential component in successful branding. This communication begins from the inside of the company and extends outward. Similarly, effective branding starts within the framework of the company. The success of this framework relies on the employees. When employees understand and embody the corporate brand, it becomes stronger (Andriopoulos, Constantine, and Gotsi, 2000). It is important to recognize what motivates employees to successfully implement brand integration because with more motivation, employees are more successful and the brand is stronger. To increase company production and improve its image, understanding what produces successful employee output, and brand exemplification is important. In a motivational work environment, employees need positive reinforcement from company leaders in order to inspire more innovation and creativity among employees (Andriopoulos et al., 2000). Employee creativity also comes from community interaction. Highly engaged employees are more active in the community, promoting the brand and increasing employee s productivity. When upper management encourages employees by leading by example, employees are motivated to embody brand values as well. De Chernatony, Cottam, and Segal-Horn (2006) found that open communication between employees and management makes it easier for employees to recognize positive role models in the company. When the employees are engaged and there is open communications throughout all levels of the company, the information is received and understood more quickly. These strategies boost employee morale, productivity and create a strong corporate image and brand. Organizations also need to understand how to increase employee commitment and engagement to further their brand. Communication in the workplace strengthens the brand because it engages employees (Aurand, Gorchels, and Bishop, 2005). Improving workplace communication and information gives employees a deeper understanding of the brand because they are up to date on the current events of the company, and they can connect with other employees. Employees also need to know the role they play in enhancing brand identity by taking initiative to understand every aspect of the brand. When employees understand and are personally invested in the brand and brand promise the full potential of both can be reached and the company is better fit to accurately project the company values to consumers. 3. External Branding Internal branding is important in strengthening the company and an effective way to communicate company values to consumers. The next step in branding is to communicate the company values to consumers. There are different techniques to execute external branding, some especially effective for an environmental company. In communicating the brand message with consumers, companies need to manage perceptions of their company. Elshach (2003) defines the four components of perception management: perception of the organization, actions and tactics, organizational spokespersons and organization audience. One implication of these perceptions includes association with other organizations. For example, Gotsi, Lopez, and Andriopoulos (2011) studied the

2 implications of a companies image association with a country. The factors that influence the perception includes awareness of the brand s connection to its country and the power of the brand image. The stronger the bond between positive company and country reputation, the more mutually beneficial they are (Gotsi et. Al., 2011). In external branding, perception management is important in projecting the company message to consumer, and the company must take into account the various associations it needs to hold and maintain those positive associations. In managing perceptions, a company needs to investigate ways to communicate their message to consumers. Emotional branding is an experience based branding technique that engages the consumers in deep, long term, intimate emotional connections with a brand (Akgün, Koçoglu, and Imamoglu, 2013). When the company is central to consumers lives, it can stand out against its competitors. Consumers interact with the product in positive ways and the brand appeals to their emotions, reinforcing the company consumer relationship. When the company has a strong internal brand, the values they project to the consumer are clearer, and emotional branding more effective. In order for the companies to leverage the emotional connection of consumers to a brand, they first have to understand how to connect the consumer to the brand. Consumers are influenced by employee projection of the company and the company s media outreach (Gotsi and Wilson, 2001). The public is becoming more interested in companies behind products and services, and there is a shift occurring from a goods-dominant consumer view to a service- dominant consumer view (Sanomier, 2008). This means that companies need to align their internal practices with their brand values because consumers are looking at more than products, they are looking at the companies behind the products. In this case, is beneficial for companies to cater to these consumers and market their brand in order to connect with consumers. Wagler (2013) recognized that consumers want marketing campaigns to be creative and effective, and companies must engage audiences by embracing change and building interactivity. Red Bull and Nike have successfully encouraged consumers to use their products and live the brand. They encouraged consumers to not only build these products into their everyday lives, but to build their lifestyle around the brand. With this level of engagement, companies are incorporating emotional branding and building an experience based connection between the consumer and the company. For companies to engage consumers effectively, they need to target their intended audience. Gretzzel, Yuan, and Fesenmaier (2000) found that consumers are identifying with brands as a statement of themselves. This means that branding is no longer product based but consumer based. Consumers are targeting brands that align with their own values; therefore they want a brand to accurately represent them. Companies can better locate their target audience by understanding their own company. Hollebeek, Glynn, and Brodie (2014) studied brand and consumer relationships, specifically how different brands negatively or positively influence consumer. They found that consumers are motivated by convenience, image and price. Understanding the target audience of a brand and their motivations will allow companies to effectively and efficiently build their brand by catering to that audience. After identifying the companies target audience and their motivation, they need to consider the interaction between the brand and other consumers. A brand community is where admirers experience shared rituals, traditions and a sense of mutual responsibility (Canniford, 2011). The brand community has predictive characteristics such as, social networking, impression management, community engagement and brand use. To cater to this group, companies need to provide the proper platform, choices, emotions, opportunities for collaboration and market aligning goals between the brand and its consumers. Based on earlier research on internal branding, employees are an important part in connecting with consumers. Community interaction boosts employee creativity and productivity, and connects them with the brand community because this community predictively practices community engagement. In order for companies to cater to this group, they need to provide an emotional connection with the consumers. This can be done through community interaction, which leads to employee consumer interaction, or different opportunities for collaboration. 4. Social Media In order to build a strong brand, companies start from the inside and work their way out. To cater to the brand community, companies need to provide the proper platform, choices, emotions, opportunities for collaboration and market aligning goals between the brand and its consumers (Canniford, 2011). Companies use the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to manage and organize customer information. With new technology, the CRM is being reshaped to include new interactive technologies and social platforms (Choudhury, Harrigan, 2014). Consumers are making decisions based on perceptions formed on social media. It is important for companies to maintain these social media relationships and approach social networks with a philosophical and social strategy. Through this online platform, consumers and brands can collaborate. With social media management, companies can collect data to engage with consumers and improve relationships. There are three levels of interaction in online marketing. Gatarski, and Lundkvist (1998) define these as: interruption, selection and responsiveness, and conversation. The interactivity in conversation is between consumers and producers as well as consumers and consumers. These conversations can either be a free flow interaction or guided by the company can reinforce the platform for brand communities and can strengthen emotional bonds between company and consumer. Conversations and interaction online between consumers and companies can build relationships to create loyal brand members. Companies can build bonds between their brand and consumers through clear values, emotional connection and open communication. Online communities give companies the platform to cultivate these connections. Chi (2011) studied the most effective strategies to target consumers online and found that online marketing must be customized to the consumer. Targeted advertising is not an effective marketing strategy because there is no communication occurring between the company and consumer. By revealing consumer needs and fostering consumer brand loyalty, companies can better understand their target audience and build stronger relationships through this loyalty. While social media is beneficial by providing a platform to consumers, there are also implications of marketing and managing brands in the social media environment. Völckner, Liu- Thompkins, and Wiertz (2013) researched how the power that social media gives consumers causes brand managers to lose control of their brand image. Participation in brand communities is beneficial due to stronger consumer loyalty and purchase intentions. To use this online outlet effectively, brand managers

3 need to promote positive generated content and respond positively to negative consumer generated content. In effectively responding to negative content, employee involvement is important. If employees are actively committed to company values, these responses will spin the consumer s experience into a positive interaction with the company, reinforcing the brand. 5. Interactivity Brands and the bonds consumers develop can be reinforced by enabling consumer communication, which is accessible through online social media. The benefits of communication through online social media are then strengthened when consumers and brands can interact with each other. The power that social media gives consumers had negative implications, causing brand managers to lose control of their brand image. This is consumercontrolled contributed social media. Firms need to enable coproduction of the communication process with consumers (Bacile, Ye, Swilley, 2014). Consumer motivation to co-produce in personal media is driven by importance, and by emphasizing this importance the company will gain higher interaction. Martin and Todorov (2010) found that companies need to promote interaction to engage consumers. By connecting platforms of social media, brands can continue their brand story. By increasing and monitoring the frequency of communication, adaptation, quality of communication and extending the message further than the screen, companies can maximize consumer interaction potential. When done successfully, the consumer embodies the lifestyle and shares the values of the brand on a deep level. Transmedia storytelling as stories told across multiple media. By using transmedia storytelling in brand building, companies can expand by creating user-generated content platforms and making the message extend further than the screen (Scolari, 2009). The online platform for branding needs to be an experience that the user can interact with most effectively. Companies can use transmedia storytelling to build emotional connections and brand loyalty through their company narrative. Singh and Sonnenburg (2012) studied brand performances in social media and found that to enforce the brand narrative, companies need to establish relationships between consumers and the brand. By informing consumers and allowing them to interact with the brand narrative, companies are able to develop deep and long lasting brand attachments. 6. Branding Sustainability Consumers connect better with brands when they share similar values. After ensuring the brand is cohesive in its values and message, the company needs to communicate that message with consumers and emphasize why it is important. Areseculeratne and Yazdanifard (2013) state that consumers are responsive toward protecting the environment. Informing consumers of a company s green practices through marketing strengthens the brand. Like emotional branding, sustainable marketing can set these companies apart from competitors. In branding environmental ideas, values, and products, some of the strategies are redundant or contradictory. One useful way to handle this would be to approach environmental values and company values as two different brands. Product bundling is selling two products together, incorporating brand equity and the perceived added value a brand brings to a product (Levin, Davis, Levin, 1996). By using the principles of product bundling to branding environmental companies, managers can focus on marketing both company and environmental messages together. In product bundling, there are more factors that influence product success. The strategies of branding company and country image can be applied to research on company image and environmental image. Lopez, Gotsi, and Andriopoulos (2011) found when promoting one image, brand managers need to consider the company s branding strategy, market presence, and the similarities between the two images they are promoting. How well these characteristics align will determine how the overall brand image is reinforced or changed. By understanding exactly how environmental and corporate image fit together, brand managers can effectively connect with their target audience. Environmental companies have different values and motivations than their competitors, therefore they need to understand their target audience and use that understanding to persuade consumers to invest in their brand. Consumer attention is more important than the message that is being expressed (Malibach, 1993). Once the company has attracted the attention of consumers, they can focus their attention to the message and company narrative. Companies need to identify their target audience and their motivations. With branding environmental values, companies need to understand the consumer demographic, and understand what will get that consumer to spend time on the company s message. Consumer costs of environmental innovations that Malibach identifies are time, money, effort, social contacts and changes in consumer lifestyle. When the consumer s needs are identified, companies need communication to mobilize popular support, then develop a message and test it. For sustainable companies, it is important to identify their audience motivations and communicate with them on various platforms. With these methods, environmental companies can communicate their values and company message with consumers to establish a strong brand connection. Companies need to clearly communicate the benefits of their environmental and socially responsible initiatives to inform consumers of the importance of investing in the brand. Zint and Fredrick (2001) define green advertising as addressing the relation between product or service and biophysical environment, promoting green lifestyle with or without highlighting the product or service. Green marketing and advertising presents opportunities for sustainable companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors Green advertisements are more effective when they provide an opportunity for consumers to remedy the certain environmental messages in advertisements. 7. Conclusion In order for environmentally conscious companies to communicate their message to effectively, they need to build a loyal brand community. By building from the inside out, the company can create effective brand relationships with consumers. First, companies need to ensure their employees are productive, embody the company values, and achieve clear communication throughout all levels of the company. The company can then convey their message to consumers. Consumers are more loyal to brands that establish communication and encourage interactivity. They also require a clear understanding of company values, and are more loyal when these values align with their own. Various online platforms allow consumers to communicate and interact with companies, so it is important that companies foster these online relationships. Environmentally conscious companies attract an audience with specific motivations, therefore it is important for these companies to use internal and external branding strategies, social media and online interactivity.

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