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B2BBranding Online

Prediplomawork,autumn2009

Aliteraturereview

HaakonJensen DepartmentofIndustrialEconomicsandTechnologyManagement NorwegianUniversityofScienceandTechnology Trondheim,Norway

Telephone: +4795103981 Email: haakon@itvardo.no

Abstract
Brandinginbusinesstobusiness(B2B)marketshasintherecentyearsreceivedgrowinginterest bothamongresearchersandmanagers.AtthesametimethematurationoftheInternethasseen growthofapplicationsfacilitatingmanytomanycommunication.Theseapplicationscalledsocial mediahasseenrapidgrowthduringtherecentyears,andcreatesnewopportunitiesformarketing andbranding. Thisstudyinvestigatestheimpactofinformationtechnologybyexploringacademiccontributionson B2Bbrandingbyaddressingfourrelatedresearchquestions.Themainemphasisofthestudyishow theonlineenvironmentisperceivedandwhatimpactsocialmediawillhaveonB2Bbranding.In ordertoaddressthesequestionsthestudyexploresissueswithbrandingstrategiesandinternal marketing. AliteraturereviewisconductedonallB2BbrandingarticlesfromthetwojournalsTheJournalof BrandManagementandTheJournalofProductandBrandManagement.Only23articlesmetthe searchcriteria,andtheempiricalfindingsdemonstratedthenoveltyofB2Bbrandingasanacademic researchfield,inadditiontoverylittleresearchconductedonB2Bbrandingintheonline environment. ThefindingsofthestudysuggestthatB2Bbrandstrategiesshouldbealignedtowardsandreinforce theoverallbusinessstrategy,whilststrivingforconsistencythroughouteverycustomertouchpoint inordertoachieveinteractiveeffectsfrombrandinginmultiplemediums.Internalmarketingis importanttoobtainconsistency,astheemployeesultimatelyaretheonesresponsiblefordelivering uponthebrandpromise.Theseprinciplesarealsoessentialwhenengaginginsocialmedia. FurtherresearchissuggestedonthetopicofB2Bbrandinginsocialmedia,duetofindingswhich indicatesthegrowingimpactoftheonlineenvironment.

II

TableofContents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 ConceptualBackground ..................................................................................................................3 . Methodology..................................................................................................................................7 OverviewofArticlesReviewed......................................................................................................10 GeneralDescriptiveFindings.........................................................................................................13 EmpiricalFindings.........................................................................................................................15 GeneralGuidelinesandFrameworks................................................................................................15 BrandingandtheRoleofInternalMarketing...................................................................................19 BrandingintheOnlineEnvironment.................................................................................................21 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................24 Towhatextentdoacademicsagreeonhowtoapproachbrandingstrategies?..............................24 Howdoesinternalmarketingreinforcethebrandstrategy?...........................................................27 Howdoestheonlineenvironmentaffecttheexternaldimensionofthebrandingtriangle?..........28 WhatimpactwillsocialmediahaveonB2Bbranding?....................................................................30 Limitations.........................................................................................................................................33 ImplicationsforTheoryandFurtherResearch..................................................................................33 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................34 References....................................................................................................................................35

Figures
Figure1:BrandrelevanceandbrandfunctionsinaB2Benvironment..................................................1 Figure2:Thebrandingtrianglemodified................................................................................................5 Figure3:Yearofpublishing...................................................................................................................13

Tables
Table1:Literaturereview.....................................................................................................................10 Table2:Numberofarticles,differentjournals.....................................................................................13 Table3:Methodologiesused................................................................................................................14 Table4:Conceptualmethodology........................................................................................................14 Table5:Countryoforigin......................................................................................................................14 Table6:Topicsintheliteraturereview.................................................................................................14 Table7:Summary,guidelinesandframeworkscomparedtothebrandingtriangle...........................18

III

IV

Introduction
Businesstobusiness(B2B)brandinghasintherecentyearsreceivedgrowinginterestbothamong researchersandmanagers.Themainmisconceptionpreviouslyevolvedaroundbrandingbeing importantonlyforB2Cmarkers,ratherthanB2Bbecauseindustrialpurchasersmainlywere perceivedtoberationale.Asopposedtoconsumers,companieswereperceivedtovaluefunctions andprice,whilstnotbeingconcernedwithbrandsandemotionsattachedtothem. PioneerswithinmarketinghaveelucidatedthesignificanceandadoptionofbrandingalsoinB2B markets.KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)arguesthatbrandingisjustasrelevantinB2BasinB2C.No oneevergotfiredforbuyinganIBM,goesanoldanecdotewhichemphasisestheimportanceofa strongbrandalsowithinaB2Benvironment.KotlerandPfoertschfurtherarguesthatB2Bbranding makesiteasiertoefficientlyconveycomplexinformationaboutproducts,increasecustomerloyalty andreducetheriskattachedtothepurchase,inadditiontothefactthatastrongbrandprovides addedvalueforthecustomer. Atthesametimeglobalisationonlyincreasestherelevanceofbranding.Efficiencyimprovementof transportationandlogisticsnetworkenablescompaniestoselltheirproductstotheentireworld withouttransportationdominatingthetotalcost.Aresultoftheglobalisationistheassimilationof technicalnormsandstandards,whichfurtherdecreasesthedifferenceswhetheryouopttopurchase fromGermanyorChina.Thereductionoftradebarriersthroughouttheworldmakesinternational trademoreviable.Factorssuchasthementionedonesmakesiteasierformanysmallandmidsize companiestoentertheworldwidemarket(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.35). AresultofglobalizationishypercompetitionwhichmakesB2Bbrandingevenmorerelevant.Actors fromtheentireworldcancompeteinthesamemarkets,increasingthepricepressure.Using informationtechnology,purchasersareabletocomparesuppliersatease,andcompaniesneedto differentiatethemselvesinordertoachievecompetitiveadvantage.Withincreasinglyshorter productlifecyclesandcompetitorswhomcanimitateproductsandservicesquickly,differentiation isincreasinglymoredifficult.Astrongbrandprovidesriskreduction,informationefficiencyandvalue added,whichismoredifficultandmorecostlytoimitate.Thismakesbrandinganefficienttoolto differentiatefromcompetitorsinthelongterm(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.37).Figure1 illustratestherelationbetweenthecurrentenvironmentandbrandrelevance(KotlerandPfoertsch, 2006,p.45). FactorsBoosingBrandRelevance
Proliferationof SimilarProducts Globalization IncreasingComplexity Hypercompetition PricesPressures Figure1:BrandrelevanceandbrandfunctionsinaB2Benvironment

Brand

Brandsdifferentiate, reduceriskand complexity,and compensateprice pressuresbyoffering additionalvalue. RiskReduction

InformationEfficiency

ValueAdded/Image BenefitCreation

Thefactorsofglobalisationandinformationtechnologyslowlyalterthenatureofthegame.Inour newdigitaleverydaylifethebordersbetweenworkandsparetimeareincreasinglymorediffuse; employeesworkmorefromhomewithlaptopcomputers,usestheirsmartphonesbothforworkand privaterelatedmatters.DuringtherecentyearsanewtrendontheInternethasemergedwhere usersaresigningupfornewInternetbasedcommunitiestoparticipateindialogueandcontent sharing.ThemostknownmainstreamsiteslikeLinkedIn.com,Facebook.com,YouTube.com, Wikipedia.organdTwitter.comhaveexplodedingrowth.Thesenewchannelsarelabelledsocial media,enabledbyadvancementsinbothinformationtechnologyandglobalisation. SocialmediaisalreadyusedextensivelyinrelationtoB2Bbusinesses;asurveydonebyForrester pointedoutthat91%ofpurchasersin1217technologyfirmsinNorthAmericaandEuropeusesocial mediainrelationtobusiness(Bernoff,2009).Anotherstudyshowsthat82%ofAmericanmanagers usesocialmediaforbranding(Herder,2009).Socialmediaiscurrentlyinanearlyphase,butithas alreadyputitsmarkonmodernmarketingandbrandingandtheemphasishasgrownrapidlyin recentyears. Whilstbrandspreviouslyhavebeencarefullymanagedbymarketers,thesenewsocialmediacreates significantlynewchallengesformarketersinordertomaintaincontroloftheirbrands.Thisstudy lookstoexplorethediscussionsbybrandingacademics,toidentifytheimpactofsocialmediaonB2B branding.

ResearchQuestions
Inordertoinvestigatetheimpactacademicsperceivetheimpactinformationtechnologyhasupon B2Bbrandingthisstudywillreviewacademiccontributionsinthefield.Thefocuswillbetoexplore towhatextentacademicsperceivethesenewchallenges,andtheacademiccontributionswillbe revieweduponthebasisofthefollowingresearchquestions. I. II. III. IV. Towhatextentdoacademicsagreeonhowtoapproachbrandingstrategies? Howdoesinternalmarketingreinforcethebrandstrategy? Howdoestheonlineenvironmentaffecttheexternaldimensionofthebrandingtriangle? Whatimpactwillsocialmediahaveonbranding?

ReviewContent
ThisstudywillevolvearoundthediscussionsofB2Bbrandingfromtwojournalshavinganexplicit focusonbrandmanagement.Thefirstpartwillpresentaconceptualframeworktostructurethe discussions,beforeanoverviewoftheliteraturewithintheB2Bsphereispresented.Theempirical findingspresentthetheoriesmostrelevanttoanswertheresearchquestions. Thetwofirstresearchquestionsaimstodiscoverthebasicsofbrandcommunications,whichinturn willprovidethefoundationinidentifyingthepossibilitiesmarketingresearchershaveidentifiedin relationtosocialmediaandtheInternet.Adiscussionofthepresentedtheoryfollowswhichwill addresstheresearchquestions,thelimitationsofthisresearchandsuggestedareasforfurther research. Inthefinalparttheconclusionsandmanagerialimplicationsoftheresultsfromthisstudyis presented.

ConceptualBackground
Thischapterwillpresentaconceptualbackgroundwhichmainpurposeistoframetheresearch questionsandthefindingsfromtheliteraturereviewwithinacontext.Thebasisofthistheoryis derivedfromtheworksofKotlerandPfoertsch(2006),andisthefoundationonwhichthisliterature reviewisbuilt.TocomplementthebrandingliteratureofKotlerandPfoertschwithsocialmedia theory,thearticleAPracticalSocialMediaGuideforBrands(Robinson,2009)andacasestudyona webenhancedcommunityforprofessionals(Andersen,2004)publishedinIndustrialMarketing Managementwereselected.

TheBrandinaB2BMarket
Onelonglivedmythwasthatbrandshadnorelevanceinindustrialmarkets,astheindustrial purchasingprocesswasthoroughlybasedonrationaleassessmentsandthatemotionshadno relevancetoindustrialbuying.Organisationalbuyerswereconcernedonlywithhardfactslike functionality,priceandqualitynotwithsoftfactslikereputationorrenownedbrandname(Kotler andPfoertsch,2006,p.2).AbrandserveshoweverthesamepurposeinB2Bmarketsasitdoesin consumermarkets.KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.3)definesabrandasfollowing; Theyfacilitatetheidentificationofproducts,servicesandbusinessaswellasdifferentiate themfromcompetition.Theyareaneffectiveandcompellingmeanstocommunicatethe benefitsandvalueaproductorservicecanprovide.Theyareaguaranteeofquality,origin, andperformance,therebyincreasingtheperceivedvaluetothecustomerandreducingthe riskandcomplexityinvolvedinthebuyingdecision. Abrandhasgrowntobecomemuchmorethanmerelyalogoandproductpackaging.Whilstthe tangiblecommunicationelementsusedtosupportabrandareoftenreferredtoasthebrand,itis howevertheintangibleconceptofabrandthattrulymakesthebrandvaluable.Thebrandisa promisewhichholdsadistinctivepositioninthecustomersmindderivedfromthetotalityof perceptionsacustomerhasaaboutacompany,itsproductand/oritsservice.Fromwhatcustomers haveseen,read,learned,andexperienced,thebrandconveysashortcutofattributestoits customers(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.5). B2Bbrandingdoesnothoweversuitallcompaniesandeachcompanymustevaluatethemarket beforemakingthedecisiontobrand.E.g.ifthesuppliersarefragmented,thereareverymany competitorswithaverycomplexbuyingprocess,fewdecidersinthebuyingcentreandnovisible applicationofthebrand,thebrandrelevancewouldbelimited(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.49). Thiswillhowevernotbeelaborateduponanyfurther.

TheDifferenceBetweenB2BandB2CMarkets EventhoughB2Bbrandingmayservethesamepurposethereareseveralimportantdifferences betweenB2CandB2Bbranding,asindustrialmarketsarequitedifferentfromconsumermarkets. KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,pp.2026)pointsoutthefollowingmaindifferences; Natureandcomplexityofindustrialproducts;morecomplexproductsoftenrequire purchaserstobeexperts Natureanddiversityofindustrialdemand;thevaluechainofB2Bcompaniescauses complexity,globalisation,moreinelasticandvolatiledemandcomparedtoconsumer markets Fewercustomers,butcomplexbuyingcentreswhichdiffersbothindifferentcompaniesand indifferentbuyingsituations(i.e.straightrebuy,modifiedrebuyornewtask) Largervolumespercustomers Closeandlongerlastingsuppliercustomerrelationships

ThemostnotabledifferencebetweenB2BandB2Cmarketsisthecomplexityofthebuyingcentre;a groupofpeoplewithdifferentbackgrounds,interestinthepurchase,havingdifferentroles,different typeofaccesstoinformationanddifferentamountofpower.Thebuyingcentrecontainsactorswith differentroles;user,approver,influencer,decider,initiator,gatekeeperandbuyer.Sometimesactors havemultipleroles.Insomecasesthisbuyingcentreisinformaloradhoc,andsometimesitisa formallysanctionedgroupalldependingonthetypeofpurchase.Thebuyingcentreoftenvaries frompurchasetopurchase,withdifferentpeoplehavingvariousamountofpower.Mappingoutthe buyingcentrecomposureinordertotargetactorswithpowerisachallengeformarketers(Kotler andPfoertsch,2006,pp.2628). TheBrandArchitecture Animportantpartofthebrandingstrategyishowthecompaniessetuptheirbrandarchitecture.The mainbrandarchitecturestrategiesareproductbrand,familybrandandacorporatebrand.Most reallifeexampleshavecomplexbrandarchitecturesbeinghybridbrandingstrategies,duetothe synergiescomingfromdifferentbrandingstrategies,e.g.IntelandPentiumprocessorsorPorsche and911.InB2Bmarketscorporatebrandingisbyfarthemostcommonbrandingstrategy,often complementedbyafewproductbrands.Thecorporatebrandservesasanumbrellafortheentire company,encapsulatingvision,mission,positioning,values,andmanyotherdimensions.Thebrand architecturecanalsobemorecomplex,consistingofdifferentbrandingdimensions.Intruthmostif notallbrandsarehybridsinoneformoranotherduetothesynergiesdifferentbasicbranding strategiescanachieve(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,pp.7991).Corporatebrandingwillinthisstudy beconsideredthebasicunderlyingbrandingstrategyunlessexplicitstatedotherwise.

TheBrandingTriangle
KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)advocateaholisticperspectiveonbrandmanagementwheretheguiding theoryisthatbrandingneedstobeconsideredineverypartofacompanytoleveragethefullpower ofbranding;everythingmatters.Relationshipmarketing,integratedmarketing,internalmarketing andsocialresponsibilityareallpartsofaholisticmarketingconcept.Themainreasoningbehindisto createanalignmentbetweenallmarketingactivitiesinordertocreatesynergies(Kotlerand Pfoertsch,2006,p.16).

ThecommunicationdimensionsoftheholisticviewproposedbyKotlerandPfoertschcanbe visualisedbythebrandingtriangle,aconceptualframeworkbeingusedinthisstudytoframethe discussionoftheresearchquestions.ThebrandingtriangleinFigure2illustratesallrelations betweenthecompanyitself,itscustomersanditscollaborators(employees,dealers,adagencies etc.)whereeverythingaffectsoneanother.Allthreecommunicationdimensionshavethusanequal levelofimportance,whichemphasiseshowacompanycannotsolelyrelyuponexternalmarketing channelsinordertobuildandextractvaluefromtheirbrand(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.108). Externalmarketingconcernsthetraditionalexternalmarketingcommunications,suchas advertisementsandbrochures,wherethecompanycommunicatestotheircustomerstheir positioningandfocus.Thesemarketingcommunicationsusuallyformtheimageofthecompany,as theydirectlytargettheaudience. Internalmarketingalignsthegoalsofthecompanywiththeoneofthebrand.Thisrelationillustrates theneedtoexplainemployeesandothercollaboratorsthebrandanditsrelevance,andmakethem awareofthebrandpromise. Interactivemarketingillustratestherelationbetweenthecollaboratorsandthecustomers;these peoplearetheoneswhoactuallycommunicateandhaveadialoguewiththecustomers,thusthe oneswhoareoughttodeliveruponthebrandpromise. Allresearchquestionsareconnected;RQIlooksatbrandingfromthecompanyperspectiveinterms ofbrandingandbusinessstrategy.RQIIlooksathowthebrandvaluesarecommunicatedtoits collaborators,whilstRQIIIinvestigatestheissueofonlinebrandingintheexternalmarketing dimension.RQIVaimstoexploretheimpactofsocialmediaonthebrandingtriangle.

RQI
Company

RQII
Internal marketing External marketing

RQIII

Collaborators Interactivemarketing Generalpublic

Customers

RQIV

Socialmedia

Figure2:Thebrandingtrianglemodified

SocialMediaandB2BBrands
DuringtherecentyearstherehasbeenarapiddevelopmentontheInternetwithnewnetworking sites,blogsandapplicationsontheInternetreceivingalotofattention.ThesenewInternetbased mediumsarecalledsocialmedia,andpresentanumberofnewopportunitiesforbusinesstobuild brandsandcommunicatewithcustomers.Usingnewsocialmediumscompaniesarenowableto interactdirectlywithcustomers,andparticipateintheongoingconversations(Robinson,2009). Wordofmouthisconsideredtohavetremendouspoweronabrand,aspeopletendtobelievemore inwhatfriendssaysaboutaproductratherthanwhatacompanysays(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006, pp.146148).Socialmediafacilitatesmanytomanyconversations,andextendsthereachofword tomouthasrealpeoplearetalkingtootherrealpeoplesharingtheirexperiences.Astorygaining momentumcanhaveasignificantimpactonthereputationofacompany,eitherpositiveornegative alldependingonthestory.Thefundamentalcharacteristicaboutsocialmediaisthatitexponentially multipliesthenumberofone,enablingonepersonalonetoeithercreatewidespreadexcitementor negativebuzzwithouttheuseofexpensivetraditionalmarketingchannels(McConnellandHuba, 2007).Abrandlivesitsownlifeonthebrand,leavinglesscontrolinthehandsofmarketers.By targetingsocialmediasystematically,aB2Bcompanycanmitigatetheeffectsofbothwantedand unwantedexposure. In1994IntelsPentiumchiphadadivisionerrorwhichspreadquicklyontheInternet.WhenIntel triedtobelittletheproblemitincreasedevenmore.Thenegativewordofmouthledtobadpress coverageandasharpdropinstockprice.Thewriteoffof$475millionwasthecostofthelesson whichinturnledtoachangeinpolicywhichmadeIntelmoreopentothepublicconcerningbugs,in ordertomaintaintheconfidenceofitscustomers(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.146).Thecaseof Intelwasasignofwhatstocome,aspeopleinterestedinprocessorsweretechnologicalpeople usingemailandnewsgroupsbeforeitreceivedanyattentionfromthemainstream. Socialmediaisnotonlyaboutreducingnegativeexposure,asshownbythecaseofColoplast (Andersen,2004)whichdevelopsandmanufacturesarangeofproductsforthehealthcaresector. Coloplastbuiltawebenhancebrandcommunitytargetingtheprofessionalusersoftheirproduct. Theprofessionalusers,nursesinthecaseofColoplast,wereidentifiedaskeypersonsinthebuying centres.Becauseprofessionalsbelieveintheirindependenceasanimportantpartoftheirlegitimacy asadvisorsandconsultants,theyarenoteasilyaffectedbyadvertisements.Thepointoffocusforthe communitywasnottoadvertiseColoplastproducts,butratherenablingthenursestoexchange productrelatedinformationanddiscussissueswithothernursesandproducers.Eventhough professionalstakeprideintheirindependence,theyarehowevereagertoengageindiscussionswith producers,whichincasethediscussionsarefruitfulcanimproveproductloyaltyinthelongrun (Andersen,2004).Suchwebenhancedcommunitiesarealsoresourcestomarketinformationand enablescompaniestogaininsightsfromthemarket,whichagaincanleadtonewproductsand innovations. Thesetwoexamplesaretwoofmanywhichillustratetheneedforfurtherresearchontheeffects socialmediahaveonB2Bmarketingandbranding.Thisstudywilltrytoexplorehowsocialmedia affectsthedimensionsofthebrandingtriangle,andinwhatcontextbrandresearcherslookuponthe challengeofnewsocialmedia. 6

Methodology
ResearchProcedure
AtthestartoftheresearchprocessKotlerandPfoertsch(2006)bookB2BBrandManagementwas usedasanintroductiontothetopicofB2Bbranding,asitwouldprovideafoundationforfurther researchonthetopic.TheworksofKotlerandPfoertschwaschosenduetoitsexclusivefocuson brandsinB2Bandtheauthorsauthoritywithinthefield. Themainfocusoftheresearchprocesswastogetanoutlineoftheevolvementofrecentresearch concerningB2Bbranding,andhownewopportunitiescreatedbyinformationtechnologywere perceivedbyacademics.Theauthoradoptedaninductiveapproachbygoingthroughtheliterature withanaimtoexploreanyidentifiedconnectionsbetweentheB2Bbrandandthenewinformation technology. Selectingtheresearchquestionswasnotatrivialtask,buttheconnectionbetweenstrategy,internal communicationandinformationtechnologywasearlyidentified.Socialmediaenablesdialogue betweena[theemployeesofa]companyanditscustomers,whichmadeitinterestingtostudyhow andwhybrandingisinternalised.Anopportunitytoalignand/orintegratetheeffectsofthe informationagewiththecurrentgeneralguidelinesandframeworkswasobvious.Thefindingsof RQIandRQIIpresentafoundationofB2Bbrandstrategiesandinternalmarketingtobeableto provideananswerforRQIIIandRQIV. Itwasconsideredappropriatetoreviewofallthearticlesconcerningthetopicintwopeerreviewed publicationswhichbothspecialiseinthefieldofbrandmanagement;TheJournalofBrand ManagementandTheJournalofProductandBrandManagement.Thesetwopublicationswere selectedduetotheirspecificfocusonbrandmanagement.Boththeeditorsandpeersselectingand reviewingforthesetwoacademicjournalspossessexpertiseandknowledgeonwhatthemost importantdiscussionwithintheareaofbranding,thusmakingthesetwoselectedacademicjournals agoodworksforanoverviewofthemostrecentresearchwithintheareaofbusinesstobusiness brandmanagement.Peerreviewedpublicationsalsooffersacontrolmechanismforquality. Onecouldhaveusedabroadersearch,includingindustrialmarketingrelatedpeerreviewed publicationssuchasIndustrialMarketingandPurchasing,JournalofMarketingandIndustrial MarketingManagement.Themainrationaleforchoosingpublicationsdirectlyrelatedtobranding wasthatthepeersselectingandreviewingarticlesforthetwopublicationsareselectingpublications directlyfocusingonbranding,ratherthanindustrialmarketing.Itwasalsoapointtogetabroadview ofdiscussedconceptswithinB2Bbrandinginordertopinpointwheresocialmediawillhaveits effect. TheJournalofBrandManagementfocusessolelyonbrandingandisoneoftheleadingauthoritative journalsonbrandstrategy.ItoriginatesfromtheUK,withmainlyUKeditorsinadditiontoafewfrom otherpartsofEuropeandtheUS.Amongitseditorialboardmembersonewouldfindwellknown brandscholarssuchasDavidA.AakerandKevinLaneKeller(palgravejournals.com,2009a).The JournalofProductandBrandManagementemphasisestheresponsibilityfrontlinemanagershas withrespecttobothproductandbrandmanagement.Thispublicationhaseditorsmainlyfromthe USA,buthasadeclaredobjectivetocreateajournalofrelevancetoaninternationalaudience 7

(emeraldinsight.com,2009).Withtwodifferentinternationalorigins,thesetwopublicationswould complementanydifferencesbetweentheAmericanandEuropeanpointofviewsascultural differencesarealwaysboundtoexist.

ReviewProcedure
ProQuest(proquest.umi.com,2009)containsbothofthesejournalsinitsdatabase.Thearticles includedinthisliteraturereviewcontainedthekeywordsindustrial,b2borbusinessto businessinthetitle,theabstract,orthekeywords.Eventhoughthesearchtermsarebroad,the searchonlyreturned36articles. Theselectioncriteriaestablishedinordertoseekoutthemostinterestingarticlesfoundinthe searchwere1)relevancetoB2Bbrandingand2)relevancetothenewopportunitiesrelatedtothe newinformationtechnology.Investigationoftheabstractsinthesearchrevealedthatmanyofthem werenotrelatedtoB2Bbranding.Asexpected,keywordsareoftenusedindifferentcontextswhich ledtotheexclusionofmanyarticlesfoundamongtheselectedarticles.Therewasfound13articles unrelatedtoB2Bbranding,forexampleThenewproductdevelopmentprocess:letthevoiceofthe salespersonbeheard(Judsonetal.,2006)wherethesalespersonsroleintheproductdevelopment wastheunitofanalysis,orWhitherglobalbranding?Thecaseoffoodmanufacturing(Ramsay, 2003)whichfocusedonfoodmanufacturingratherthantheB2Bsphere. Thereviewprocedurewasdonesystematicallybystartingwiththeearliestarticlesandgoingthrough themchronological.Duringthereviewprocessnotesofeachstudywerewrittenwhichlaterwas shortenedandsystematicallypresentedinatabletosimplifytheanalysis. Byattachingkeywordstoeachstudytheconnectionbetweenthedifferentarticlesbecamemore easilyidentified(seeTable6).Thetopicswerereviewedinthelightoftheresearchquestions,and discussionsoftheempiricalfindingsweremadebeforeconclusionsweredrawn. Notallarticlesincludedinthereviewhadrelevancefortheresearchquestionseventhoughthey wererelatedtoB2Bbranding,asforexampleB2BbrandextensiontotheB2CmarketThecaseof theICTindustryinTaiwan(Tangetal.,2008)whichoutlinedbrandextensionsfromB2BtoB2C,and Brandmetrics:Gaugingandlinkingbrandswithbusinessperformance(MunozandKumar,2004) whichfocusedonmeasuringbrandperformance.

AdditionalLiterature
Inadditiontotheliteraturefoundinthetwoselectedjournalshandpickedliteraturewereselected tocomplementthereview.ThebookB2BBrandingbyKotlerandPfoertsch(2006)presentsawide perspectiveonmanyissuesofB2Bbranding.Whilstthebookiscomprehensiveandexclusiveonthe issuesofB2Bbranding,itisoneoftheearliestcomprehensiveworksonthetopic.Consideringthe limitedresourceconductedonthetopiconehavetoconsiderthebookconceptualandnot conclusive,despitetheauthorsreputationandexperiencewithinthefieldofbrandingand marketing.

LimitationsoftheResearchProcedure
Oneofthemainlimitationsoftheresearchprocedurearethatonewouldnotgetthefulloverviewof theareawhenstudyingthetwoselectedjournals,asitexcludesrenownedbusinesstobusiness marketingjournals,suchasIndustrialMarketingandPurchasing,JournalofIndustrialMarketingand 8

IndustrialMarketingManagement.Thisstudyishoweverexploratorybytryingtoidentifywhich perspectivesorthemesoftheliteratureitispossibletopositiontheopportunitiesandchallengesthe Internetpropose,butitcanbearguedthatmorenarrowresearchquestions,morestrictselection criteriaofarticles,searchedforinmorejournalswouldhaveledtoamorespecificandconclusive study.E.g.onecouldhaveusedkeywordsrelevantforonlinebrandingandB2Binordertogomore indepth,orconductedaresearchonmarketingintheonlineenvironmenttofindparallelswiththe B2Bbrandingtheory.ThenoveltyofB2Bbrandingasanacademicresearchfieldmakesthetopics discussedandconclusionsachievedintheliteraturescattered,andonecanarguethatabroader searchonmorenarrowtermscouldmoreeasilypickuponsignificantdiscussionsbetween academics.AnotherlimitationisthatonlyEnglisharticleshavebeenreviewed,whereasother importantcontributionsinotherlanguageshavenotbeenidentified. Consideringthetrustworthinessofthestudy,Bryman(2008)outlinesfivecriteriaforqualitative research;credibility,transferability,dependabilityandconformability.Thelargeamountof conceptualandopinionbasedpapersinthestudyandthenoveltyofthefieldresultsinanuncertain transferability,albeittheauthorstrivesforconformabilityandcredibilitybykeepingastrictviewon theinternalvalidityofthestudy.Thedependabilityandconformabilityofliteraturereviewsareeasy toexamine,eventhoughtheliteraturereviewedisapossiblesubjecttomisinterpretationinthis study.

OverviewofArticlesReviewed
Table1:Literaturereview

(Authors,year) Publication (Boatwrightetal., 2009) JPBM

Researchfocus/title Usingananalyticalmethodto buildbrands,basedupona productdevelopmenttool. Closelytiedtoproduct management

(Virtsonisand MarchHarridge, 2009) JBM

Aimstoexplorehowbrand positioningisoperationalised inanonlineB2Benvironment

(Jensenetal., 2009) JBM

Corporatebrandingasa managementphilosophy; innovationandcreativity

(Penningtonetal., 2009) JBM

Customerbrandingof commodityproducts:The customerdevelopedbrand

(Asparaand Tikkanen,2008) JBM

Adoptionofbrandingby managers;whichpracticesand whatgoalsrelatedto customers/stakeholders

(Tangetal.,2008) JBM

Examinetheroleofthe perceivedfitbetweenaparent B2Bbrandanditsextension B2Cproduct

Looksuponthebrandasaproduct thatneedstobedesigned.Afourstep method;Analysis(usesValue OpportunityAnalysistoidentify values),synthesis(toorganise attributestoanactionablemission), translation(averbalidentitytomap implementation),andimplementation. AcasestudyonInternationalTruckand Enginewheretheframeworkis explainedindepth. Qualitative Akeyrecurringthemewastheattempt UK toinstilcredibility.Elementsused onlinearealsofoundintraditional marketingliteratureregardingthe marketingmix.Relationshipmarketing isconsideredasadifferentviewpoint ononlinemarketingthroughwhich communicationcanbefacilitated. Quantitative Ifcorporatebrandingisusedasa 2companies managementphilosophyitfacilitates Denmark creativityandinnovation.The constructdebate,supporting employeesinideainitiatives,wasin theresearchedorganisationsidentified asadriveroftheoverallperceived innovationandcreativityclimate. Conceptual Threeconditionsmustcoexistinorder Opinion forcustomerbrandingtooccur; based variationinthemarketplace,delivery US ofgeneralproductmustbe unacceptable,subsetsneedstobe identifiable.Abrandcanevolvefroma commoditytoacustomerdeveloped brand,andtoastrongcorporatebrand Qualitative Motivationsconsistedofthreefactors; Casestudy managingbrandhierarchyofthe Finland portfolio,corporatenameassociation challenges,anddefiningand communicatingbrandvalueslinkedto thecorporatestrategies. Quantitative Thereisanopportunityforindustrial Taiwan companiestoleveragebrandequityto consumermarketsiftheconceptof extensionproductisconsistentwith theparentbrand.

Method andorigin Qualitative Casestudy USA

Mainfindings

10

(Christodoulides, 2008) JBM

Encouragestoescapefrom industrialagebrandingto embraceopennessandco creation

Conceptual Conference commentary UK

(Powell,2007) JBM

B2Bbrandmanagementfor creativebusinesses

Qualitative Casestudy UK

(McMellon,2005) JPBM

B2Bmarketingstrategy,using thecustomerslearning perspective(CLC)

Conceptual Bookreview USA

(Tayloretal., 2004) JPBM (WebsterJr.and Keller,2004) JBM (Munozand Kumar,2004) JBM

Theimportanceofbrandequity Quantitative tocustomerloyalty USA Aroadmapforbrandingin industrialmarkets Brandmetrics:Gaugingand linkingbrandswithbusiness performance Conceptual Review USA Conceptual Opinion based UK

(Rozin,2004) JBM

Editorialperspectiveonbuyers inB2Bbranding

Conceptual Editorial USA

(Inskip,2004) JBM

CorporatebrandingforSME A Qualitative missedopportunityoran Casestudy indulgence? UK

(Lynchand Chernatony,2004) JBM

(Wood,2004) JBM

Attemptingtoaddressthree gapsintheB2Bliterature;a) theroleofemotion,b)the salespersonandc)linkages betweeninternalandexternal brandcommunications BrandprotectionissuesinB2B branding

Conceptual Review UK

Conceptual Opinion based USA

Newagebrandingismovingfrom emphasisonmarketing communicationstorelationships;in theageofcocreationvalueiscreated inadialecticalprocess.Practitioners andresearchesmustevolvefromthe industrialageofmarketing. Brandsofsmallercreativebusinesses areoftendrivenbysingleindividuals creativeegos.Difficultandcomplexto createaconsistentorganisational identity. Thebookoffersunderstandingonhow touseCLCtocreatebrandloyal customersandtheeventualprofitit produces. Brandequityandtrustappearsasmost influentialonfosteringboth behaviouralandattitudinalloyalty. Offerstenguidelinestosuccessfully implementB2Bbranding.Shifting focustowardsrelationshipmgmt. Discussescomponentsformetrics (perception,performanceand financial)tomeasurebrand performance,usedinascorecardthat linksbrandinvestmentstobusiness performance. ComplexityofB2Bpurchaseprocessis ofkeyimportancecomparedtoB2C. Classifiesbuyers;economic,technical, user,coach. SMEneedsadifferentapproachthan largeorganisations;brandingprocess shouldbefast,flexibleandfocusedon thekeyissueoftheownervision, whichischallengedandtestedfor longtermrelevance.Corporate brandingasaphilosophy. Proposesamodelofhowinternaland externalcommunicationinfluencesthe buyingcentreboththroughfunctional andemotionalvalues.Italsohighlights thesalespersonsroleinidentifyingsale situationswhereemotionisimportant. Onehastoprotectthebrandfrom trademarkinfringers,trademark dilutersandambushmarketers.A companyshouldensurebrand protectionandintegrity,thusargues thatthebrandshouldbeseenasacore companyassetandtreated accordingly.

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(Rozinand Magnusson,2003) JBM

Processesandmethodologies forcreatingaglobalB2Bbrand

Qualitative Casestudy USA

(Schreiber,2002) JBM

Seekstoofferaframeworkfor makingbrandstrategy decisionsindiversified companiesandpartnerships.

Conceptual Review Canada

(Rosenbroijer, 2001) JPBM

Brandasaresourceforan industrialdistributor,usingan IMPperspective.

Qualitative Longitudinal Finland

(Mitchell,2001) JBM

Anemergingareaofinteractive electronicmarketingchanging therulesofmarketing.

Conceptual Opinion based UK

(Rooney,1995) JPBM

Looksatthepossibilitiesusing brandingasaneffective marketingtool. Explorestherelationship betweensatisfaction,brand reputationandloyality

(Selnes,1993) JPBM

Conceptual Review 198095 USA Qualitative Norway

(Gordonetal., 1993) JPBM

Empiricallyexplorethe existenceofbrandequityand itsevolutioninB2Bcompared toB2C.

Qualitative USA

DescribeshowDowCorninglauncheda newglobalB2Bbrandwhichdidnotfit thepositioningofthecorporatebrand. Aholisticapproach,andathorough analysisofprocesses,brand communicationsandlaunch. Proposesan 2x2matrixtoselectbrand strategies;product,endorsement, masterbrandandingredientbrand. Selectiondependsupona)the complexityandb)thedegreeoffear, uncertaintyanddoubtinthebuying decision.UsesaBrandGetGive Analysistohelpdeterminewhata companywantorneedfroma partnershiprelationship. Brandingdecisionaffectstheentire corporatestrategy,andhaseffectson alllevelsofanalysis;company, relationship,network.Thisputs limitationsonwhatinvestmentsa companycanandshouldmake. Proposesachangefromseller centricitytobuyercentricity,tolower marketingcostsandpricescreatinga newwinwinmarketing.Thechallenge istoreinventmarketingandbusiness toaccommodatetheinformationage. Brandingcanbeapowerfultoolfor businessesifmanagedcorrectly.If mismanagedtheresultscanbe damaging. Atheoreticalmodelwhichintegrates quality,brandreputation,customer satisfactionandbrandloyalty.The findingssuggestloyaltybeingdrivenby brandreputation. BrandequityexistsinB2B,and productscanbeviewedaspassing throughfivesuccessivestagesfrom birth,toextensionintheevolutionto fullbrandequity.DifferencestoB2B; B2Bbrandswithfirmnames,difficult topositionnewproducts differentiatingfromexisting,andB2B alsoencompasseschannelmembers.

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GeneralDescriptiveFindings
Thischapterwillpresentthequantitativedataoftheliteraturereviewed,includingmethodologies used,whenpublishedandfromwheretheyoriginate.

NumberofArticlesandYearofPublishing
Afterreviewingthetwoselectedjournals23articlesconcerningdifferentaspectsofB2Bbranding werefound.ThefocusonbrandingwithintheB2BdimensionisdominatedbytheJournalofBrand Management,eventhoughitwasfirstissuedinSeptember2000.Sincethen16ofthe20articlesin thisreviewarepublishedinthisjournal.Thetwoselectedjournalshavepublished1269articlessince 1993(earliestB2Bbrandingarticlepublishedinthejournals),whichconstitutesB2Bbrandingasonly 2.8%ofthetotalliteratureissuedinTheJournalofBrandManagementandTheJournalofProduct andBrandManagement.Thebusinesstobusinessdimensionhasnotcapturedalotofinterestinthe twoselectedjournals.
Table2:Numberofarticles,differentjournals

Journal JournalofBrandManagement JournalofProductandBrandManagement

Number 16 7

Percentage 70% 30%

TheresearchprocessendedinNovember2009,andanyarticlespublishedlaterarenotaccounted for.Lookingatwhenthesearticleswereissued,onedoesnoticethat2004isayearofparticularly manyarticles.Sixofthesevenarticlespublishedin2004cameinaspecialissueofJournalofBrand Management(volume11,issue5)onbusinesstobusinessbrands(palgravejournals.com,2009b). 2008and2009sawsevenarticlespublished,butbetween2005and2007therewereonlytwo.This illustratesthenoveltyofthefieldofB2Bbrandmanagement,butitseemsliketheinterestinthe areaisgrowing.

8 7 6 5 Year 4 3 2 1 0

Articlespublished
Figure3:Yearofpublishing

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Methodologies
Oneofthemostnotablenumbersofthemethodologiesusedisthelackofquantitativeresearch conductedonthesubject,whilstnearly50%ofthecontributionisconceptualwork,sixofwhichare opinionbased.Thiscanbeseenasaconsequenceofthenoveltyofthefield,whereastheliterature needstheory,constructsandconceptualframeworksinordertodevelop.Anotherdrawbackisthe lownumberofquantitativestudiesmade;whilstqualitativestudiespresentsinsighttotheprocessof B2Bbrandingandproposetheories,usingquantitativemethodstotestthefieldmayprovevaluable inordertohelptheliteraturemature.
Table3:Methodologiesused

Methodology Qualitative Quantitative Conceptual(review,commentary,opinionbased)


Table4:Conceptualmethodology

Number 9 3 11

Percentage 39% 13% 48%

Conceptualmethodology Opinionbased(incl.commentary/editorial) Literaturereview Bookreview

Number 6 4 1

Origin
Table5showswherethestudiesoriginatefrom.ThereisaprevalenceofarticlesfromUSAandUK, whichnaturalstemsfromwheretheeditorialsarebased.
Table5:Countryoforigin

Country USA UK Nordiccountries(ScandinaviaandFinland) Canada Taiwan

Number 10 7 4 1 1

Percentage 44% 31% 17% 4% 4%

Topics
Thetopicsdiscussedinthearticlesaresomewhatdiverse,andthetablebelowrepresentabest effortdivisionoftheliteraturereviewedinordertopresentanoverviewofthecontent.Accordingly itshouldnotbeemphasisedtoanylargeextent,butserveasaguidelineonthetopicdistribution.
Table6:Topicsintheliteraturereview

Topics Strategy Managementphilosophy Online Architecture Buyers/buyingprocess Performance Legal 14

Number 7 5 3 3 3 1 1

EmpiricalFindings
Thischapterwillpresentthefindingsfromtheliteraturereviewincontextwiththeproposed researchquestions.Theconceptualframeworkpresentedearlierwillbeusedtostructurethese findings.Thetwofirstsectionswillevolvearoundthebrandmanagementprocess(RQIandII),whilst thelatterpartwilladdressissuesconcerningtheonlineenvironmentandtheimpactofsocialmedia astheinformationtechnologycontinuestomatureandevolveevenfurther(RQIIIandIV).

GeneralGuidelinesandFrameworks
Tostudytheimpactofsocialmediaonewouldhavetolookatthebasicstrategiesresearchers proposecompaniestouseinordertoembracethepowerofbranding.Thissectionwilllookatthe differentframeworksandguidelinescomparedtowardsthebrandingtriangle. Guidelines Rooney(1995)presentsanearlystudyofB2Bbrandsasitwasthefirstarticleinthetworeviewed journalstofocusonbrandingguidelinesinwhichhereviewedtheliteraturefrom19801995.While hedidnotspecificallylookatB2BorB2Cbranding,hedidhighlightbothcorporateandindustrial brandingasthefuture.Ifbrandingwasmanagedproperlyitwouldcreatesubstantialpayoffsforany kindoforganisation. Brandsshouldbeusedasastartingpointtodifferentiateproducts,andtieddirectlytothebusiness strategyinordertobesuccessful.Rooneywarnedagainstusingthebrandonlytopromotethe financialvalueofthebrand,andratherusingthebrandtomakeabetterproductthatthecustomer wanted,becausebrandandbusinessstrategyarecloselyrelatedandultimatelyaffectoneanother. Inthesamelinesofthough,Rosenbroijer(2001)viewsbrandingfromadistributorsperspectiveand agreesonthecloseconnectionbetweencorporateandbrandstrategy.Henotesthatbranding decisions,inparticularfordistributors,affectstheentirecorporatestrategy. ThemostimportantguidelinesproposedbyRooney(1995)weretounderstandtheimportanceof thename,consistencyofbrand,promotingthebrandthroughadvertisingandmonitoringcustomers. Allrecommendationsareplacedwithintheexternaldimensionofthebrandingtriangle,inaddition toanemphasisofthebusinessstrategy. InthearticleAroadmapforbrandinginindustrialmarket(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004)takesa perspectiveonbrandmanagementwhichalignsmoretowardstheholisticmarketingconcept introducedbyKotlerandPfoertsch.WebsterJr.andKellerpresenttenguidelinesforbrandingin industrialmarkets,andstronglyargueforthebuyingprocessastheuniquecharacteristicofB2B branding.Thefundamentalsshouldhoweverberootedintheestablishedbasicsofmarketingwith segmentation,targetingandpositioning.InB2Bmarketsbrandscouldbeusedasatooltobuild consensusinthebuyingcentre,i.e.byhavingameaningfulbrandvaluepropositionforthebuyers, users,influencersanddecidersintheorganizationalbuyingdecisionprocess.Thetenguidelinesare presentedbelowinfull(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004): (1) (2) (3) (4) Brandingtieddirectlytobusiness/profitmodelandvaluedeliverystrategy Understandtheroleofthebrandinthebuyingprocess BasicvaluepropositionhastoberelevantforallplayersinDMU[buyingcentre] Emphasisecorporatebranding 15

(5) Buildcorporatebrandaroundbrandintangibles (6) Avoidconfusingcorporatecommunicationstrategyandbrandstrategy (7) DetailedsegmentationanalysisbasedondifferencesinDMU[buyingcentre] (8) Brandcommunicationsaroundinteractiveeffectsofmultiplemedia (9) Topdownandbottomupbrandmanagementapproach (10)Educatetheentireorganisationindeliveringbrandvalue Oneimportantissueworthnotingisthatbrandingfacesdifferentchallengesindifferentcompanies. Whilstpresentinganaerialviewoftheimplementationprocessofbranding,Inskip(2004) emphasisescorporatebrandingasavaluabletoolalsoforsmallandmediumsizedbusinessesaslong asitisaccommodatedtothesizeoftheorganisation.SMEneedsadifferentapproachcomparedto largeorganisations;stillmanagersneedtorecognisethatbrandingismuchmorethanalogo, stationaryandreputation.Inskiparguesbrandingisaboveallconcernedwithgivingtheorganisation, andparticularlyitsemployees,aclearandvisibleidentityandsenseofwhatitstandsfor,i.e.internal marketinginthebrandingtriangle.DuetolimitedresourcesadoptionofSMEcorporatebranding needstobefast,flexibleandfocusedatthekeyissuesathandinordertomakethebrand investmentfinanciallyviable.Inskip(Inskip,2004)emphasisestheneedformarketingexpertiseto translateavisiontoabrandconcept. Frameworks AccelerationThroughBranding KotlerandPfoertschpresentaniterativeprocesstobuildthebrandconsistingofsixphases; planning,analysis,strategy,brandbuildingandaudit(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.160).The planningphaseconsistsofpreparationoftheorganisationinordertoundergothebranding processes;includingflowofinformation,involvementofallpartsoftheorganisationtoestablishthe brandvaluesontheemployees,procedureforrapidbreakthroughplanning,implementation processesetc.Theanalysisphaseundergoescloseexaminationofthecompany,thecompetitorsand itscustomers,focusingonestablishingthebrandmissionandvaluesalignedtothecorporate mission,inadditiontothepersonalityofthebrand(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,pp.160168). Whenthebrandfundamentalsareestablished,thebrandstrategyprocessisconcernedwiththe guidingideabehindthebrand,positioning,valueproposition,thearchitectureandthebrand promisewhateveryonewillexperiencewhendoingbusinesswiththecompany.Quiteafew organisationsfailtoconsciouslyappreciatethebrandasapowerfulcommunicationtool,both internallyandexternally.Brandstrategyisthebuildingblocksforthebrandbuildingphase,where brandsbuiltandmodifiedovertimecreateassociationsinthemindofthecustomer.Theaudit processshouldassessthestrengthsandweaknessesofthebrandbyathoroughinvestigation(Kotler andPfoertsch,2006,pp.184191). Astepbystepprocesstobuildvaluedbrands Boatwrightetal.(2009)presentsananalyticalmethodtoidentifytangibleandintangiblecustomer values,andusingthemtothedesignthebrandidentity.TheperspectiveofBoatwrightetal.(2009) concernsprimarybrandingofphysicalproducts,andthroughouttheprocessthebrandiscraftedand translatedintoproductstrategyandspecifications.Theauthorsstresstheimportanceoffurther researchonhowtheapplicationofthemethodvariesacrossdomains,astheempiricaldataofthe casestudyisonesinglecompany. 16

ThebasicsoftheframeworkisderivedfromtheproductdevelopmenttoolValueOpportunity Analysis,andconsistsoffourphases;analysis,synthesis,translationandimplementation.Bygoing throughthesephasestheVOAidentifiescustomerbasedbrandingvalues,transformedintoan actionablemissionwhichalsocanbeunderstoodbytheemployeesinternally.Basedonthemissiona brandmapguidecanbederivedtoensureconsistentbrandingboththroughtheproduct,the advertisingandotherkeypointsofinteractionwiththecustomer.Thefinalstepisthe implementationofthebrandidentitytoadvertisementcontent,marketingvisuals,customerservice trainingguidelinesetc.(Boatwrightetal.,2009).Theauthorsarguethismethodresultsinastrategic andforwardthinkingbrandingstrategy,anditcouldalsobeappliedtohighlighttheweaknessesof anexistingproductand/orbrand,andhowitcanberedesignedinordertoperformbetterinthe marketplace.Theresultisabrandalignedwithproductsand/orserviceswithconsistentbrand communication,whichultimatelyleadstobetterperformance. Creatingaglobalbusinesstobusinessbrand RozinandMagnusson(2003)presentmethodologiesandprocessesoncreatinganewglobal businesstobusinessbrand.Theirprocessesandmethodologieshavetheperspectiveofcraftingthe newglobalproductXiameterfromDowCorningwhichalreadyhaveastrong,establishedbrand.The brandbuildingprocessstartsbyunderstandingthebusinessstrategyandvision,andlinkingbrand strategytobusinessstrategy.Thebrandpositionhastomeetbusinessobjectivesinordertobuilda sustainablebrandforanuncertainfuture;everythingthebusinessdoesisareflectiononthebrand. Itcontinuesbybuildingastrategicplatformbyseveralinterleavedactivitiessupportedbyseveral tools.Foranewproducttheauthorsusedneedsbasedmarketsegmentationprocessconsistingof sevenstepsofsoundmarketingprinciples(RozinandMagnusson,2003)inordertofindthe fundamentalsofabrandforadesirableidentityinanattractivemarket; (1) Needsbasedsegmentation:Groupingcustomersbasedonneedsandsoughtbenefits. (2) Segmentidentification:Usingcharacteristicsofsegmentstomakethemdistinctand actionable. (3) Segmentattractiveness:Determinetheoverallattractivenessofeachsegment. (4) Segmentprofitability:Determineprofitability. (5) Segmentpositioning:Createavaluepropositionandpositioningstrategybasedonthe segmentsuniquecustomerneeds. (6) Segmentacidtest:Testtheattractivenessofthesegmentbyusingstoryboards. (7) Marketingmixstrategy:Expandsegmentpositioningstrategytothemarketingmix. Relevantdifferentiationfromcompetitorsiscrucial,andbyusingtheBrandAsset(R)Valuatorone wouldhelpidentifyattributesthatcreatesahighlydifferentiatedbrand.BAVisbaseduponfour pillarsofcustomersperception;theinitialfocusondifferentiationandrelevance,andesteemand knowledgewhicharebuiltovertime. Thisledtoestablishingthebrandstrategyconsistingofbrandvalues,BrandDriver(TM)(anidea thatdrivesandunitesallbrandactionsandexpressions),positioningandarchitecture.Inaddition themostrelevantcommunicationapplicationsaddingvalueforcustomersweredetermined,e.g. websites,sales,advertising,collateral,packagingandpublicrelationsplans.Brandingelementslike naming,brandline,brandvoice,nomenclature,designandbrandingguidelineswereestablished, andtheauthorsdiscussesthemthoroughlyinthearticle. 17

Oncethebrandelementsaredevelopedanddocumented,presentingtheminformallyinternallywill educatethenewemployeesonthenewbrandname,itsvaluesandpositioning.Someemployeeswill maybebeinterestedenoughinthenewbrandtoactasbrandambassadorsbothinorderto enhancetheawarenesscollaborationpartners,customersandotheremployees.Beforethelaunch ofthebrandexternally,aformalinternallaunchisvitalinordertothoroughlyeducate,informand maketheemployeesconsciousonthenewproductanditsbusinessobjectives,identity,visual expressionsandmore.Thefinalstepistolaunchacoordinatedcampaignofthebrandinvarious mediaandmarkets. Summary Thefindingsoftheseresearchesaresummarizedinthetablebelow,andtheywillbefurther comparedandanalysedinthediscussionchapter.
Table7:Summary,guidelinesandframeworkscomparedtothebrandingtriangle

Study (Rooney,1995) (WebsterJr.and Keller,2004) (Kotlerand Pfoertsch,2006) (Boatwrightetal., 2009) (Rozinand Magnusson,2003)

Type Guidelines Guidelines Framework Framework Framework

Internal Low High High Medium High

External High Medium High High High

Interactive Low Medium High Medium Medium

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BrandingandtheRoleofInternalMarketing
Inthissectiontheroleofinternalmarketingwithinthebrandingtrianglewillbeidentified,which providesthebasisforansweringRQII.Brandingwithintheinternalmarketingdimensionis appreciatedamongseveralauthors(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004,KotlerandPfoertsch,2006, Boatwrightetal.,2009,RozinandMagnusson,2003,AsparaandTikkanen,2008,Inskip,2004),but veryfewhavetheeffectsofinternalmarketingastheirunitofanalysis.Inadditionacademics proposetheuseofinternalbrandingindifferentcontexts. PurposeofInternalBranding KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)identifiesriskreductionandinformationefficiencyastwoimportant branddriversinanB2Benvironment.Whencustomersinteractwiththecompanytheyengageinan oftencomplexpurchasingprocessinteractingwiththeemployeesofthesellingfirms.Awellknown andtrustedbrandreducesriskandincreasesinformationefficiencyiftheemployeesduringthese processesfailtodeliveruponorcontradictsthebrandpromise,itwillultimatelydilutebrandequity. Theentireorganisationisresponsibleforimplementingthebrandstrategy,asindustrialproductsare likelytohavemultiplecustomertouchpointswhichallinfluencebrandperceptions.Toachieve successfulbrandingeverypersonintheorganisationneedstounderstandandcommittotheirrole andcontributiontotheexecutionofabrandingstrategy(WebsterJr.andKeller,2004). InthesamelinesofthoughLynchandChernatony(2004)proposesaconceptualmodelonhowto positivelyinfluencethebrandchoicebyenhancingthebrandwithbothfunctionalandemotional values;thebasicsisinternalbranddevelopmentwhichisfurtheraugmentedthroughexternalbrand communicationtoinfluencethebrandchoiceofthepurchaser,justinlinewiththebrandingtriangle. Themainpurposeofinternalbrandingisthustoeducatetheemployeestoappreciateandlivebythe brandvalueineveryphaseoftheireverydaywork,inordertocommittodeliveringuponthevalue propositionofthebrandstrategy(LynchandChernatony,2004,WebsterJr.andKeller,2004).In shortitaimstoaligntheemployeestobrandandbusinessstrategy. AsparaandTikkanens(2008)studyofaNordicB2Bcompanypointedtointernalbrandingasoneof threeimportantreasonstoevenadoptcorporatebrandinginthefirstplace.Thetopmanagementin thatcompanyviewedbrandingasanefficientmanagementtooltocreateaspirationalbrandvalues alignedtothebusinessstrategyforemployees,potentialnewemployeesandmanagers,aimingto secureaconsistentperceptionofthecorporateidentityandvalueswhichisalignedtothevaluesthe brandinstilsinthemindsofthecustomers.AstudyoftwolargeDanishcompanies(Jensenetal., 2009)provideinsightsinhowcorporatebrandingisusedasamanagementphilosophytomanage relationswithmultiplestakeholders,mostimportantlyemployees.Ifacompanybrandsitselfas innovativetheemployeesneedtobothbeallowedandhelpedtoactinwayswhichmakesthem bringlifeintosuchratherabstractvalues. InternalBrandingChannels Tocreatestrongexternalbrandrelationshipinternalbrandcommunicationisessential.Lynchand Chernatony(2004)arguesforthreechannelsofinternalbranding; (1) Theculture,values,beliefsandnormssharedbythepeopleintheorganisation (2) Internalcommunicationmedia,i.e.allverbalandwritteninformationabouttheorganisation (3) Salesforcetraining 19

Corporatestrategy,organisationalcultureandthebrandsneedstobeintegratedandsupporteach otherordertobesuccessful.WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)suggestthatevaluationandrewards needstobaseduponthedesiredbehaviourwhichsupportthebrandstrategy.Suchtoolscanbeused tomanifestvaluesandnormsinorganisation;actionspeakslouderthanwords. Oneofthemostimportantpropertiesofbrandsisthecapabilitytoconnectwiththeemotionsof buyers(Boatwrightetal.,2009).Internalbrandcommunicationsshouldinternaliseemotionalbrand valuestoensuretheemployeesknowshowtodeliveruponbrandpromise.Thuswhen communicatingthebrandinternally,companieshavetoemphasisenotonlythetangibleaspectsof thebrand,butalsotheemotionssurroundingthecorporatebrand(LynchandChernatony,2004). Connectingwiththeemotionsofcustomersisespeciallyimportantforsalespeople;purchasing decisionsareofteninfluencedbytheemotionsconnectedtothecorporatebrand,andthe relationshipwiththecustomerisbaseduponbothrationalandemotionalbrandvalues.Inpractice thismeansaspecificfocusininternalbrandingtopromotetheaffectivebenefitsoftheproducts,and teachinge.g.howtoadaptingsalespresentationtotheaudiencebaseduponthecompositionand structureofthebuyingcentre(LynchandChernatony,2004). WhenDowCorninglaunchedtheirnewproductXiametertheyexposedthenewbrandinternally earlyintheprocesstoidentifyinternalbrandambassadorsatanearlystage.Duringtheformal internallaunchofthenewproductbrand,anetworkofseveralhundredbrandambassadorsfrom aroundtheworldwerethefirsttoreceivenewinformationconcerningthenewproductbrandand therevitalisedmasterbrand.Theroleoftheambassadorswastoconveythebrandessenceto employeesinordertoestablishboththenewproductbrandandtheoriginalmasterbrand.Armed withfrequentlyaskedquestionsandanswers,preparedpresentations,discussionguidesandother supportingmaterialstheymitigatedbrandconfusionamongtheir10,000employees(Rozinand Magnusson,2003).

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BrandingintheOnlineEnvironment
Theonlineenvironmentpresentsnewopportunitiesandchallengesforanybusinesses,butbranding onlinehasreceivedratherlimitedattention(VirtsonisandMarchHarridge,2009).Kotlerand Pfoerstch(2006,pp.140144)arguesfortheInternetasanarenawherecompaniescaninnovate, attractandinformnewpotentialcustomers.Onlinebrandingeffortsneedtobehandleddifferent fromtraditionalbrandingapproaches.Hereinitisalsomentionedsubtlethattheonlineenvironment canbeusedtodevelopandmaintaincustomerrelationships,albeittheissueisnotinvestigatedin depth.Thispartwillexploretheliteraturetoseeifacademicsperceivetheonlineenvironments positionwithinthebrandingtriangle,inordertoanswerRQIIIandRQIV. KotlerandPfoertscharguetwospecificadvantagesofferedbytheonlineenvironment;information andsimplicity.Withtheonlineworldoneisabletoinstantlydistributeandupdatetheinformation available,whereassimplicitymakesitpossibleforbusinesstransactionstotakeplaceanytime anywhere.Eachandeveryonlinevisitortoacompanyswebsiteisaonetooneinteractionwiththe brand,andshouldbetreatedaccordingly;insteadofpushingthesameinformationonallthevisitors, thewebsitecanbecustomisedtoeverysinglevisitor(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,p.142). OnlineEnvironmentasaCommunicationChannel WhenlookingattheonlineenvironmentKotlerandPfoertsch(2006)looksattheopportunitiesfora B2Bwebsitearecurringviewintheliterature(RozinandMagnusson,2003,Wood,2004,Virtsonis andMarchHarridge,2009).Awebsitecanbemeanstocommunicateyourbrandmessages,andnot onlyusingthewebsitetopresentacatalogue.DuetothenatureoftheB2Benvironment,often complexandcustomisedservicesorproducts,onlinepricecomparisonisdifficult.Theonline marketerdoeshoweverhavetheopportunitytoinfluencethecustomerbyimplementingthebrand andbrandmessagesthroughoutthewebsite(KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,VirtsonisandMarch Harridge,2009). WhilstVirtsonisandMarchHarridge(2009)recognisesthatvisualappealanddesignareimportant elementstosupportthebrandonthewebsite,aswellasthecontentanduserfriendliness,their articlewerehowevermoreconcernedwithonlinebrandpositioning,i.e.howtopromotethevalue propositiontodifferentiateitfromcompetitorsandelicitthedesiredperceptionofthebrandinthe mindsofthecustomers.IntheirstudyoftwoUKprintsuppliersdemonstrationofcredibilitywasone oftherepeatedfindingsthroughouttheiranalysis.Similaritiesincontent,vocabularyandother recurringthemesshowedacloserelationtothetraditionalPsofbasicmarketingmixtheory. DowCorningcreatedawebshopforsilicone,andthecasestudy(RozinandMagnusson,2003) specificmentionsthelookandfeeland,overallinformationarchitectureandintegrationofthe name,brandlineandlogoasimportantpartsoftheonlinebrandingprocess.Inlinewiththe researchofVirtsonisandMarchHarridge(2009)thecorporatebrandofDownCorningwasusedto instilcredibilitytotheproductbrand.Inaddition,abasicuserfriendlyinterfacewasperceivedtobe oneofthekeyelementsinordertobuildagreatcustomerbrandexperience.ThestudyofDow CorningalsoshowedhowtheIntranetwasusedtocommunicatethebrandinternally,usingthe newsfeedtopostbrandstories,audioandotherinformationtoincreasetheinternalawarenessof thebrand(RozinandMagnusson,2003).

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InteractiveElectronicMarketing Theeraofinteractiveelectronicmarketingpresentsnewopportunitiesformarketersandbrand managerstotargettheiraudience.KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.148)looksatblogsasanextension ofwordofmouthwhichwillgrowinimportance.Theyadvicecompanieswhowanttoengagein bloggingtoalreadybecomfortableinhavingclosetwowayrelationshipswiththeircustomers,but encouragemanagerstotakecorporatebloggingseriouslyasitsthefuturesmostimportantwayof spreadingbrandinfluence. Aconferencecommentary(Christodoulides,2008)fromtheThoughtLeadersInternational ConferenceonBrandManagementarguesthatpeoplesperceptionofbrandsareinfluencedmoreby opinionsontheweb,includingblogs,Wikipedia,YouTube,epinions.comandsoon,ratherthanthe traditionalonewaymarketingcommunicationsmaterialpushedatcustomers.Christodoulides (2008)furthergoesontoargueforvaluebeingcreatedinadialecticalprocess,whichresultsinthe needforbrandstoengageinopenconversationwithpeople. Thisviewissupportedbyanotheropinionbasedpaper(Mitchell,2001)whichclaimsthatthenew challengesoftheonlineenvironmentrunsfardeeperthanmostbrandmanagershavecometo accept.Marketerslookatbrandingassomethingdonetothecustomers,whilsttheInternet presentsopportunitiesforinteractivity.Customersarenowabletodothemarketingthemselvesby usingtheInternettofindandcomparesuppliers.Insteadofcompaniesmarketingwhattheycan offer,customersmarketswhattheyneed.Lookingatmarketingfromabuyercentricperspectiveby providingbuyercentricinformationonewouldbeableleveragefromthenewopportunities interactiveelectronicmarketingpresents.Duetotheincreasingamountofinformationavailable,the scarceresourceforcustomersistime.Ratherthangrabbingandusingattention,marketersshould focusonprovidingcustomersreturnonattention.Byengagingcustomerswiththeviewof connectingwiththem,companieswouldbeabletobuildpowerfulbrandswiththecustomers,rather thantryingtoinstilbrandassociationsinthemindsofthem(Mitchell,2001).Inotherwords;building relationships.BuildingrelationshipsisinlinewiththethoughtsofLynchandChernatony(2004). Goodbrandingpracticeisnottoonlydeliveruponthevaluepropositionbothalsounderstandingand communicatingwiththemostimportantstakeholders,whichinturnisessentialfordevelopmentof strongandmeaningfulrelationships. AParadigmShift? Theliteraturefoundintheliteraturereviewwhichlooksuponbrandinginthenewelectronicerais twothoughtprovokingarticlespredictingaparadigmshift.TheargumentsofbothMitchell(2001) andChristodoulides(2008)buildsontheperceptionthatthenewopportunitiesoftheinformation disruptsthebasicsofmarketing.Intheconferencecommentary(Christodoulides,2008)afterthe 2007LeadersInternationalConferenceonBrandManagementtheauthorchallengesacademicsand practionerstorethinkthebasicsofbrandinginordertobecomethenextrisingstar. Mitchell(2001)arguesthetraditionalindustrialagemarketingmodelofstimulusresponseisgetting outdatedbytheeraofinformationtechnology,rapidlymovingtowardsanewmodelofsenseand respondenhancedbythenewopportunitiesoftwowaycommunication.Christodoulides(2008) bringstheargumentfurther;technologymakesitpossibletointeractwithcompaniesand communitiesonapersonallevel,ratherthanbroadcastingimpersonalmassmessages.Itispossible forthecompanytospeakdirectlytoitscustomers. 22

Industrialagemarketingwasinventedduetheproducersneedofinformationduetothelackof twowaycommunicationwithcustomers.Brandswereusedasasurrogatetoconveyapersonality, whilstadvertisementswereusedtoimitatedialogue.Marketresearchwasconductedinorderto replacethelearningwhichtakesplaceinadialogue.Theinformationeraoftodayprovidesimmense amountsofnewopportunitieswhereasenseandrespondapproachisnatural(Mitchell,2001). Christodoulides(2008)buildshisargumentsonthefactthatmarketersdoesnolongermaintainfull controloftheirbrandassocialnetworksandcommunitiesareheavilyinfluencingnotonlyconsumers individualbrandchoice,butalsocompanydecisions.Dialogueandlearningaretwoimportant principlesaswemoveintotheageofcocreation.TheimplicationsChristodoulidespointstofor brandaretoengageinopenconversionwithrealpeople,andtoconnectwiththeaudienceinorder toalignthemarketingwithcustomersneeds,ratherthanonlyinfluencingpeopleandcompaniesto buytheirproducts.Insteadofhavinganemphasisonmarketcommunications,thenewagebrand movestoafocusonrelationships. WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)pointedoutthatindustrialbuyingandmarketingthelastdecadehas evolvedtowardsrelationshipmanagement,wherethefocushasshiftedfromatransactional perspectivetoalongtermrelationshipview,withanorientationofcooperationinordertocreate winwinsituations.Valuessuchastrustworthiness,reliabilityandcredibilitywillhaveasignificant impactforbrandinginmarketswherelongtermrelationshipsareofimportance.Inlineofthesame thoughts,Christodoulides(2008)pointstoVargoandLusch(2004)whoarguesthatmarketing practiceismovingtowardsaservicedominantlogicwheredialogueandlearningareessentialinthe valueaddingprocesswhichenhancescustomerexperience,whichinturnleadstoachangeinthe waymarketerslookatbrandingandsupportsthefocusofrelationships. Mitchellsmainmessageisthatratherthankeepingaviewonmarketingandbrandingfroma marketersperspective,thebuyershouldbeinthecentre.Increasingmarketingcostsareasignificant portionofthetotalcost.Inaddition,thevastamountoftotaladvertisementsmakesthemarketing lessefficient.Theresults,Mitchellclaims,isaloselosegamethecustomersarenotwillingtoaccept. Byusinginformationtechnologycustomersthemselvescandothemarketingbysearchingoutwhich productstheywantfromwhichproducers.Ifproducersacknowledgethisandengagecustomersin ordertobuildrelationships,thenewerawillprovideopportunitiestobuildbrandswithcustomers ratherthanforcingassociationsuponthem,bycapitalisingontheinformationprovidedbythe customersaboutthecustomers.Givingthecustomersopportunitiestosayhereweare,thisiswhat wewantallowsformasscustomisationratherthanmassproduction.Mitchell(2001)nor Christodoulides(2008)providessolutionstothechallenge,butMitchellendshisthoughtprovoking articlebyusingthehistorytodescribethebenefitsofsolvingthisprofoundpuzzle. CompanieslikeP&G,Unilever,CocaCola,FordandGeneralMotorsdidnotgettowhere theyaretodaybecausetheydidmarketingandbrandmanagementbetterthananybodyelse, theydidnotjustapplytherules.Theywrotetherules,theyinventedmarketingandbrand managementasweknowitandtheywerepioneers.Likewise,tomorrowsmarketingicons willbethosewhorecogniseandembracethefull,excitingimplicationsofelectronic interactivity.Theywillreinventmarketingandbrandmanagementasabuyercentricactivity (Mitchell,2001).

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Discussion
Thischapterwilldiscusstheempiricalfindingsinordertoprovideanswerstotheresearchquestions. DiscussionsofRQIandRQIIarecomplementarytotheempiricalfindingsonbrandinginanonline environment,andestablishafoundationtoanswerRQIIIandRQIVwhicharethemostsignificant researchquestionsofthestudy.Themainaimistolookatthebigpictureinordertoexplorethe currentstateofthefieldB2Bbrandingandtheonlineenvironment.

Towhatextentdoacademicsagreeonhowtoapproachbrandingstrategies?
Inordertorevealopportunitiesforsocialmediawithinbranding,ananalysisofbrandingstrategiesis ofimportance.RQItakesapointofdeparturefromtheviewofthecompanyinthebranding triangle,lookingathowcompaniesstrategicallyusebrandingstrategies.Empiricalfindingsfromthis studyprovidefiveperspectivesonB2Bbranding(Rooney,1995,RozinandMagnusson,2003, WebsterJr.andKeller,2004,KotlerandPfoertsch,2006,Boatwrightetal.,2009).Itishowever importanttonotethattheyareeitherqualitativecasestudiesorconceptualwork,whichprobablyis relatedtothenoveltyofthefield. Thereisgreatvarietybetweentheidentifiedperspectivesintheliterature,bothincontentandform. Rooney(1995)presentsaliteraturereviewwithrecommendationsonhowtopursuebranding, WebsterJr.andKeller(2004)outlinestenguidelinesonhowtosuccessfullyimplementanindustrial brand,RozinandMagnusson(2003)presentsacasestudyofthelaunchofanewglobalB2Bbrand demonstratingbyexampleinadditiontousingafewframeworksforspecificareas(e.g.fourpillarsof brandequity),Boatwrightetal.(2009)presentsahandsonstepbystepframeworkonhowto developanewbrand,whilsttheselectedperspectivefromKotlerandPfoertsch(2006)presents processviewofthemanagementchallenges.Thedifferentauthorsemphasisondifferentaspects concerningbrandingstrategymadeitdifficulttocomparetheperspectives,buttheytoacertain degreecomplementoneanother;e.g.usingKotlerandPfoertschframeworkastheoverallview, incorporatingWebsterJr.andKellersguidelines,andaddingthetoolsofBoatwrightetal.inthe processes.Astudycanbedoneinordertosynthesisedifferentperspectivesintoonecomprehensive, howeverincludingallavailableB2Bbrandliteratureonthistopic.Apartfromdifferentprocesses,no majordisagreementswereidentifiedinrelationtoembracingbrandingstrategies.Thereare howeverseveralcongruentviewsonimportanttopics. AlignmentBetweenBrandandBusinessStrategy TheonlyauthorswhoexplicitlytakesaholisticperspectiveareKotlerandPfoertsch(2006),buta moreorlessholisticviewisrecurringintheliterature.KotlerandPfoertscharebothmarketing academicswherethetermstemsfromwhichcanexplaintheuseoftheterm.OnlyRooney(1995) focusesexclusivelyonstrategyandtheexternalmarketcommunications.Thisshortcomingis probablyduetoRooneyconductinghisresearchearlybeforethetopicofB2Bbrandingalmost beforeitreceivedanyattention. Brandingismostdefinitelyanissueforthetopmanagement.Failingtohavecompletebackingand supportforthebrandmakesitimpossibletosuccessfullyimplementthebrandthroughoutthe organisation.Acommondenominatorbetweenallstudiesistheemphasisonhavingabrandstrategy alignedtoabusinessstrategy.Brandsareviewedasadifferentiatorinordertoincreasecompetitive advantage,butthebrandpromisemustbecompatiblewiththemarketoffering.Ifthecompany cannotdeliveronitsbrandpromise,thebrandwillhavenovalueandnotelicitpositiveassociations 24

inthemindsofthecustomers.Failingtodeliveronthebrandpromisewillonlydecreasethestature ofthebrand. Inordertocreatealignmentbothintermsoftheproductsand/orservicesdeliveredtheimportance ofinternalcommunicationofthebrandisemphasised.Allperspectives,excepttheonefromRooney (1995),embracesinternalmarketing;itisimportanttocommunicatethebrandinternallysotomake theemployeesawareandconsciousondeliveringuponthevalueproposition.Ifonedoesnot educateemployeesonthevaluesofthebrand,theycannotknowhowtodeliveruponthebrand promise.RQIIwillconsiderthisissuemoreindepth. CraftingtheBrandIdentity Theliteraturegivesascatteredviewonthehowtocraftthebrandidentity.Boatwrightetal.(2009) doeslookatthisprocessasacreativeonebutbyusingaanalyticalprocesstheydivideandconquer theproblem.Themainlimitationoftheirmethodisthatitiswrittenmainlyforproducts,andhowto makeproductsbetterandmoreattractiveforthecustomersalignedwithvaluesidentifiedinthe analyticalprocess.Furtherresearchhastobeconductedinordertoaccommodateitdirectlytoa corporatebrand,buttheVOAseemslikeaviabletooltoengageincraftingthebrandanalytical ratherthanbrainstormingtofacilitatecreativitytocomeupwiththegreatidea. Otherauthors(RozinandMagnusson,2003)viewcraftingthebrandasacreativeactivityand highlightstheneedforcompaniestoincludebrandingprofessionalsinthebrandingprocess.Onehas tobearinmindthefactthatLizMagnussonisaseniordirectorwithinaglobalbrandingconsultancy anddesignfirm.KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)doesembedthecraftingofthebrandidentitywithin theplanning,analysisandstrategyphase,describedinabstractconceptsinafashionwhichmaybe hardforbrandmanagerstograsp. ImplementationintheExternalMarketingDimension Boatwrightetal.(2009)strivesandgivesgroundforconsistencythroughouttheprocess,from identifyingthevaluesdiscoveredintheanalysisphasetilltheimplementationprocess.Thevaluesof thebrandidentityareatthecoreofeverything,manifestedinabrandmapguide.Allauthorsstress theimportanceofconsistency;thebrandneedstobeconsistentboththroughthebusinessstrategy, employees,marketcommunicationmixandthelikesinorderforthebrandtohaveanimpact. Fundamentalmarketingprinciples,i.e.segmentationandpositioning,areotherelementsrecurring throughouttheliterature.Thesefundamentalprinciplesalsoincludetheneedforconsistencyboth acrossadvertisements,marketingmaterialandinternallywithintheorganisation.Kotlerand Pfoertsch(2006)arguesforusingbrandsasapowerfulcommunicationtool,whichshouldbe leveragedinthemarketingmixbothtoguideandinformthecustomeronwhatthecompanystands for,inadditiontoelicitingpositiveemotionstowardsthebrand.ToachievethebesteffectWebster Jr.andKeller(2006)recommendsbuildingbrandcommunicationsaroundtheinteractiveeffectsof multiplemediawherethemarketingitemsreinforceoneanother.Despitebeingpublishedin2006 theyfailtoevenmentiontheopportunitiesofboththeInternetandevenemail.

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Summary BrandingforB2Bshouldbealignedtowardsandreinforcethebusinessstrategy,whichdemands supportfromthetopmanagement.Brandingcannotbeimplementedsolelybyamarketing manager,butneedstoincludetheentireorganisation.Craftingthebrandidentityisnotatrivial process,andthediversityfoundintheliteratureshowsthatdifferentapproachesareneededin differentsituations.Whenimplementingabrandstrategythecompanyshouldstriveforconsistency throughouteverypartoftheorganisation,fromthetopmanagertoproductdevelopersandservice personnel,fromthebrandnametoallmarketcommunications.Theinteractiveeffectsofconsistent brandinginmultiplemedia,alongwithallcustomertouchpointsareimportanttoachievethe desiredimpactfromabrandingstrategy.

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Howdoesinternalmarketingreinforcethebrandstrategy?
Thenewopportunitieswithintheonlineenvironmentandthenewsocialmediafacilitatedialogue betweenacompanyanditscustomers.Intermsofthebrandingtrianglethisisillustratedwithinthe interactivitydimension,whichisinfluencedbytheinternalmarketingdimension.RQIItriestoshed lightonhowthebrandstrategyisreinforcedintheinteractivitydimensionbyinternalmarketing. Communicationfromemployeestowardscustomersisfrequentinindustrialmarkets,often dominatedbylongtermrelationshipsratherthantransactions.Longtermrelationshipsrequiremore orlessfrequentinteractionswiththecustomer,e.g.inrelationtocooperativedevelopment, supportandservice.Alloftheseinteractionsareperformedbytheemployees;iftheemployeesare notalignedwiththevaluepropositionofthebrand,itbecomesdifficulttofulfilthebrandpromise.A brandpossessesalotofbothtangibleandintangibleinformationthusitisimportantthatemployees understandandappreciatesthesevalues,andmaybemostimportantlytheemotionsabrandelicits amongitscustomers. Theliterature(LynchandChernatony,2004)identifiedthesalespersonsroleinbrandingasimportant comingtotheemotionalaspectwiththebrand.Thesalespersonhastoknowwhichvaluesand emotionsthecustomerappreciatesinordertodeliberatelycapitaliseontheemotionsthebrand elicits.Duetothecomplexpurchasingprocesscharacterisedbyindustrialbuyers,aswellasthe complexityofthebuyingcentre,differentcompositionsofwherethepowerislocatedcomplicates thisevenfurther.Thesalespersonneedstobeeducatedinwhatemotionsthebrandelicitsforwhich buyersandhowitaffectsdifferentrolesinthebuyingcentre,inordertobetterleveragefromthe brandequitywheninteractingwiththecustomers.Evenifthesalespersonsellsthefirstproject and/orproduct,theemployeesneedtocontinuedeliveringuponthebrandpromiseeitherthrough productdevelopment,serviceorincollaborationwiththecustomerinordertosellinthenext projectwhicharguablymeansalsootheremployeesthanthesalespersonshouldbeeducatedinthe emotionalbrandvaluesaswellinorderfortheemployeestodemonstratebrandvaluesbyaction. Alignmentincreasestheconsistencyofemployees,whichisvitaliftheemployeesaretoengagein onlinediscussionswithinthesocialmediasphere;wrongdoingscanhurtthereputation tremendously. ThecasestudyofDowCorning(RozinandMagnusson,2003)demonstratedhowbrandambassadors wereutilisedinalargeglobalcompanytoeducate,informandexcitecoworkersonthebrand. Whilstitholdstrueforemployees,creatingbrandambassadorsatotherclosepartnersoutsidethe companysuchasdistributorsandagentscanfurtherenhancetheinteractivitydimensionofthe brandingtriangle.Exceptfromthisstudy,nootherarticlesintheliteraturereviewedinvestigatedor mentionedbrandambassadors.Recruitingbrandambassadorsleveragesofwordofmouthwhich areoneofthemostpowerfulinfluencesonthecustomersperceptionofthebrand.Ifthebrand elicitspositiveemotionsondistributorsandagents,itwouldseemcertainthatitwouldpositively influencesales. Tosummarise,internalmarketingdoesreinforcethebrandingstrategybyaligningtheemployeesto actanddeliveruponthebrandpromise.Educatingemployeesontheemotionalvaluesthebrand elicitcouldeaseespeciallythesalespersonsworktaskswhensellingthemarketoffering,andboth internalandexternalbrandambassadorscouldprovevaluabletoleveragethewordofmoutheffect. 27

Howdoestheonlineenvironmentaffecttheexternaldimensionofthebranding triangle?
ThemainemphasisofthisstudyistheimpacttheinformationtechnologyandtheInternetin particular,willhaveonB2Bbranding.TheInternethassinceitsinceptioninthe90sexplodedin growthrate,andtheimpactonbusinesseshasbeentremendous.Sincetheburstofthedotcom bubblethetechnologyhasslowlymaturedandcompaniesareadaptingtothenewwaysoftheweb. ThissectionwillanswerRQIIIwhichtriestopositiontheonlineenvironmentwithintheexternal dimensionofthebrandingtriangle. Anothertoolinthemarketingmix? ThesmallpartoftheliteraturereviewedrelevanttoonlineB2Bbrandingapproachesconcentrates onissuesregardingthecorporatewebsite,andpositionsonlinebrandingasatoolinthemarketing mix.VirtsonisandMarchHarridge(2009)followsthethoughtsofKotlerandPfoertsch(2006)when arguingtonotonlyusethewebsiteasacataloguebutratherfocusingonhowthewebsitecanhelp promotethevaluepropositiontodifferentiatethecompanyfromitscompetitors.Thenatureand complexityofindustrialpurchasingmakesitdifficulttocomparepricesonlineatease,thusawebsite whichelicitspositivebrandemotionscanprovidesignificantcompetitiveadvantage. Awebsiteisanimportanttouchpointforcustomerwherebothcontentandpresentationarevital. Oftenwebsitesarecustomersfirstinteractionwithacompany,thusafirstimpressionwhichelicits certainemotionsofthebrandcansparklefurtherinterest.Apoorfirstimpressioncoulddothe opposite.Thepresentationhastopromoterelevantcontentratherthandrowningitwithfancyvisual effects,andthepowerofthewebhastobeutilisedwithapurpose.Alotofwebsitesontheweb todayarepoorlydesignedintermsofbothusabilityanddesignwhichcoulddevaluatethestatureof thebrand. RozinandMagnusson(2003)usestheInternettopromotethenewglobalbrandfromDowCorning, wherethewebsiteisanintegralpartofboththebusinessstrategyandmarketingcommunications. Theauthorstressestheimportanceofalignmentbetweenthewebsiteandthebrand;thesame visualprofileusedinothermarketcommunicationsshouldbeemphasisedinordertopresenta consistentbrandimpression.Inlinewiththestrategyframeworksmentionedearlier,brandinginthe onlineenvironmentshouldstrivefortheconsistencyandalignmenttowardsbrandandbusiness strategyinordertoachievedesiredgoals,andultimatelysupportthebrandvalueproposition. OnlineBrandingisDifferent EventhoughWebsterJr.andKeller(2004)failstoappreciatetheInternetasacommunication channel,theirargumentonthebrandcommunicationsisthatmultiplemediareinforceoneanother. Thesameargumentholdstrueforcorporatewebsites,becauseawebsitehasthecapabilityto providetheuserwithdetailedinformationwhichthevisitorhasprofoundinterestin.Forinstance usingthewebsiteURLinadvertisementsdoescreateawarenessofthewebsiteandmayleadto customersinterestedinthecompanylookingupthewebsiteinordertostudythemarketofferings andinformationavailable. KotlerandPfoertsch(2006,p.140)dedicatesasectionoftheirbooktobrandingonlineandarguesto treatbrandingonlinedifferentfromtraditionalapproaches,whereastheInternetprovides informationandsimplicityasthetwomainadvantages.Whilsttheymerelytouchuponthe 28

opportunitiesforinteraction,theyfailinidentifyingotheraspectsthanwebsitesandblogs.Webster Jr.andKeller(2004)arguesthatcommunicationfosterstrust,thustheinteractivityavailableonline canfacilitatecommunicationandconsequentlytrust.Whenenteringthedimensionofonline interactivity,KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)deliversawarning;oneneedstobecomfortablewithtwo wayrelationsinordertoengageintheinteractivesphereoftheInternet. MissingAspectsoftheOnlineEnvironment AcallforpaperstoaspecialissueofJournalofBrandManagementemphasisesthelimitedresearch conductedonthetopicofbrandingintheonlineenvironment,andatthesametimethegrowing interest(iamot.org,2009).ThereisnodoubtthatB2Bbrandingonlinehasreceivedfartoolimited attentioncomparedtoitsimportance. Severalimportantaspectsoftheonlineenvironmentarenottoucheduponatallintheliterature reviewed,forexampleusingblogstoestablishthoughtleadershipinalineofbusiness,usingsocial mediarelatedsiteslikeFacebookorYouTubetocreateawarenessanddialoguewithcustomers, usingLinkedIntopromotethecompanytowardspotentialemployeesandnursingthenetworkof fellowprofessionals,orestablishingcommunitiesforprofessionals.Noristheaspectofmultimedia contentlikevideo,soundandotherinteractivegraphicalelementsmentioned. Themaindifferenceoftheonlineenvironmentcomparedtoothermarketingcommunications,is thattheonlineenvironmentenablesconversations,notonlybetweenthecompanyandits customersbutalsobetweencustomersandcustomers.BrandslivetheirownlivesontheInternet wherepeoplecansharetheirexperienceswithdifferentcompaniesanddifferentbrands,andwhileit ispossibletomonitorwhatisbeingsaidaboutthebrandonline,itisimpossibletocontrolthese opinions.Evensothecompanieshaveopportunitiestoengageindiscussionsconcerningthebrand, communicatingwiththeusersandbuildingrelationships. Summary Duetothelimitedamountofliteratureavailableonthesubjectinthetworeviewedjournals,itis difficulttodrawanydefiniteconclusionsconcerninghowtheexternaldimensionofthebranding triangleisaffectedbytheonlineenvironment.Theliteraturerevieweddoeshoweverinpartposition onlinebrandingonawebsiteinthetoolboxforthemarketingmix,whereitshouldstriveforthe sameconsistencyandalignmenttowardsbrandandbusinessstrategyasothermarketingelements. Thisstudyhasfurtheridentifiedseverelylimitationsoftheliteratureavailableonlinebranding, especiallyinregardstointeractivityandsocialmedia.

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WhatimpactwillsocialmediahaveonB2Bbranding?
Socialmediahasexpandedbothintermsoftechnologyanduserbase.Thephenomenonand importanceofsocialmediahasgrownrapidlytherecentyears.AstudydonebyHerder(2009), where438randomlyselectedmanagement,marketingandhumanresourceexecutiveswithin companiesacrosstheUS,showsthat82%ofAmericanmanagersusesocialmediaforbranding.On theperceivedvalueofsocialmedia81%answeredtheyfeltsocialmediawouldenhance relationshipswithcustomers,and81%,alsofeltsocialmediawouldassistinbuildingthecompanys brand. TheimplicationsforbusinessesoperatinginB2Bmarketsarehoweverunderresearched.Exceptfor afewnotablementionsaboutinteractivityontheInternetnostudiesintheliteraturereviewed investigatedsocialmedia.RQIVtriestoforeseehowsocialmediamayimpactB2Bbranding. NewAgeBranding? Theliteraturereviewrevealedhowevertwothoughtprovokingopinionbasedconceptualpapers (Mitchell,2001,Christodoulides,2008)whichdiscussedtheimplicationsoftheonlineenvironment. Theauthorsmainmessagewastochallengemarketerstorethinkthebasicsofbranding.The informationtechnologyenablesmanytomanycommunicationinawaywhichcreatessignificant opportunities,challengesandthreatstobrandmanagers.Thecurrentindustrialagebrandingwas focusedonthesellercommunicatinghereweare,thisiswhatwehavetooffer,whilstthe forthcomingeraofnewagebrandingkeepsthecustomersatthecentreproclaiminghereweare, thisiswhatwewant.Ratherthanpushingmarketingmessagesonthepublic,oneshouldengagein openconversationswiththecustomerstobuildrelationships,understandthecustomersand customisetheofferingstowardswhatthecustomerswants.Ratherthanbuildingthebrandforthe customer,thebrandisbuiltwiththecustomer.Acommunicationmodelofsenseandrespondrather thanstimulusresponseisproposed.Iftheirthoughtsprovecorrectitdisruptstheverybasicsof marketingandbranding. Thoughtprovokingarticlescanbemeanstoelicitexcitementandinterestforotheracademicsto pursueresearchinthesocialmediaandotheropportunitiescreatedbytheInternet.Whilstthe authorpredictsaparadigmshift,thealterationtowardsbuyercentricitymighthappenatamore incrementalrate.Howbrandandmarketingprofessionalshandlethesenewchallengesand opportunitieswillbeinterestingtopursue. EnterSocialMedia Toolsintheonlineenvironmentlowerthethresholdforinteractionbetweenacompanyandits customersonaninformalbasis;socialmediaisatoolwhichsupportsandfacilitatesrelationships.It requireslittleknowledgeandnoinvestmentstostartparticipatinginsocialmedia,whichmaybewhy ithasgrowntremendouslyrecently.InordertojoinasocialnetworksuchasTwitterorFacebookall ittakesisacoupleofminutesbeforethecompanyisabletoengageinongoingdiscussions,create awarenessandbuildrelationships. Usingsocialmediathethresholdtoengageinconversationswithcompetitors,fellowprofessionals andcustomersareloweredsignificantly.Peoplefromcompaniesinterestedindoingbusinesswitha companycanusethelowthresholdsocialmediacommunicationchanneltoattainmoreinformation thanwhatisavailableonthewebsiteorinbrochures.Peopleinthebuyingcentrealreadyfavouringa 30

particularbrandcanengagethecompanywithquestionsinordertofurtherstrengthentheirviewin discussionswithinthebuyingcentre. Manylargecompaniesareusingcorporateblogstoestablishthemselvesasthoughtleaders;Adobes ChiefSoftwareArchitectKevinLynch,SunMicrosystemsCEOJonatanSchwartz,NovellsCMOJohn Dragoon,BoeingsCMORandyLerner,thebasketballteamDallasMavericsownerMarkCubanand manyotherexamplescanbefound.Thesepopularblogscreateinterestandsparkdebates,gathering professionalsandenhancingthebrand.Theydictateimportanttopicsintheirniche,muchasnews reportingmediadictatestheimportantdiscussionswithinademocraticsociety. BrandStrategyandSocialMedia SocialmediaspecialistssuchasGregRobison(2009)advocatesstronglyagainstpushingdirectsales messagesthroughsocialmedia,butratherusingittocreateahumanfaceforthebusinessand engaginginconversations.Connectingwiththecustomersthroughsocialmediamaynotbethe responsibilityofamarketer;issueslikeprovidingthoughtleadinginsight,performingcustomer serviceoransweringtechnicalprofoundquestionsmaybeoutsidethescopeofthemarketer.Online brandingshouldnotbeapproachedastraditionalmarketcommunications,asKotlerandPfoertsch (2006)argued.Whilsttraditionalmarketcommunicationisaonewaystreet,socialmediaisafour lanehighway.Amarketingprofessionalstaskwouldmightorganisingandmanagingtheoverall strategy,ratherthanactuallyengaginginallaspectsofthediscussions. Eventhoughitisatrivialtasktoengageinsocialmedia,itisfarmoreresourcedemandingto establishapresence,createinterestingcontent,participateinthediscussions,andmonitoring, maintainandmanagingthepresence. ThisputsusbacktotherootsofRQI;justasbrandingshouldbeseenasmeanstostrengthen businessstrategy,asocialmediastrategyshouldbealignedtowardsbrandingandbusinessstrategy. Brandingandsocialmedianeedsstrengthenandreinforceoneanotherinordertofulfilthesuperior businessstrategyinordertocreatecompetitiveadvantage.KotlerandPfoertsch(2006)arguesfora sixphaseapproachtobrandmanagement;planning,analysis,strategy,brandbuildingandaudit.A similarmodelforapproachingsocialmediacouldalsobeviable,bycarefullyinvestigatingsocial mediainordertocapitaliseontheopportunities.Eventhoughthethresholdforparticipatingin socialmediaislow,jumpingonthesocialmediawagonwithoutacarefullyplannedstrategyand missionmayjustbewastedresources.Theauditphasecouldbeofsignificantimportancetosee whatworkswhenexperimentingintheonlineworld.Eventhoughsocialmediacreatesopportunities therearealsoofcoursefallacies.Socialmediaamplifiesthepowerofoneliftingstoriestobig mediums.Thenatureofsocialmediadoeshoweverengageinopendiscussionsonapersonallevel, thusanymisstepmaybeexaggeratedandreceiveunwantedattention. Asrevealedearlier,B2Bbrandingacademicsargueforalignmenttowardsthebrandandbusiness strategyandconsistencythroughoutthebrandingprocess.Theseverysameargumentscouldbe extendedtosocialmedia.Ifemployeesareabouttoengageinsocialmedia,itisalsovitalthatthe internalmarketinghasbeencarriedoutthoroughlyinorderfortheemployeestofurtherenhance thebrandwhenusingsocialmedia.Afterallsocialmediaisallaboutopenconversations.

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EffectsOntheBrandingTriangle Socialmediaincreasesobviouslythecommunicationinteractivedimensionofthebrandingtriangle, byenablinginformal,lowthresholdcommunicationchannelsbetweenemployeesandcustomers. Theinternalmarketingdimensionisalsoaffectedasemployeesneedtounderstandthebrandand businessstrategyinordertodeliveruponthebrandvalueproposition.Havingapresencewithin socialmediaalsoimplicatestheneedforawebsitewhichsupportsthesocialmediaactivity.In conclusion,alldimensionsofthebrandingtriangleareaffectedbysocialmedia. Summary Socialmediahasseenrapidgrowth,andmanagersperceivesocialmediaastoolsforcreatingand maintainingrelationshipsaswellasbuildingtheirbrand.Someauthorsarguedthatthenew opportunitiescreatedbytheonlineenvironmentwoulddisruptthebasicsofmarketing,butitcould alsobeseenasanattempttoincreasethefocusonanew,growingandimportantareaofbranding andmarketcommunications.Socialmediafacilitatescommunicationandbuildingrelationships,and actsasalowthresholdchanneltocommunicatewithcustomers.Whilemanysocialmediumsare easytoengage,itisresourcedemandingtoestablishandmaintainpresence.Todefendinvestments onbrandinginsocialmediaitneedstobeameantostrengthenthebrandandbusinessstrategy.As mentionedinearlierchapters,brandingandsocialmedianeedsbeconsistentwithafocuson strengtheningandreinforcingoneanotherinordertofulfilthesuperiorbusinessstrategywhich ultimatelycreatescompetitiveadvantage.Theeffectsofsocialmediacanbeperceivedinallaspects ofthebrandingtriangle.

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Limitations
Thereareseverallimitationstothisstudy.Inliteraturereviewstherewillalwaysbesomedistanceto theunitofanalysis,whichmightleadtomisinterpretationoftheresults.Theauthorhashowever triedtobeasobjectiveandcorrectinhisinterpretationsoftheliteraturereviewed. AnotherlimitationisthatthereviewdoesnotcovertheentireliteratureavailableonthetopicofB2B brandingnorsocialmedia,thusmakingithardertoconcludeaboutthecoverageofthetopics discussed.Thisstudyhashowevertriedtolookatthebigpicture,especiallyoutliningtheconnection betweentheB2Bbrandandsocialmedia. Brandstrategyandsocialmediahasinthisstudybeenthemainunitofanalysis,butatthesametime thereviewedliteraturehavenotbeenoccupiedwithinvestigatingtheonlinesphere.Additional researchwithinotherareasofe.g.onlinemarketingcouldprovideabetterunderstandingofthe issuesdiscussedinthisreview.

ImplicationsforTheoryandFurtherResearch
Therecanbedrawnacoupleofimplicationsfortheory;B2Bbrandstrategiesshouldbealigned towardsandreinforcetheoverallbusinessstrategy,whilststrivingforconsistencythroughoutevery customertouchpointinordertoachieveinteractiveeffectsfrombrandinginmultiplemediums.In additioninternalmarketingshouldbealignedtowardsbothbrandandbusinessstrategy,inorderto maketheemployeesabletodeliveruponthebrandpromise. BrandinginB2Benvironmentsisarelativelynewfieldofresearch,andthedifferentframeworks identifiedcouldtosomeextentcomplementoneanother.Athoroughstudyofbrandstrategy frameworkscouldbecarriedthroughinordertosynthesistheresearchintoonecomprehensive frameworkwhileatthesametimesquintingtowardsapplicationsandintegrationofsocialmedia. SocialmediaandB2Bbrandinghasreceivedevenmorelimitedattentionamongacademics,butthe technologyenablingthephenomenonofsocialmediahasjustintherecentyearsseenmassive growth.Marketingprofessionalsarestilltryingtofindgoodpracticemethodsinordertoreapthe benefitsofthenewopportunitiesintheonlinesphere,andtheacademicsarelaggingfurtherbehind. ThediscussionofB2BbrandinginsocialmediaishowevercurrentlyongoingontheInternet;there arevastamountofblogs,articles,quasiresearch,argumentsanddiscussionsonthetopicofB2B branding,wheremarketingprofessionalsprovidesguidelinesandtriestointegratetheuseofsocial mediawithintheircurrentcommunicationchannels. FurtherresearchonbrandingintheB2Bsocialmediadimensionshouldbeconductedinorderto collect,synthesiseandanalysethevastamountofcontentavailable,toprovideathorough conceptualframeworkforB2Bbrandinginsocialmedia.CasestudiesofsuccessfulB2Bcompanies whohaveexcelledthroughsocialmediacouldalsobeinvestigatedinordertoprovidefurther insights.

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Conclusions
B2Bbrandstrategiesshouldbealignedtowardsandreinforcetheoverallbusinessstrategy,whilst strivingforconsistencythroughouteverycustomertouchpointinordertoachieveinteractiveeffects frombrandinginmultiplemediums.Severalmodelswereproposed,andtheycouldtoalargeextent complementoneanother.Athoroughframeworkmaybesynthesisedfromanotherliteratureonthe topic. Internalmarketingreinforcesbothbrandandbusinessstrategybyenablingtheemployeesableto deliveruponthebrandpromise.Communicationsusedwithininternalmarketingshouldbealigned towardsbothbrandandbusinessstrategy,inordertoaligntheemployees.Inordertosucceedwith abrandingstrategy,internalmarketingisessential. SeveralgapsintheliteratureofB2Bbrandingintheonlineenvironment,especiallyinregardsto onlineinteractivity,wereidentified.Thecurrentliteraturedidonlyappreciatethecorporatewebsite intheexternaldimensionofthebrandingtriangle,albeittherearestrongindicationsthatthe developmentintheonlineenvironmentcouldhaveanimpact;socialmediaisgrowing,andthe natureofthesenewtoolswouldarguablyincreaseactivityacrossalldimensionsofthebranding triangle. FurtherresearchonB2Bbrandingandsocialmediashouldbeconductedinordertocollect, synthesiseandanalysethevastamountofnonacademiccontentavailable,toprovideathorough conceptualframeworkforB2Bbrandinginsocialmedia. ImplicationsforManagers Managersimplementingbrandingstrategiesneedstomakesurethebrandandbusinessstrategy reinforcesoneanother.Thebrandshouldalsobeconsistentineverycustomertouchpoint.Inorder tosecureconsistency,bothtangibleandintangibleaspectsofthebrandsshouldbecommunicated andeducatedinternally.Theemployeesareultimatelythosewhohavetofulfilthebrandpromise. Asthesocialmediasphereisgrowing,managersareadvisedataminimumtomonitorwhatpeople writeabouttheirownandcompetitorsbrandontheInternet.Itcouldalsoprovevaluabletokeepan eyeonhowcompetitorsandtheindustryingeneraldeveloponline,asitwouldgivemanagers indicationsofwhethertheyalsoshouldembracethebrandingintheonlinesphere.

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