In the late 1990’s I had the opportunity to chair the first conference focused on internal brand building. Almost a decade later this concept remains in its infancy for much of the business world. I’m reminded of this when I hear something similar to the following from marketing executives:
"The trouble with marketing theorists, with all their triangles and flow charts, is not that they are wrong. They just make sense of what good marketing does instinctively but after the fact. It is instinctive marketing – marketing which is based on your beliefs and your values – that makes the biggest impact. The impression that the ‘after-the-fact marketing science’ gives us is that in fact these things are unimportant, but at the end of...
I recently had the opportunity to present and lead a panel discussion at The Conference Board’s ‘Extending Your Brand to Employees Conference’ in Chicago, IL.
Companies, products, universities, museums, municipalities and individuals brand themselves. Why not nations? After all, they have more at stake then almost any other entity – tourism, exports, foreign direct investment, industry formation/focus, immigration, satisfied citizenry, national heritage and support of domestic and foreign policy, to name a few.
In 2002 Starbuck’s shared its guiding principles for brand building. Do they still ring true?
