Articles
The relationship between the corporate culture and brand: explanation and terms
The relationship between corporate culture and corporate brand is very close, and brand culture is an important part of corporate culture, which determines the market positioning of corporate brands and is the core of corporate brand image(Yohn, 2019). Therefore, in the pursuit of brand quality and other hard strength, enterprises should also focus on their own cultural aspects of soft strength, to enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises.
(Source: thereceptionist)
Concepts related to corporate culture and corporate branding
Corporate culture, also known as organizational culture, is, as the name suggests, an organization's unique cultural image consisting of its own values, beliefs, rituals, symbols and ways of doing things, and generally speaking, the performance of an organization in all aspects of its daily operations. In this context, it is about the culture of the employees, which can also be called the culture of the employees of the enterprise, a cultural form that echoes the culture of the enterprise, with each employee of the enterprise as the core content of the culture of the employees, a quality culture that comes from the enterprise and a management culture that is unique to the enterprise(Watts, 2018).
The relationship between corporate culture and corporate brand marketing
First of all, brand culture is an important part of corporate culture. In the business activities of a company, the corporate brand conveys a unique business philosophy, which includes the company's own culture and values, as well as its attitude towards many consumers, etc. An excellent corporate culture can effectively break through the barriers between different regions, allowing for cross-regional business activities and close links between different products.
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Secondly, corporate culture determines the market positioning of a company's brand
The corporate culture of an enterprise will determine the positioning of the corporate brand in the market, and by increasing the visibility and competitiveness of the corporate brand, a powerful driving force for the development of the enterprise can be emitted. The strength, dynamism, potential and sustainability of an enterprise are all reflected in its competitiveness, so improving competitiveness is inseparable from improving its visibility. A highly visible corporate brand is conducive to improving the visibility and competitiveness of an enterprise. This improvement does not rely on human, material and financial investment, but requires the potential cultural influence of corporate culture as such.
Does the corporate culture influences brand marketing?
The simple answer is yes. The shorter answer for those who are interested in more detailed information follows.
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The influence of corporate culture on marketing concepts
The marketing concept of an enterprise is mainly determined by the decision-makers of that enterprise, and is an important tool used to organize distribution activities and manage the sales market, expressed as more specific and detailed market guidelines. Therefore, the marketing concept and the corporate culture are essentially the same, both being a concept and an attitude, or a guiding idea. The difference is that the guiding ideology of corporate culture is the overall spirit and cultural values of the enterprise, which can determine the decision-making style and behavioural results expressed in the marketing concept of the enterprise, while the marketing concept is the business philosophy expressed in the corporate culture. Generally speaking, themarketing concept of the enterprise with a deep culture is generally more long-term and does not focus on immediate interests; and when the enterprise culture is not mature enough, the marketing concept decided by the enterprise is mainly based on market performance and interest value, which can easily make the development of the brand go in the wrong direction.
The influence of corporate culture on brand culture
The brand culture is determined by the connotations of the corporate culture, and the core values of the brand culture are also determined by the corporate culture. Although the values of the two cultures differ in terms of the people they are intended to address, resulting in significant differences in their methods of expression, the values expressed in the brand culture are also a reflection of the corporate culture and are a condensation of the core values of the corporate culture, i.e. the corporate culture determines the core values of the brand culture, as the corporate culture plays a guiding role in marketing. On the other hand, the brand culture of a company shows the corporate culture in the market in a more direct way, representing the cognition of corporate interests and emotional belonging, and is a summary of the corporate image(Mirabella, 2020). Through the expression of brand culture, market consumers generate awareness of the company's brand, which in turn influences their recognition of the quality of the product and thus increases their loyalty to the brand.
The influence of corporate culture on brand marketing strategies
Generally speaking, the core values and enterprise spirit possessed by the enterprise completely determine the connotation and essence of the enterprise brand, i.e. the enterprise culture is the basis for the construction of the enterprise brand and directly determines the business strategy of the enterprise. At the present stage, the business development of enterprises is not only about profit-making, survival and development, which were revered by entrepreneurs in the past, but also about the win-win situation with society as a concept and rising to the corporate culture, thus interlinking brand sales and corporate culture. Scholars believe that corporate brand marketing strategies generally consist of four elements: brand building, communication, sales and management, all of which can be influenced by corporate culture through different mediums. The construction of a brand is a prerequisite for brand marketing, which is determined by the influence of corporate culture on the initial brand culture, i.e. brand culture and the connotation of building a brand complement each other. Each enterprise has its own corporate culture and its own core values formed during its long-term development, which also determines the specificity of the corporate culture, thus building a brand adapted to the development of its own enterprise(Mlinaric, 2022). This is mainly because a good corporate culture provides a way and a channel for the brand to spread with rich connotations and a perfect image, rather than relying on simple advertising or grandstanding to win the attention of consumers, and when the brand does not spread well, even if it is known by consumers, they will not necessarily choose to buy it. Western corporate marketing management believes that most of the total amount of corporate marketing comes from the brand's channels, rather than simply advertising sales, and that the impact of corporate culture on brand sales is demonstrated precisely by the channels through which corporate brand marketing can be managed. Mainly because the more levels of channels, the more difficult it will be for brand sales, and through the communication of corporate culture can increase the channel's sense of identity, thus building the same core values with the company and enhancing the communication between the company and the channels to which it belongs.
Conclusion
More and more managers are now aware of the influence of corporate culture on brand marketing, and also by using corporate culture to develop strategic brand marketing measures that are important for the improvement of corporate core competitiveness.
Source:
Mirabella, M. (2020) How company culture affects your brand image, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-company-culture-affects-your-brand-image-mario-mirabella (Accessed: April 28, 2023).
Mlinaric, J. (2022) 5 marketing strategies to promote company culture and attract top talent, Employee recognition and company culture - Bonusly blog. Bonusly. Available at: https://blog.bonus.ly/5-marketing-strategies-company-culture-top-talent (Accessed: April 28, 2023).
Watts, L. (2018) Council post: When brand strategy and corporate culture collide, Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/07/09/when-brand-strategy-and-corporate-culture-collide/?sh=315a53505999 (Accessed: April 28, 2023).
Yohn, D.L. (2019) Why your company culture should match your brand, Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2017/06/why-your-company-culture-should-match-your-brand (Accessed: April 28, 2023).
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