Building relationships with stakeholders in corporate branding

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 2.3, University of Leicester (School of Management), course: Elective: Communications & Branding, language: English, abstract: ¿A brand is more than a trademark. It is a trustmark. A brand is a covenant between the company and the consumer. A trusted brand is a genuine asset.¿ This quote is said to be from US brand consultant Larry Light that expresses two things: First, the intangible asset ¿brand¿ is of (great) value and second, the value is defined by the bond the brand creates between the consumer and the company. Both parties ¿ company and customer ¿ profit as the brand creates customer loyalty and facilitates consumers¿ choice decision by reducing risk (Dall¿Olmo Riley and de Chernatony 2000, p.140/141). A company¿s brand value is the advantages a brand provides, such as being able to charge a premium and/or the mentioned customer loyalty. This added value is called brand equity (Aaker 1996, p.68).

We shall understand brands as Kapferer (1997, p.6) describe them: as a promise. ¿A brand is an impression perceived in a client's mind [¿]. It is the sum of all tangible and intangible elements, which makes the selection unique. A brand is [¿] all the attributes that come to the consumer's mind when he or she thinks about the brand¿. Although brands and branding are often used as interchangeable concepts, branding ¿ the activity ¿ should in this essay be understood according to Keller¿s

(2002, p.151) description: as activities to create a (strong) brand.

In this essay, the author explains the value and types of brands, the process of brand-building ¿ for corporate and place brands ¿, the link of brands to corporate and place identity and the concept of a holistic brand. All is done with focus on the importance of (building) relationships with stakeholders in branding.