Although every organisation disposes of a corporate identity, it is not a given that the organisation will also have a corporate brand. Corporate brands refer not only to the visual corporate identity elements such as the name, the logo and the corporate colours but also reflect the associations that the internal and external interest groups attach to the organisation. The staff members of the organisation are regarded as the ambassadors of an organisation’s corporate brand which they should live and express in their work and actions. For that reason it is important that the corporate brand should be well established within the organisation itself. The North-West University (NWU) was established in 2004 as the result of a merger between the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and the University of the North-West. The North-West University consists of four business units, viz. the Institutional Office, the Mafikeng Campus, the Potchefstroom Campus and the Vaal Triangle Campus. Because of the diversity of the erstwhile institutions, there were several serious implications for the North-West University. One of these was the development and the subsequent suitable management model, given the distance between campuses, and the other would the design and establishment of a corporate brand for the institution, given the culture and background of the former institutions. The result has been the use of a hybrid model with regard to the over-arching corporate brand of the North-West University to the extent that each campus has developed its own separate corporate brand. Although various studies have been done in the field about corporate brands, to date no study has been undertaken about the situation at the North-West University. Against this background it was possible to formulate the following general research question. What are staff members’ perceptions of, respectively, the corporate brand and corporate brand management of the North-West University and the Potchefstroom Campus? For the purposes of this study semi-structured interviews were conducted with management of the Institutional Office and the Potchefstroom Campus directly involved in the application of the corporate brand. A quantitative electronic questionnaire was also sent to all academic, administrative and support staff members of the Potchefstroom Campus. The study indicates that the management of the Institutional Office and of the Potchefstroom Campus in some instances hold differing views about the corporate brand of the North-West University and the Potchefstroom Campus. In contrast to this the study indicated that the staff members of the Potchefstroom Campus gave recognition to the fact that the Potchefstroom Campus had their own corporate brand, but that it is regarded as part of the over-arching corporate brand of the North-West University. The study also indicated that the North-West University and the Potchefstroom Campus corporate brands consisted of different components and that the management of corporate brand depended on the leadership of senior management, but that each staff member played a role in living and establishing the different corporate brands. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The focus of marketing for modern companies who have a high profile and who are constantly in public view has shifted from traditional marketing to one of having and enhancing relationships with stakeholders, including their employees. As stakeholders’ perceptions of a company are important, it has become necessary for such a company to determine which factors influence the stakeholders’ relationship with the company and ultimately influences their perceptions. Companies are being held accountable by their stakeholders for all that is said and done and are expected to include responsibility to society and the environment as a core part of company strategy. Given that corporate branding plays such an important role in the formation of perceptions of employees, companies should present themselves in such a way that stakeholders (including employees) are able to understand the company values, involvement and direction. As such employees’ perceptions regarding the company’s CSR and corporate brand can largely influence their relationship with the company. The Solidarity Movement is a company with a rich history within the mine workers union and trade union sectors, operating in extremely diverse environments, with stakeholders having various expectations of the company. The company was recently restructured with various companies merging under the Solidarity Movement corporate brand. Solidarity Helping Hand forms part of the Solidarity Movement and fulfils the company’s CSR in the community. Diverse studies on CSR and corporate branding have been done. To date, no examples of research of the possible influence of CSR on corporate branding within the trade union sector could be traced. Against this background, the following research question is asked: What is the relationship between employees’ perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s CSR project, Helping Hand, and their perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand? A quantitative questionnaire was applied as data collection method. The results confirmed that employees perceived the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand and CSR in a positive light and felt that they could identify with the company’s CSR and that they contributed to the corporate brand of the company. With regard to the correlation between CSR and corporate branding, this study indicated a relationship between employee’s perceptions of the company’s CSR projects and their perceptions of the corporate brand. The fact that employees could identify with the company’s CSR and its focus, viewed Solidarity Helping Hand as aligned with the business strategy of the Solidarity Movement and felt that this resulted in them wanting to have a long-term relationship with the company impacted most on perceptions of the corporate brand. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

<p>Technology is becoming easy to imitate day by day thus the companies involved in technology need to invest on the soft points like branding. This will give a competitive advantage over the competitors which is not possible to imitate. Thus the overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate that how a company evolved b2b selling can establish corporate brand. So three research questions were addressed:</p><ol><li>What are the major components of corporate brand building process?</li><li>How to establish corporate brand image with the customer? </li><li>How effective corporate communication can enhance the corporate brand?</li></ol><p>To reach the solution, Norden machinery as a case company was also studied. A theoretical framework was synthesized, based upon the different models and theories regarding the corporate brand building. The framework guided the authors through the entire research process.</p><p>Our empirical findings shows a quest in Norden to develop a corporate brand and during the analysis we found that the  in some areas case company is following the components of brand building process that were described in the theoretical framework but there are some areas where the Norden has to improve as well.</p><p>Thus based upon the analysis it is concluded that a company can establish a corporate brand by following the brand building components vision, culture, brand objectives, brand personality, brand essence, creating brand image and corporate communication.</p>

An important question in today’s research on marketing is in what way a company can influence how customers perceive their brand and in what way they can facilitate customer retention. The aim with this paper is to research the impact the corporate brand image has on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty within the travel industry to further the understanding of how branding activities influence customer preferences. By using a survey with an experimental design, where corporate brand image is manipulated through a PR-article, the results indicate that a company can influence the loyalty a customer feels toward their brand by trying to influence the corporate brand image. The results also support the idea that corporate brand image does have its own effect on customer loyalty and is not merely indirectly influencing it through customer satisfaction. Furthermore, these results are of interest to the travel industry since it indicates that PR campaigns can aid the travel agency in differentiating itself from its competitors. In an industry with intangible and homogeneous services and a highly competitive market differentiating the brand is likely to have a positive competitive effect.

This study is based on the case of the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) since the organization has struggled with its recruitment and brand building. The purpose of the study is to approach the coherence between brand image and brand identity through an employer branding perspective. More specifically, it aims to explore how this interplay might influence the employer attractiveness of an organization. The research is based on a qualitative case study. Furthermore, previous research regarding brand identity, brand image and employer branding constitutes the basis of the developed conceptual model. The empirical material was gathered through semi-structured interviews with current SAF employees and semi-structured focus groups with potential employees. Findings indicate the brand image did not cohere with the brand identity and that the potential employees had a more negative perception of the employer. However, the potential employees’ who had relatives who work for the SAF had a positive attitude towards the organization and perceived the workplace as more attractive. This study has contributed with an additional perspective on employer branding since there is little research within the field.

Esta dissertação de mestrado procurou compreender como a marca institucional de empresas do setor supermercadista brasileiro varejo de alimentos foi impactada pela sustentabilidade, especificamente por práticas ambientais. A pesquisa analisou como as três maiores empresas do setor adaptaram-se às pressões por um varejo mais sustentável e como ocorreu a comunicação institucional do Grupo Pão de Açúcar, do Carrefour Brasil e do Walmart Brasil ao utilizarem as práticas sustentáveis ambientais na construção e consolidação de suas respectivas marcas institucionais. As práticas ambientais verificadas foram classificadas em: comercialização de produtos verdes, gestão de resíduos, construções sustentáveis e preservação do meio ambiente. Devido às alterações no cenário econômico e social do século XX surgiram tendências que pressionaram o sistema capitalista regente para uma gestão socioeconômica mais sustentável. A compreensão das mudanças, suas implicações e consequências na marca institucional das três principais empresas do setor é o objetivo principal desta pesquisa acadêmica. / This dissertation sought to understand how the corporate brand of companies in the Brazilian supermarket sector food retailing was impacted by sustainability, specifically by environmental practices. The research examined how the three largest companies of this sector was adapted to the pressures for a more sustainable retail and how occurred the corporate communication of Pão de Açúcar Group, Carrefour Brazil, Walmart Brazil when sustainable environmental practices are used in the construction and consolidation of their corporate brands. The environmental practices observed were classified as: marketing of green products, waste management, sustainable construction and environmental preservation. Due to changes in the economic and social scene of the twentieth century, trends came to press the ruling capitalist system to a more sustainable socio-economic management. The understanding of all changes, their implications and consequences in corporate brand of the three main companies in the sector is the main objective of this academic research

<p>Background: The concept of countries as brands has been increasingly accredited once the postmodern global world became an every day experience. A strong country brand can provide corporate brands with a unique set of values, which supports their positioning on the international market. Simultaneously, once corporate brands achieve worldwide success, they contribute actively to developing new features of the country brand. </p><p>Purpose: The aim of the paper is to design a model with regard to the value- transfer from country brands to corporate brands. The model is evaluated in accordance with the relationship between Sweden and Scania, respectively Oriflame, chosen as frames of research. The researchers assess whether the process occurrence is conscious or not, be it from inside (on the corporate level) or outside (from the audiences’ perspective), as well as its consistency (the values involved in the transfer). </p><p>Results: According to the research results, Scania displays a spontaneous value- transfer with Sweden the brand, whereasOriflame actively capitalises on the national set of common values. Either unconsciously present at the corporate level of Scania, or consciously exploited by Oriflame, these Swedish values repeat for both studied companies.</p>

Background: The concept of countries as brands has been increasingly accredited once the postmodern global world became an every day experience. A strong country brand can provide corporate brands with a unique set of values, which supports their positioning on the international market. Simultaneously, once corporate brands achieve worldwide success, they contribute actively to developing new features of the country brand. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to design a model with regard to the value- transfer from country brands to corporate brands. The model is evaluated in accordance with the relationship between Sweden and Scania, respectively Oriflame, chosen as frames of research. The researchers assess whether the process occurrence is conscious or not, be it from inside (on the corporate level) or outside (from the audiences’ perspective), as well as its consistency (the values involved in the transfer). Results: According to the research results, Scania displays a spontaneous value- transfer with Sweden the brand, whereasOriflame actively capitalises on the national set of common values. Either unconsciously present at the corporate level of Scania, or consciously exploited by Oriflame, these Swedish values repeat for both studied companies.

Research Purposes: Brands are one of the important influences on our life that appear everywhere and have great impact on the way we see our world. There are several kinds of brands and numerous perspectives existing about the brand concept. However, the concept of company brand, or corporate brand, is a new topic in the literature and only in 90s was the company brand concept assessed by some communication and branding consultants. Doubtless, one of the most discussed issues in the brand literature is general brand building process. There are many studies that have been done on the general brand building process, regardless the type of the brands, which can be found by Western scholars such as Aaker (1996), de Chernatony (2001), Knox and Bickerton (2003), and Urde (2003). Even though, there are numerous models of the branding process in the literature, the lack of empirical testing has always been the source of critiques for all of them. One of the recent researches on the corporate branding was done by Ted Karlsson, Ph.D. at Umeå University. He divided the internal corporate brand process from general corporate branding process and studied it separately. He came up with a model which is based on the theories mentioned above. However, there are no studies that have been done by scholars on internal corporate brand building process at higher education institutions. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the internal corporate brand building process at Linköping University and, to examine Ted Karlsson’s model for its applicability in LiU case. Methodology The type of the research is descriptive. In order to fulfill the research purpose, the researchers have used the deductive approach and adapted the case study strategy as a research strategy. Both secondary and primary data have been used in the research. Findings In the conclusion, researchers come up with the model of internal corporate brand building process of LiU. The researchers found that Linköping University has been taking the whole steps of the internal corporate brand building process as it is described in the literature. LiU internal corporate brand building case study approved the reliability and the validity of the model presented by Ted Karlsson in 2006.

Background: Recent years, M&amp;As have increased sharply. Brand as one of the most precious assets has unavoidably been taken into consideration in these deals. Company can gain great benefit when handle acquired brand properly. Responding to rebranding issue, a clear designed rebranding strategy is considered a solution to deal with it, and brand architecture can be a useful tool to help adjusting the relationship between acquiring and acquired brand.  Aim: The purpose of this research is to explore how firms can strengthen its corporate brand after acquired a strong product brand through proper rebranding strategy and well designed brand architecture. Definitions: Brand: a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. Rebranding: the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated (new) position in the mind of stake holders and competitors. Brand architecture: the relationship among and between corporate, company (subsidiary), and product brands. Such relationships embrace products and services, or a mixture of the two across the hierarchy of brands. Results: There are possible options that companies can strength its corporate brand by acquired product brand, when company take brand integration strategy. Moreover, choosing suitable brand architecture during brand integration process is very important for a company