WINNERS AND LOSERS OF CORPORATE IMAGE 2005

Corporations that develop clear messages and clearly
communicate their stories to both the internal organizations and the
external forces are the real players. The rest are either still
discovering who they are or just making stories as they go along or
periodically falling flat on their faces.
Who are the real
winners and losers of the corporate image in 2005? Which corporation
had the best identity; which was most famous, hated or most profitable?
All these responses depend on where you stand, as a loyal customer, the
general public, employee or competitor.
In a study
conducted by ABC Namebank International, 5 000 major corporations
around the world were surveyed and results were compiled to measure the
impact of their image on customers, profitability and overall market
positioning. There was also a strong emphasis on their cyber-branding
platforms and e-commerce presence.
Most corporations
passed the acid test - 54 percent in all - with a B+ ranking. But the
real big winners were very few - 3.9 percent - and the losers stood at
42.1 percent.
The big winners had the Right Story with the
Right Image; the others had The Right Story but a very poor Image and
struggled to make it work. The losers were almost without a Story, with
a bunch of ideas thrown together and some randomly picked up image.
They were spinning, but going nowhere.
The Story
Corporate
image demands a very clear strategy, a mission, a game plan and a
story. All that needs to be enunciated in a few simple sentences or a
paragraph or two. What is the corporation all about, what does it do,
and where it is going and why?
Corporations that develop
these clear messages and clearly communicate their stories to both
internal organizations and external forces are the real players. The
rest are either still discovering who they are, are just making stories
as they go along, or are periodically falling flat on their faces.
It
is true that most corporations are usually wrapped-up in some big
generic business concepts. It is also a very common problem these days
that most find themselves in the middle of quicksands, while the
markets are moving too fast in too many directions. Still, the issue of
clarity and directions must be fixed. The correct messages must be
built and the real stories need to be told.
The Image
There is a lot to be said for the right image to fit the right story.
The
most common problem is that the image has no relationship whatsoever
with the corporate objectives. Still, senior teams regularly send out
very confusing messages to internal layers of staff and ask them to
band around the existing image and sing along with out having any solid
base or substance. This very often makes it a chicken-or-the-egg
dilemma.
The issues about image-building also require a
deeper understanding and professional guidance. The right image to fit
the right story is critical.
Basic Rules
No
matter what the corporation does, it must project a sharper
personality, something that requires professional and objective
assessments - not just randomly picked, trendy ideas.
When
it comes to corporate image, corporations must also try to have images
of honesty and respectability. Therefore they have no room for false
claims or overly silly, wildly humorous image campaigns. Money and
business both are serious issues. Customers and shareholders alike want
to do business with the sober teams, and not the beer-commercial-happy
bunch.
Lastly, whatever the corporate image and brand name
identity the corporation adopts, it must be secured under proper
trademarking so that it can be built as something unique and not
something shared by thousands of others. Cyber-branding is now the
backbone of any business. Only good name identities will survive on the
search engines.
In Summary
It's very
easy to figure all this out. A quick review of all your corporate
communications material and your collateral will clearly tell you what
are the several stories that are being projected by your corporation
today. A quick search of your own corporate name identity in Google
will tell you in seconds where your corporate brand stands in its
distinction, visibility and how easy or difficult is it to find on
e-commerce.
Once you have all the data, it is also very
easy to have a conference call with your senior management on this
issue. You will quickly come up with a game plan to fix the problems
you have. After all, it is very easy to do.
Remember... the customers are waiting.
For more information, contact:
Naseem Javed
E: nj@njabc.com
About Naseem Javed
Naseem Javed, author of Naming for Power, is recognized as a world authority on Global Name Identities, Image, Cyber-Branding and Domain Issues. He introduced The Laws of Corporate Naming in the 80's and also founded ABC Namebank, a consultancy established in New York and Toronto a quarter century ago. Naseem also conducts executive workshops and conferences on global image and name identities issues www.azna.com/ceo.htm . Watch his interview on CNN.