‘Show Me Your People Skills’ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media

Digitization has led to increased social media utilization among companies to connect with their customers. We know that particularly CEOs, as the representing face of a company, can exert great influence to build corporate reputation. While reputation management in general has been researched extensively, we know little about the dimensions of CEO reputation management in social media. This paper deals with the distinction of organizational and personal branding in Twitter, and moreover, aims to determine eligible dimensions for CEO reputation management, based on the widely accepted Reputation Quotient. Therefore, we collected 3,604 social media postings of companies and their respective CEOs from Twitter. Through statistical and content analyses, we determined two supplementary dimensions for CEO reputation. Shared Interests and Personal Logging add private aspects to the spectrum of CEO reputation management, which have the capacity to foster consumer engagement

Marketing management capability:the construct and its dimensions: an examination of managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a retail setting

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate cultural/intangible assets and marketing capabilities by examining managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a retail setting.Design/methodology/approach: Nineteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with UK small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) managers and entrepreneurs to identify six sub-capabilities that form marketing capability. The authors further validated the relationship between marketing sub-capabilities and its antecedent tangible and intangible assets. The qualitative approach used provided a deeper insight into the motivations, perceptions and associations of the stakeholders behind these intangible concepts, and their relationships with their customers.Findings: The research identified that there is a strong relationship between tangible and intangible assets, their components and the following capabilities: corporate/brand identity management, market sensing, customer relationship, social media/communication, design/innovation management and performance management. In addition, companies need to understand clearly what tangible and intangible assets comprise these capabilities. Where performance management is one of the key internal capabilities, companies must highlight the importance of strong cultural assets that substantially contribute to a company’s performance.Originality/value: Previous work on dynamic capability analysis is too generic, predominantly relating to the manufacturing sector, and/or focussing on using a single case study example. This study extends the concept of marketing capability in a retail setting by identifying six sub-capabilities and describing the relationship of each with tangible and intangible assets. Through extensive qualitative analysis, the authors provide evidence that by fully exploiting their embedded culture and other intangible components, companies can more favourably engage with their customers to attain a sustainable competitive advantage.</p

Communicating employer branding in a VUCA context: the Carlsberg Group case

Dissertação de mestrado apresentada à Escola Superior de Comunicação Social como parte dos requisitos para obtenção de grau de mestre em Gestão Estratégica das Relações Públicas.Nestes últimos tempos o mundo mudou dramaticamente. Cada vez mais, vemos a Volatilidade, a incerteza, a complexidade, e a ambiguidade a instalarem-se no nosso dia-adia. A verdade é que eventos como a pandemia da Covid-19, e mesmo o início da Guerra na Ucrânia, prejudicaram amplamente a economia global e o mercado de trabalho, reorganizando não só as prioridades dos colaboradores, como também dos empregadores. O presente estudo procura compreender de que forma o Employer Branding é atualmente comunicado, num contexto cada vez mais VUCA. A análise é feita na perspetiva das Relações Públicas, procurando avaliar o papel da Comunicação Interna na prossecução de uma estratégia de Employer Brand assente na motivação e satisfação organizacional. Para isso, foi realizado um estudo de caso com o Carlsberg Group, uma organização global na área das bebidas alcoólicas, sediada em Copenhaga. Para este estudo, optou-se por uma metodologia de índole mista, materializando a sua execução através da análise de conteúdo ao perfil de LinkedIn da empresa, e de entrevistas semiestruturadas a Dora Vicente, Global Talent Manager, e Emily D’Alterio, Communications Manager, ambas no Carlsberg Group. Os resultados deste estudo destacam o papel vital da Comunicação Interna na propagação da Marca do Empregador no contexto VUCA no Grupo Carlsberg. A Comunicação Interna funciona como um mecanismo de apoio crucial para transmitir e promover efetivamente a marca do empregador, disseminando os valores fundamentais, a cultura e a missão em várias marcas dentro da organização. Ao promover canais de comunicação eficazes e eficientes, a Comunicação Interna assegura que os colaboradores do Carlsberg Group estejam alinhados com os objetivos e metas da empresa, promovendo assim uma força de trabalho positiva e comprometida.ABSTRACT: In recent times the world has changed dramatically. Increasingly, we see volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity creeping into our daily lives. The truth is that events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and even the outbreak of war in Ukraine, have extensively damaged the global economy and labor market, rearranging not only the priorities of employees but also of employers. The present study seeks to understand how Employer Branding is currently communicated, in an increasingly VUCA context. The analysis is made from the perspective of Public Relations, seeking to assess the role of Internal Communication in the pursuit of an Employer Brand strategy based on motivation and organizational satisfaction. For this purpose, a case study was carried out with the Carlsberg Group, a global organization based in Copenhagen. For this study, a mixed methodology was chosen, materializing its execution through content analysis of the company's LinkedIn profile semi-structured interviews with Dora Vicente Dora and Emily D’Alterio, Global Talent Manager and Communications Manager at the Carlsberg Group, respectively. The findings underscore the vital role of Internal Communication in propagating Employer Branding within a VUCA context at the Carlsberg Group. Internal Communication functions as a critical support mechanism for effectively transmitting and promoting the employer brand, disseminating core values, culture, and mission across various brands within the organization. By fostering effective and efficient communication channels, Internal Communication ensures that employees within the Carlsberg Group are aligned with the company's goals and objectives, thereby fostering a positive and engaged workforce.N/

Brand and public relations in the Taiwanese not-for-profit sector : a case study of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation

In a competitive environment in Taiwan, not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) seek to differentiate themselves from other NPOs. ‘Brand’ improves the internal functions and competitiveness of these NPOs; attracts funding to them by making use of public relations (PR) strategies and techniques and expanding the access to public resources; and also conveys a slick corporate image to the public. This research project has adopted a PR perception of leading marketing concepts to look at charity brand strategy. This approach has been taken instead of the more common marketing-oriented perspective. NPOs exist because of their public service or social welfare missions. The best way to increase income is to raise accountability and interactions with the public or corporations through ethical relationship management as part of NPO PR practice. This thesis takes as its subject the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, which was established in 1985 and is one of Taiwan’s top five NPOs. The challenges faced by Eden in presenting itself as a caring, non-partisan organisation in an age of branding, competition and a public sensitive to the ethos of charity is investigated. The purpose of this study is to: (1) explore the role of branding within PR; (2) discuss how media represents NPOs to their stakeholders; (3) investigate co-branding issues in cooperative relationships involving differential power relations; (4) investigate the ethical risk of mission drift, where NPOs charged with a public mission can lose their way by becoming corporatised. In a comprehensive overview of the complexity of NPO PR, branding and power relations in Taiwan, relationship management has been shown to be at the heart of NPO PR. Trust is the critical element that ensures the organisation stays on the right path. This research has found, on one hand, that higher brand value facilitates better communication and involves shifts of power through brand power, media access, social networking and know-how. Co-branding and media coverage are assistant contributors, through framing, in building the charity brand. On the other hand, the study suggests ways to rethink the negotiation of power relations and the social perspectives between the public interest and commerce. Consideration should be given to a monitoring system for NPOs to ensure accountability and visibility that guarantees the public interest. The results also suggest that investment in training and upgrading skills in communication with outsiders is important in Taiwan, as part of NPO PR practice

Branding CEOs : How relationship between cheif executive officers, corporate brands and stakeholders image can influence perceived brand value

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have become recognised as brands in the academic and popular domain, but little is known about the relationship between these senior manager ¿brands¿ and the corporate brand of the organisation they represent. Since stakeholders associate the CEO¿s reputation with that of the company, they may negatively or positively affect each other, and there is little research into this dynamic. Indeed there is only a limited understanding about the field of people branding in general and much less into CEO brands in particular. Consequently this doctoral thesis investigates the people and CEO brands phenomena, the relationships between CEO, corporate brand and stakeholder¿s self-image and how these can be effectively managed in order to enhance brand equity for the company. Based on a critical realist perspective, this research examines traditional product brand elements from the literature and develops a new conceptual framework for people brands, which is subsequently applied to CEOs. Furthermore a survey is performed with business school students. The findings are analysed by using content analysis, descriptive statistics and by developing and testing a Structural Equation Model. The contribution to knowledge is threefold. Firstly a conceptual framework of people brands is constructed. Second this model is applied to CEO brands. Third five propositions about stakeholder perceptions of CEO brand differentiation and equity are empirically tested. The main findings are that visual presentation is not the main factor to differentiate CEO brands from each other, nor is their association with the company. Positive perceptions of corporate brands can influence the reputation of the CEO brand and lead to an enhancement of their brand equity. Importantly this indicates that stakeholders do not distinguish between CEO and company. Brand equity is also created if there is a relationship between stakeholder self-image and company brand, which in turn can improve the reputation of the CEO brand. Finally brand equity is enhanced through stakeholder perceptions of an ideal self-image. Overall this research has important implications for academia and managerial practice as it extends the knowledge about people and CEO brands and provides an insight into ways in which the relationships between CEO, company and stakeholders can be managed to enhance brand equity for the compan

Corporate brand management in a charity context: the internal communications challenge

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper was to investigate the practical issues and challenges faced when managing a corporate brand internally within a charity context from perspectives of both senior managers and grassroots volunteers. Design/methodology/approach An interpretive exploratory approach was adopted, where emphasis was placed on giving voice to participants considered as knowledge agents. Data collection methods included a combination of interviews and participatory observation. In-depth qualitative interviews were carried out with seven volunteers (including five branch chairs and one trustee) and five senior managers (chief executive officer [CEO], head of fundraising, national and regional directors and head of information and helplines). Participatory observations included visits in five branches as well as participation in two volunteer-targeted events. Findings Findings from this study revealed the complexities of managing a charity brand internally with several issues and challenges relating to internal communications. Also, three major themes emerged from insights gathered from both senior managers and volunteers, which are as follows: (1) internal brand clarity, (2) internal relational communications and (3) internal brand presence. Originality/value The key contribution of the paper lies in exploring the challenges of managing a corporate brand internally from both the perspectives of senior management and volunteers within a unique charity context. The study adds insights on the issues and tension faced by charities in managing their brands internally and provides a series of practical recommendations that might help charities in strengthening their brands from inside