Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public ... - Blogs Unpad

its people and its products, and we make
judgements. We see and hear a company’s
message and experience its products or people
and we construct an image of the organization.
Research indicates that the more familiar
we are with a brand the more favourable we
view it (Ind, 1997). This requires a consistent
message to all stakeholders.
Although a brand has some tangible elements,
a company is often seen as very
remote. Corporate branding allows organizations
to communicate one message as to what
it is and how it wishes to be represented
(Sellers, 2002). With product brand a unique
message for each brand is communicated.
Consistency in communication is, therefore,
vital. On a micro level, the brand needs to
build an interactive relationship with each
individual stakeholder. This involves providing
a product that meets the needs and wants of
the customer. In the international context and
on the micro level this can prove quite challenging.
In contrast, on the macro level this is
an advantage in that it is easier to uniformly
convey the corporate values such as quality,
value for money or reliability. These terms are
easier to communicate than product differences
that may be difficult to adapt to international
tastes. Because of this, corporate
brands can only truly be successful if there is a
relationship established at an appropriate
micro level.
The effectiveness of corporate brands internationally
is, to a large extent, improved
through globalization. Several global drivers
support this. First, demographic trends across
the developed world are very similar; an
ageing profile, an increase in single-occupant
households and a declining population
(Hassan and Katsanis, 1991). Second, global
products and advertising help to ensure that
people are aware of the same things and able
to buy the same things around the world
(Jain, 1989). Third, global media helps to
define more universal lifestyles (Jallat and
Kimmel, 2002). All of these factors favour
corporate brands, particularly western brands,
that allow them to be easily adapted to international
markets.
Entrance into new markets
Generally, in any company there is a clear
association between products and the organization
that produce them (Olins, 1989). The
nature of the product influences an organization’s
culture and identity, while the identity
in turn influences the nature of the product.
This link between product brand and company
brand allows these two entities to easily
enter markets where that brand is already
somewhat known. When considering international
expansion there are traditionally
two alternatives – the ‘waterfall’ and ‘sprinkler’
methods (Keegan, 1989). The ‘waterfall’
method is a trickle-down model where products
are launched in countries based on level
of development – prioritizing the most developed
countries first. This method ensures
that the product is exactly suited to the customer.
The disadvantage is that it can take up
to several years to fully enter new markets
globally.
The contrast to this is to develop a product
and simultaneously introduce it to world
markets (sprinkler model). The difference between
the two methods is based on the
assumptions about the nature of the world
markets. The sprinkler approach recognizes
the trend of globalization and that markets
develop simultaneously around the world.
This requires substantially less time and is
viewed by many as the only realistic option
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors