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Corporate marketing: insights and integration drawn from corporate branding, corporate identity, corporate communication and visual identification
Edited by John M.T. Balmer, Avinandan Mukherjee, Stephen A. Greyser and Per Jenster
Introduction
Brand strategists and theoreticians alike, often claim that the corporate brand should be the most important source of brand equity and have a pure monolithic status in strategy ([32] Ind, 1997; [31] Hatch and Schultz, 2003). In reality however, corporate brands are often decapitalized at the level of implementation ([35] Kapferer, 2002). Moreover, many corporate brand managers fail to see the whole opportunity spectrum of links between the corporate brand and other brand assets in the portfolio ([2], [3] Aaker, 2004a, b). In particular, corporate brand managers tend to ignore the inherent power and possibilities in brand architecture, through sub-brands (such as Hewlett Packard's Laser Jet) and endorsed brands (Courtyard by Mariott) instead, they are captured in the myopia of the corporate brand is an island trap:
The brand is an island trap refers to the implicit assumption that brand strategy involves the creation of a strong brand like Hewlett Packard, 3M or Tide. Looking at brands as stand alone silos is a recipe for confusion and inefficiency ([5] Aaker and Joachimstahler, 2000a).
Corporate brands can exploit pre-established benefits and credibility by licensing ingredient brands ([1] Aaker, 1996; [21] Desai and Keller, 2002; [52] Nunes et al. , 2003). GORE TEX collaborates with strong corporate brands such as Ecco and BOSS, it has stronger purchase intent scores in the apparel category than corporate brands such as Adidas, Nike, Levis and Ecco ([74] Uggla, 2004). The Adidas corporate have reinforced its brand values and reached new target groups through corporate co-branding with the New Zealand Rugby Union and The All Blacks ([50] Motion et al. , 2003). By establishing links to internal and external brands, the corporate brand can build a sustainable organizational value proposition ([41] Knox et al. , 2000). The purpose of this article, then, is to explore the strategic association that can be established between a corporate brand and other brands, reflecting less narrow and more expansive, yet realistic and inclusive brand architecture. Before moving to a conceptual analysis of the corporate brand association base, however, I will discuss the salient literature...