The strategic importance of corporate brands cannot be overstated. The Harvard Business Review reported on an extensive global research project to determine the financial and market impact of corporate brands. One of the key findings of this survey pinpoints the ultimate benefit of a strong corporate brand:

“In recent years, corporate brands have become enormously valuable assets – companies with strong corporate brands can have market values that are more than twice their book values.” – Harvard Business Review

The Review went on to report on the difficulty that corporations experience in developing and deploying strong corporate brands. Editors conceded that brand building is not easy:

“Not surprisingly, creating a corporate brand is both complicated and nuanced. Perhaps that’s why so many companies get it wrong.” – Harvard Business Review

Despite the difficulties in defining and supporting a powerful corporate brand, the Review revealed the three essential elements to great brands:

“Our research into 100 companies around the world over ten years shows that a company must align three essential, interdependent elements – call them strategic stars – to create a strong corporate brand: vision, culture and image . . . aligning the stars takes concentrated managerial skill and will. The reason is that a different constituency – management (vision), employees (culture) and stakeholders (image) – drives each element.” – Harvard Business Review

Brand building is indeed a challenging, yet invigorating process. The potential benefits are enormous in terms of growth and profitability, as well as sustaining an organization that adds value to the lives of associates, shareholders and individuals on a global basis. It is a journey well worth the effort.

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