Today’ Big Branding Issue: What Should Companies Stand For?
The question of whether a company should go beyond the core goal of “maximizing shareholder value” as its main reason for being (e.g. to also pursue broader social ends), has been argued for decades. This debate was supposedly resolved in 2000 when two reputable law professors, Henry Hansmann of Yale and Reinier Kraakman of Harvard, pronounced that the world’s legal systems should converge just on this shareholder value model. Since then, several events have shaken the credibility of this model. Not long after their published article on corporate law, huge companies suddenly crashed –...
Read MoreHow The Choice Of “Birdman” Jeopardizes The Integrity Of The Oscars Brand
The recent Oscar choice of “Birdman” as the best movie of 2014 not only defied moviegoers’ preferences, but it is also a lesson on how a strong brand can lose credibility and hence trust when it becomes so self-obsessed. One of the cardinal rules of good branding is to consider the interests of the target audience before making decisions that may be inconsistent with what you want your brand to stand for in the eyes (and hearts) of your main customers. For example, was “Birdman” indeed the “best” movie, or simply the “favorite” of the Motion Picture Academy? The process of determining the...
Read MoreNot One US Company Among The 30 Most Transparent – Why? Impact On Brand Trust?
My recent blog on “Why Transparency is Essential For Building Corporate Brand Trust” generated lots of interest, but also begged a key question – what are the most transparent multinationals in the world, and where do US companies stand in these rankings? Transparency International is the most prominent anti-corruption research organization in the world, and their 2014 study rated the transparency of the top 124 multinationals based on three criteria: anti-corruption programs, organizational transparency, and country-by-country reporting. And surprisingly there was not any US company near...
Read MoreWhy Tranparency Is Essential For Building Corporate Brand Trust
The growing demand for greater corporate transparency, especially among Millennials, should not be news to anyone. Trust in business has reached new lows, as reported by the latest 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer (e.g. only 50% of Americans trust financial service companies), and insufficient transparency has been one of the key reasons. Yes, businesses are trying to develop and promote more their “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) initiatives, but these will never win over customers unless the details and results are transparent enough to re-build a trustful relationship. Supporting...
Read MoreWhy “Capitalism” Must Be Re-Branded – And How
A recent article in the Economist entitled “Capitalism’s Reputation Has Been Damaged by the Bankers” shed light on some fundamental societal trends and issues. These include increasing income inequality, concerns over “fairness”, declining trust in our basic institutions and questioning the basic principles behind property ownership and competition. These issues have contributed to a growing perception of capitalism as a system that benefits other, more select people, but not us. Webster’s dictionary defines a capitalist as “a person who has a lot of money and property, and who uses those...
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