Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix
The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix
Mats Urde and Stephen A. Greyser · Lund University and Harvard Business School · 2016
Introduction
Identity and Reputation in One Framework
Mats Urde of Lund University and Stephen A. Greyser of Harvard Business School introduced the matrix in 2016. While describing the Nobel Prize as a corporate brand, they found that identity alone did not capture it and that reputation was "an additional necessary dimension" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 94). Identity is the inside view of who the organisation is and what it stands for; reputation is how stakeholders see it, built up over time (pp. 95, 97). The matrix brings both into one framework: it keeps the nine identity elements of Urde's Corporate Brand Identity Matrix and places eight reputation elements around them, each linked to one identity element (pp. 89, 99–103). The authors developed it with 27 interviews in and around the Nobel Prize network, and 14 groups of managers in Scandinavia and the United States used or discussed it to explore their own corporate brands (p. 94).
The Model
Elements
Definitions follow Urde and Greyser (2016, pp. 99–110). The nine identity elements inside the matrix come from Urde's Corporate Brand Identity Matrix; the eight reputation elements around it are adapted from the reputation literature, and communication links the two layers. Each reputation element mirrors one identity element along four linkages and comes with a guiding question, quoted from Table 2 (pp. 89, 99–105). All examples come from the authors' analysis of the Nobel Prize (p. 104, Figure 5, and Tables 3–6).
Identity: External Elements
01
Value Proposition
The key offerings of the organisation and the way they should appeal to customers and non-customer stakeholders. It is one of the three external elements, aimed at the receivers of the brand. The competences are the prerequisites that substantiate it (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 99, 103, 106).
Nobel Prize: "Celebration and propagation of scientific discovery and cultural achievements" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 104).02
Relationships
The nature of the relationship the organisation wants with its key customers and non-customer stakeholders. It is an external element, and the culture of the organisation relates to it and reflects it (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 99, 103, 109).
Nobel Prize: Integrity, respect and dialogue (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104, 109).03
Position
The intended position in the market and "in the hearts and minds" of key customers and non-customer stakeholders (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 103). As an identity element, the wanted position shows that "the ambition is part of what a brand stands for and how it would like to be perceived" (p. 105).
Nobel Prize: "The world's most prestigious award" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104–105).
Identity: Internal and External Elements
04
Expression
What is unique or special about the way the organisation communicates and expresses itself, so that people can recognise it at a distance (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 103). Expression "defines the verbal and visual manifestations of the brand" (p. 100) and typically covers all forms of communication, including advertising, design and choice of media (p. 108).
Nobel Prize: "Symbolic according to traditions with a modern open approach": physical and figurative symbols carry the heritage, while outreach such as the Nobel Dialogue Week and nobelprize.org adds the modern, open side (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 108).05
Brand Core: Promise and Core Values
The heart of the corporate brand identity: a brand promise and the core values that support it (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 100). The core works as a hub, so all identity and reputation elements are connected to it and influenced by it (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 104). Urde defines it as "an entity of core values supporting and leading to a promise" (Urde, 2013, p. 752, as cited in Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 104).
Nobel Prize: The promise "For the benefit of mankind", taken from Alfred Nobel's will, with the core values discovery, excellence and engagement for higher ideals (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 104).06
Personality
The combination of human characteristics or qualities that forms the corporate character (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 103). Personality "describes the corporate brand's individual character" and, like expression and the brand core, belongs to the inside and the outside at the same time (p. 100).
Nobel Prize: "Impartial cosmopolitan with a passion for science and cultural enlightenment", a reflection of Alfred Nobel's own personality (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104, 109).
Identity: Internal Elements
07
Mission & Vision
What engages the organisation beyond the aim of making money (mission) and what gives it direction and inspiration (vision). It is one of the three internal elements, and the engagement and inspiration found here are closely linked to the promise (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 99, 103, 105).
Nobel Prize: The Alfred Nobel Will (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104–105).08
Culture
The attitudes of the organisation and the way it works and behaves (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 103). Culture is an internal element. How responsible the organisation appears to stakeholders is "primarily reflected and shaped by its culture" (pp. 99, 109).
Nobel Prize: Objectivity, independence and collegiality (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104, 110).09
Competences
What the organisation is particularly good at and what makes it better than the competition (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 103). The element concerns "an organisation's capabilities and resources and how they are combined into value-creating processes and potential competitive advantages" (p. 106).
Nobel Prize: "Rigorous processes to evaluate award candidates", proven for more than a century and described as "watertight compartments", so that a failure in one part cannot sink the whole (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 104, 107).
Reputation: Strategy Diagonal
10
Willingness to Support
Urde and Greyser take the element from Greyser (2009), who used willingness-to-support as a measure of the impact of reputation, and define it with the dictionary entry "approve of, encourage, stand-behind, stand up for, endorse, recommend" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, pp. 101–102). It is the reputation element most closely linked to mission and vision (p. 105).
Guiding question: "How engaging and inspiring are their purposes and practices?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A laureate: the Prize "serves to identify for the public both the ongoing pursuit of knowledge and also the importance of science for humanity" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 105).11
Differentiation
Urde and Greyser take the element from the Young & Rubicam model and define it with the dictionary entry "distinction, distinctiveness, contrast, difference, demarcation" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It relates to the wanted position; the strategy diagonal runs from willingness-to-support through mission and vision, the brand core and position to differentiation (pp. 104–105).
Guiding question: "How distinctive is their position in the market?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: The president of Stanford University: in the sciences "you go to Stockholm only if you make a fundamental breakthrough [that] really reshaped the field" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 106).
Reputation: Competition Diagonal
12
Relevance
Urde and Greyser take the element from the Young & Rubicam model and define it with the dictionary entry "closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It is the perceived relevance of the value proposition (pp. 106–107).
Guiding question: "How appealing and meaningful is the value they offer?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A former director of the Nobel Foundation: the Prize is based on "the enlightenment and a philosophy of progress, to move the world from one position to another" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 107).13
Performance
Urde and Greyser take the element from Fombrun (1996) and define it with the dictionary entry "consistently good in quality or performance, able to be trusted" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It mirrors the competences (p. 107). An earlier version used reliability, which managers in the bench tests found easily confused with credibility and trustworthiness (p. 102).
Guiding question: "How solid and consistent are their quality and performance?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A member of a Nobel committee: "The institution's ability, proven for a long period of time, to select the most worthy laureates and the most important discovery, with relatively few questionable decisions" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 107).
Reputation: Communication Horizontal
14
Recognisability
Urde and Greyser take the element from the Young & Rubicam model and define it with the dictionary entry "identification from previous encounters or knowledge. Recollection, recall, remembrance" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It mirrors expression (p. 108).
Guiding question: "How distinct, visible and consistent are their overall communications?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A laureate: "Nobel is the last word in recognition" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 108).15
Credibility
Urde and Greyser take the element from Fombrun (1996) and define it with the dictionary entry "the quality of being convincing or believable" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It is closely linked to personality (p. 108).
Guiding question: "How believable and convincing are they?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A laureate: "There are many awards, some of them more lucrative, but there is no scientist alive that would not return all of them in exchange for the Nobel Prize" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 109).
Reputation: Interaction Vertical
16
Trustworthiness
Urde and Greyser take the element from Fombrun (1996) and define it with the dictionary entry "firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability. A relationship built on mutual trust and respect" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). It reflects "the nature" of the relationships the organisation strives to build with its stakeholders (p. 109).
Guiding question: "How dependable are their words and deeds?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A laureate: "They have the motto 'A good prize one year will be a better one the next'. They feel no pressure, and will rather wait until they are absolutely sure" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 109).17
Responsibility
Urde and Greyser take the element from Fombrun (1996) and define it with the dictionary entry "a moral obligation to behave correctly towards or in respect of" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 102). How responsible an organisation is seen to be is mainly reflected and shaped by its culture (p. 109).
Guiding question: "How committed and accountable are they?" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, Table 2, p. 102).
Nobel Prize: A former director of the Nobel Foundation: the Foundation is "entrusted to steward and ensure quality of the Nobel Prize" and does so "with honour and a strong sense of loyalty and duty" (Urde & Greyser, 2016, p. 110).
Source
- Urde, M., & Greyser, S. A. (2016). The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix – The Case of the Nobel Prize. Journal of Brand Management, 23(1), 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2015.49