In the spotlight today:
Branding and advertising.
The news:
“Brands that unify their stories experience double-digit growth in sales, candidate applications, and content engagement.” (Source)
The details:
At the end of March, LinkedIn published an infographic that outlines the relationship between different types of brands, and how their alignment can create tremendous impact. Types of brands discussed are 1) corporate brand, 2) consumer brand, and 3) talent (or employer) brand. Originally, the purpose of each is to influence stakeholders’ perceptions of a business. To be clear, stakeholder focus varies depending on the type of brand. According to LinkedIn, a corporate brand is created and maintained for stakeholders such as investors and influencers; a consumer brand for customers and partners; and a talent brand for employees and candidates.
There are a few different scenarios in regards to how brand types are managed. The first and most frequently appearing one is when the three brands within one organization are driven by different decision makers - in silos. This usually results in misalignment. Another scenario is when an organization focuses on a selected type of brand (i.e., consumer brand), but does very little or nothing about the other two (i.e., corporate and employer brand).
It’s important to note that all three brands are crucial, and they bring the best results when they are unified. Ultimately, the compound of corporate, consumer, and talent brands is the brand DNA. LinkedIn found that organizations with “a unified approach and shared brand DNA experience 84% lift in content engagement, 87% lift in application rate, 3x increase in conversion-to-hire rate, and 35% increase in sales growth over a 5-year period”.
Here’s how to #WorkSmartly:
Since today’s brand audiences overlap with each other, it’s good to keep in mind that an ex-employee can become a future partner, a customer can turn into a job applicant, or a partner can mature into an investor. That’s why it’s so pressing to successfully establish alignment and tell the same brand story across all ads. While accomplishing a truly unified brand can be somewhat challenging, the benefits it offers are outstanding.
What you can do to successfully overcome this challenge is communicate, plan, and execute brand and advertising strategies together as an extended team. Ensure collaboration with marketing, communications, human resources, or even leadership stakeholders when working on campaigns. This way, you’ll be able to craft a unified brand from your corporate, consumer, and talent brands. The alignment you establish will drive brand familiarity and build trust in your audience.
What’s your current approach to your organization’s corporate, consumer, and employer brands?
