Effective Corporate Communication and Brand Building

Posted on Mar 29, 2025 in Marketing

Corporate Communication Fundamentals

Corporate communication is a set of activities involved in managing and organizing internal and external communications to create a favourable point of view among stakeholders. It’s an integrative communication structure that links stakeholders to the organization. Companies aim to create a positive corporate image using messages, behaviours, and symbols to build a reputation aligned with their corporate identity.

The corporate identity influences perceptions among various groups, including:

  • Clients
  • Community
  • Investors
  • Employees

These perceptions collectively form the company’s reputation. A strong reputation can lead to better results, such as:

  • Larger margins and higher prices
  • Attracting and retaining top talent
  • Stable revenue
  • Consumer loyalty
  • Lower risk of crises

Strategic Planning in Communication

Planning involves strategic reflection, consolidating efforts to manage resources efficiently, acquiring internal commitment, and using the plan as a common tool for sharing strategy and building reputation.

Understanding Corporate Branding

Corporate branding is the practice of promoting the brand name of a corporate entity, as opposed to specific products or services. The three main assets are the customers, the brand, and the people. Therefore, company communication must consistently support the Corporate Brand by providing coherent internal and external information, reflecting the corporate identity, and adding value to the brand.

Branding Strategies

Examples include:

  • Giving a name to a product brand (e.g., Disney creating Disneyland)
  • Giving names to product lines (e.g., Gillette)
  • Not giving specific names to products or brands under the corporate umbrella (e.g., Inditex group)

Corporate Brand Identity Components

Mission

Defines the organization’s procedures, including its purpose, activities, and operational boundaries (where it should or should not operate).

Vision

Defines the way the organization aims to reach its objectives and develop its mission.

Positioning

Refers to the comparative perception of the brand in relation to competitors within the target market. Society should understand the key differences. The main goal is often to be the leader of the sector, which requires being relevant, coherent, sustainable, and communicable.

Peripheral Values

These are the aspects that distinguish the brand, such as:

  • Values associated with the product or service
  • Values relevant to the target audience (e.g., interests)
  • Values of the organization itself (internal aspects)

Brand Personality

This defines how the brand expresses itself, including its language, tone, and behaviour.

Operational Process of Communication Campaigns

A communication campaign uses strategies to produce effects on the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of potential customers to persuade them. This process is coordinated across various media channels.

Campaign Process Steps

  1. Identify and define the overall goal and describe specific, measurable objectives.
  2. Define the target audience effectively.
  3. Create compelling messages.
  4. Pre-test and revise messages and materials, considering their presence and impact across media channels.
  5. Implement the campaign effectively, utilizing appropriate messengers or spokespeople.
  6. Evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness against the defined objectives.

In summary: Start with basic information (market, product, budget, target audience) and establish criteria to assess and evaluate creative strategy proposals.

Reach and Frequency Considerations

  • Reach Focus: Often used when targeting beyond loyal customers to acquire new ones, in unclear markets, or for seasonal selling.
  • Frequency Focus: May be necessary with low brand loyalty, complex messages, strong competitors, or a very clearly defined target audience.

Developing a Communication Strategy and Plan

Communication exists to influence behaviour. Key approaches include:

  • Persuasive communication: Creating an impression and convincing the audience about a particular idea.
  • Promotional incentives: Capturing attention and rewarding the recipient’s efforts or engagement.

The communication process typically acts on three levels:

  • Knowledge: Building awareness and notoriety of the message.
  • Feelings: Influencing attitude, affection, and willingness towards the brand or idea.
  • Action: Driving desired behaviours.

Integral Communication Plan Steps

  1. Situation Analysis: Examine the target audience, internal factors, external environment (including competitors), and current image/positioning. This helps identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
  2. Diagnosis and General Objectives: Based on the analysis, define general objectives related to the audience and message. Create the corporate strategy, leveraging information systems, and establish methods for control and implementation.
  3. Audience Definition: Clearly define the target audience(s).
  4. Communication Objectives and Message Strategies: Set specific communication objectives. Develop message strategies outlining the core benefit (what) and the reasoning (why).

An operational strategy, often called the communication mix, is also crucial. This includes selecting and integrating various tools, such as:

  • Internal communication tools
  • Corporate publicity
  • Events
  • Media relations
  • Internet marketing