Corporate branding in a nutshell – what it is, why to invest in it, and how to get started

Corporate branding is, simply put, the practical expression of a company’s identity. It is the combined image of the company that emerges at the intersection of its strategy, values, and actual behavior. It is the answer to the question: how do our stakeholders perceive us?  In other words, it is the image stakeholders form of a brand through their interactions with it, and over time these images become the brand’s reputation. (Abratt & Kleyn 2021.)

A company is, to further develop, not merely its products or services, its financial performance, its staff, or its premises. It is also, and perhaps most importantly, the thoughts, associations, and emotions of others connecting and interacting with the company. Branding can therefore be seen as a window into the company’s strategy: the element that makes vision, mission, and value propositions understandable, recognizable, and relevant in everyday life.

A well-developed corporate brand clearly communicates who the company is, why it exists, and who it serves. It unites the organization around shared values, strengthens corporate culture, facilitates decision-making, and reinforces market positioning and credibility. Branding is, in other words, not about isolated communication efforts but about ensuring that the entire organization consistently acts in line with the company’s identity and strategic objectives – both internally and externally (Abratt & Kleyn 2021).

Working with corporate branding is long-term, just like entrepreneurship itself. Even during challenging periods when a company is struggling to survive, it is constantly relating to its external environment. The company interacts, produces, and communicates through its employees, processes, and offering. How the company acts and what it conveys always affects how partners and the outside world perceive it. In other words, a company always has a brand, the question is whether it is consciously developed and managed or not.

When the experience of the company itself creates advantages, for instance in how the market and customers value the company and its role, brand equity is created, meaning value of the brand itself. Brand equity emerges in how customers and other stakeholders behave specifically toward the company. Without it, the company risks becoming a commodity where competition primarily revolves around price.

Research clearly shows strong connections between strong corporate brands and business success:

Successful brand management always starts with the company’s strategy. A clear direction is essential: who are we, why do we exist, and where are we heading in the long term? Strategic choices must be well thought-out, priorities few and clear, and goals relevant and measurable. Equally important is a deep understanding of customers, their needs, and the role the company’s offering plays in their reality.

When strategy is broken down into operational plans, objectives, KPIs, and follow-up mechanisms, structure is created. When focus is also placed on how this entity is perceived and experienced, internally and externally, we move into the realm of corporate branding.

The next step is to summarize the strategy in a clear value proposition. A value proposition is a short, concise promise of the value the company creates, for whom it creates value, and why it is relevant. It is based on an understanding of the customer’s mission, challenges, and goals – and how the company’s offering contributes to value creation in the customer’s processes.

A compelling value proposition makes the company’s purpose understandable, communicable, and usable, both internally and in interactions with the market.

Strategy and value proposition are good starting points, but only a beginning. For corporate branding efforts to have real impact, they must be translated into behaviors, processes, ways of working, and culture. This means involving the organization and ensuring a shared understanding of what the strategy means in practice; aligning leadership, customer service, sales, marketing as well as all other functions; and consistently delivering on what the brand promises.

Branding is a long-term effort that requires clear leadership, continuous follow-up, and perseverance. Every decision and action affects the brand, whether the work is consciously structured or not. If you want to develop a part of your organization to better support your brand and what you want to communicate –  whether it is a product, a process, a method, or a way of working –  Centria’s RDI unit employs 170 people full-time in research and development across eight different areas of expertise, and can contribute to your development with expertise, technology, and development environments (laboratories).

The author develops operations related to RDI (Research, Development, and Innovation) services at Centria, with a focus on chemistry and biotechnology, and has an 18-year background in business development, branding, and leadership within Finnish and Swedish companies.