Listening: A Strategy and Change Blog | Hosfeld & Associates

The future of brand building “will involve all stakeholders (in a)… fluid, uncertain world where a brand evolves in dialogue with others. This in turn will require both openness and trust.” So say Nicholas Ind and Majken Schultz in an article from Strategy + Business.

Pointing to two examples – LEGO and Robobank – of companies among other examples, the authors comment on how brand building is slipping from arms of marketers into the hands of managers who are tending the total customer or stakeholder experience. “These organizations have understood that brand building (even if the terminology of branding is not used) is a participative process involving the whole organization and is the responsibility of all employees.”

Critical success factors for organizations creating brands in this environment, we predict, will include the abilities to align the organization on compelling strategies based on stakeholder dialogue, to foster and facilitate dialogue among multiple stakeholders, to channel greater flows of information into, within, and outside the organization, and to build authentic trust with stakeholder groups.

Strategy + Business Article: Brand Building Beyond Marketing