Internal Brand Alignment | Employee Loyalty

Is internal branding a strength or a weakness?

Internal Branding is an important element of the branding game. It is important that every element of your business is aligned with your branding strategy - that includes your people. The bigger your organisation is, the more it takes to educate your people.

After all, the only way that your brand can be properly explained to your end consumer is when your people, fully immersed in the brand, are able to articulate it.

Jui Hong Teoh, Brand Director, Phische Advertising, Malaysia - April 1, 2002

Internal branding is certainly what you make of it. If is is just a "Rah-Team-Rah" approach to aligning your employees behind the brand - the results will reflect this. If it is a program that is brand-driven and is monitored and evaluated over time - such as business goals - it becomes real; offering insurance that people and their work reflect brand synergy.

Thomas Geyer - April 1, 2002

Successful brands build loyal relationships with customers. These relationships are built by employees, based on their consistent delivery of the brand promise. Thus, successful brands are those that align employee actions with a position that customers find unique and meaningful.

That said, internal branding is about more that a "Go team, go!" mentality. It's about supporting your competitive advantage at every level of the organization, in every activity. Which means ensuring compensation structures, reporting systems - everything - tracks progress against the brand strategy. In order for internal branding to work, organizations need to see the brand as the corporate strategy, not just a communications platform.

Stephanie Jackman, Integrated Marketing Strategist, Venture Communications - April 1, 2002

Internal branding can be a source of motivation or a dangerous fad. Two things determine which path it takes. If it's led by top management AND strategically mission driven then it's a source of motivation. If it's led by top management wannabees and tactically driven, then it's a dangerous fad.

Carroll, Marketing Communication Specialist - April 1, 2002

Unless your staff understand and are committed to the company's standards, which are the essence of your brand, you will continually suffer from poor performance. Andersen Consulting's woes might have been prevented, had their staff better understood the importance of their behavior and how that impacted their brand.

George Held, Communications Director, Grant Wood AEA - April 1, 2002

Internet branding is not about "happy-clappy" enthusiasm. It is best achieved when there's a strong link with a real world product or service..in fact it is the only way to go.

Jonathan Marks, Creative Director, Radio Netherlands - April 1, 2002

I think it really depends on the company and the industry climate.

Currently, our agency is redesigning the internal branding for a global energy corporation. In light of the Enron circus, it's extremely important for global energy corporations like this to have a strong internal brand. This company has spent millions in recent years to improve its benefits programs and they need to present these benefits options to their employees in a competent and reassuring manner.

HR benefits serve collectively as an employees' safety blanket. An effective brand campaign can make it as comfortable as a home-made quilt.

Equally, an uncomfortable safety blanket can shoo employees away from these valuable resources. And that means a financial loss for the company.

Mark Rosal, Designer, Falco Design - April 1, 2002

Internal branding is one consistent hallmark of successful companies. If you think about it, external branding -- advertising, P.R., corporate design, etc. -- are a reflection of the delivery of the brand by the people who work for the company, i.e., the employees. The training, motivation, and rewards that inspire them are key to that delivery.

Mark Hornung, Managing Partner, West, JWT Specialized Communications - April 1, 2002

Successful internal branding requires more than just letting your employees in on your latest advertising campaign messages and/or short-range business or sales goals. Rather, successful internal branding is a reflection of the executive leadership and their strategic positioning and direction for the company. It allows your employees to recognize that everyone in your organization, from the top down, is on the same page. It emphasizes your fundamental promise to your customers, and outlines a means for delivering on this promise...a way for every employee to be a part of the larger picture. In this way, it gives employees a sense of ownership within the company, as well as a sense of place. It fosters loyalty among staff members in the same way that external brand initiatives foster loyalty among consumers.

I would agree with many of the other comments on this subject -- that internal branding is "what you make of it." If it's handled in a tactical, shallow manner, it is bound to be a waste of resources and ultimately counter-productive. But if it is handled correctly, it has the potential to be a profound tool that can increase performance, employee satisfaction and ultimately -- profits.

Paul Corrigan, Vice President, Solomon - April 1, 2002

Successful brands are built both top to bottom and bottom to top. Everyone that is involved in a brand's success needs to embrace a shared vision.

From marketing strategies to compensation, IT to hiring practices, everything and everyone must be singing from the same song sheet.

The brand is as much an expression of a company's beliefs as it is of their promise to the customer. Everyone must deliver on that promise and share those beliefs in order for the brand to truly be successful.

Tracy Chong, Account Director, Brandworks International Inc. - April 1, 2002

The danger of internal branding lies in the same areas of product/service branding. If company policies and executives do not live up to the brand promise internal branding is doomed to failure. By nature of the employer/employee relationship, employees will be much more sensitive to internal branding missteps than their consumer counterparts are to faulty branding of retail goods. Any policy, human resource issue or communication not in line with the internal brand promise will be harshly reviewed by the “customers.” These missteps will be reinforced, at the water cooler, by the company’s worst spokespeople, diminishing gains realized.

If the goal is branding "employment" as opposed to branding the "company," keep in mind that there are many items beyond the employer’s control that affect the employee’s brand perception. An employee’s view of employment and thus their employer and employment includes their commute, coworkers, managers, customers, clients, facilities and perception of the company’s competition as well as the service providers, equipment and products they experience on a day to day basis.

Greg Padley, AE, RFC&P - April 1, 2002

Years ago, in "In Search of Excellence," Tom Peters explained that every company has a culture, and that successful companies were often the ones that recognized their culture and made it work for them. As opposed to fighting it or trying to be something they were not.

This is what internal branding is about. Recognizing that each corporation’s culture is distinct and then not merely embracing it, but bringing it to life in a meaningful way. How? Bonuses, commissions, benefits - these are often bandied about. But corporate culture (and therefore internal branding) also has to do with rules and regulations – dress codes, tolerance issues, hierarchies, enforcement of punctuality, levels of respect, accepted methods of operation. Corporate culture is about all the ways an employee connects with the employer.

And so is internal branding. So the question isn’t "is internal branding good or bad?" The question is "What is your internal brand, and is it helping you or hurting you?"

Martin Bihl, CD, Renegade Marketing Group - April 1, 2002

Internal branding is a great way to bridge the "after-recruitment" gap in motivation. In services industries this is especially important, where the employee is an integral part of the brand. The downward spiral related to un-motivated employees is a well documented and understood issue. The question is why do so many businesses ignore it?

Gary Hunt, Manager Business Development Projects, P&O Ports - April 1, 2002

Brand dissonance can occur when those representing the brand - employees, sales reps, etc, fail to deliver the brand promise. This typically occurs when the brand is completely consumer centric and the company does not support the values internally. This can result in the employees loosing faith, becoming cynical and in the worst case passing on this attitude to the customers.

An internal brand can help but only when the internal brand:

is developed as an extension of the primary brand
wholly supports and does not contradict the primary brand in any way
is employee-centric, i.e., addresses the fears and desires of staff in relation to brand offering
the values of the internal brand are believable and achievable
the purpose is well communicated and managed
it is kept internal
serves to help the employees reinforce the primary brand message to the consumer

Developing an internal brand which does not address the above will escalate the problem and really will be a waste of money.

Lindsay Marshall, Senior Consultant - April 1, 2002

I started my career in sales and used to always wonder at the logic of the waste that went by the name of corporate campaigns. My mind would shriek "gimme the money and I will double sales." As I grew up I have begun to appreciate the role of internal and external brand corporate communication. Thats the problem -- I had to find out on my own.

As lots have pointed out before me, internal branding works when it's strategically driven etc etc. Thats a given. More importantly, how the whole exercise is pre-sold(it is that, no matter what u call it!) makes all the difference to its effectiveness or lack of wastefullnes.

Suprio Guha Thakurta, Marketing Consultant, Currently Independent (ok,ok, jobless!) - April 2, 2002

The question is not "good " or "bad" but "how much."

Thomas Hersche, Sales Manager - April 2, 2002

Retaining your best people and hiring better ones is the key to better management. I think making heroes out of outstanding performers is necessary in order to set high standards and motivate existing and new employees to create new standards by exceeding the existing ones. Hence I definitely support internal branding.

H.S.S - April 2, 2002

Am I the only one who is not a top-level management person who directly benefits or is directly involved in the company's internal branding campaign?

As the so-called worker bee, i can tell you that it doesn't make a hoot of difference to me that the company spent thousands of dollars painting the lobbby some hideous colour or that there is a christmas party each year for which thousands of dollars that could form a bonus are wasted on people getting pissed and shacking up with each other. What matters when you're scrapping by is the money, and all the little waste-of-time programs that HR or Marketing devise to make me feel "great" don't count if at the end of the day i'm too broke to enjoy a little of what i work so hard for.

I've been in the professional work force for 14 years and never seen an internal branding program that actually affected any bottomline quality of life such as meaningful benefits, reasonable vacation, decent paycheck. Glad you guys are all so committed to something that makes you feel good, but guess what? It's not working on your so-called target market.

Fed Up, Designer - April 2, 2002

Internal Branding matters because it helps companies to be different consistently – critical if they are to establish a strong and unique brand promise for their customers. Its advantage over Employee Branding or Culture Change is that, because it is directly linked to the main corporate brand, it is always geared towards the customer’s satisfaction. It is not introspective.

Any decent Internal Branding program should help managers and employees understand what makes their brand promise unique, why that is important and how their own behavior can make a difference. It should influence both their attitudes and actions – and include practical skills training.

Some companies fall down because they use internal communications that convey the rhetoric of the brand promise and values but their own policies and practices contradict the rhetoric. That’s when employees like the fed-up designer get disillusioned. Their employer doesn’t believe in the specific brand values and nor do they believe in honesty. So an internal branding program is a good test of a company’s integrity.

Nick Russell, Senior Director, Internal Branding, Landor Associates - April 2, 2002

No brand strategy will truly succeed if it is not a reflection of the company behind the brand. For example, if a company's brand promise is centered upon "exceptional customer service," and the customer service is anything BUT exceptional, the brand will die. It is not truthful and honest.

Of course, many brands are created on image only, and they succeed. A truly great and lasting brand comes from the inside. Disney is one shining example of this approach. This doesn't mean employees have to run around screaming the company tag line - it just means company culture and brand alignment are ideal.

Noel Roos, Graduate Student - April 2, 2002

To Mr. Fed Up's point, internal branding cannot be just a new color for the lobby nor can the brand effort be some "make you feel good" program conceived by the HR and Marketing departments.

The fundamental reason for the discord between the intent and outcome of internal brand programs is because they are just that, nothing but programs. The critical issue that needs to be understood is the significance of brand within the corporate decision making process, or corporate strategy. That is, how integrated is brand to the development and implementation of the company's goals and processes? The success of any brand strategy is dependent on the acceptance of brand as a driver of strategic choice, not just merely an asset. The more integrated brand is to corporate strategy and the less branding ownership is relegated to functions (HR, Marketing) the greater the success of any strategy will be. Even the distinction of 'Internal' and 'External' branding is an obsolete concept; true strategy should make no distinction and should account for the company as a whole.

There’s a lot to learn from Mr. Fed Up as he and his company clearly are the result of some expensive 'internal branding' consultant; or an overzealous upper manager. For all you consultants out there, I beg you to think before you make your 300 slide presentation to some unsuspecting senior manager. For all you senior managers in need of consulting, I think Mr. Fed Up may be available...

Anonymous - April 2, 2002

Brand building is more than running a lot of ads. It's a company-wide program that ensures the brand promise is delivered on. Internal branding is an aspect of brand management. When done properly it can be a very motivating force. Though designed for the service sector, I've seen it at nonprofits and the manufacturing sectors too. An important aspect of corporate brand mgmt is to teach employees and management how to communicate the brand strategy when they interact with customers and other key audiences (e.g., investors, the media). Assuming the brand strategy has identified a relevant competitive advantage and the corresponding customer benefit, then these become the platform for all communications, i.e., advertising, pr, dm, recruiting, and employee communications. The point of employee communications is to let folks know why the company is better than the competition. It should also inspire them to help communicate that message as well as look for new ways to express it and new ways to support it. Companies with a solid brand know this (e.g., Disney). Other companies simply run a lot of ads. This gives them high recognition, but no one knows why they should select them over a competitor.

Ken Goldman, Brand Consultant - April 2, 2002

Internal Branding??? Whats that??? If it means anything then it can be nothing but a dangerous fad. It is nothing more than another excuse for non-performers!! It's the people who don't want to work(and mind u every organization has a fair share of them!!) Who comes out with such things? Employees who are serious about their work will treat this as a waste of time and resources! I mean if you are good, then you are good and everybody in the organization knows that, so why do u need to create a brand???

Some say it's a cost-effective way to retain talent. Well if an organization is not good then top talent will never join that firm in the first place! Therefore, Internal Branding is nothing but a wasteful activity!!

Deepak Gupta, Student, IMT G'Bad, India - April 2, 2002

Internal branding is definitely a strength. It is the logical step in the synchronization of corporate values, beliefs, icons, stories, etc., with external brand communication to help ensure consistent and effective brand contacts. It's almost impossible to execute an effective brand strategy externally when it is misunderstood, miscommunicated or totally ignored internally.

Steve Rapier, VP, The Artime Group - April 2, 2002

The Virgin stable of brands is the best testimony I can think of to support the case for internal branding.

Andrew Barlow, Ansett Worldwide - April 2, 2002

As often happens, the language we use confuses the issue.

‘Internal Branding’ is of course nothing more than branding with a different target audience. And branding is nothing more (!) than understanding your audience and communicating with them in the most effective way.

If it’s done badly - whether internal or external - it is (at best) a waste of money. If it’s done well, it adds value. Clearly, many of your correspondents who believe the former are merely saying that they have not seen it done well.

But these arguments do not attack the principle of internal branding - because if they do, then they surely attack the whole essence of branding in toto.

Matthew Lonsdale, Partner, www.gospelbranding.com - April 3, 2002

People pay the internal brand lipservice, but its only when there's a committed budget and buy-in at senior level that anything coherent or effective gets done.

Every CEO worth his or her salt knows that a consistent brand that delivers on its promises internally and externally is desirable, but it's so very rarely a priority for capital expenditure.

It's also worth remembering that a powerful internal brand can be created by leadership style as much as by attempts to align internal and external messages.

Service industries will continue to wish for the impossible as long as they make emotional demands of employees to behave in a certain way whilst offering them no tangible reward other than gratitude.

Well done on living the brand. Now carry on.

Ed Cox, WPP - April 3, 2002

Basically, internal branding is the next best choice -- after hypnotizing. If it were at all possible, all employees would be hypnotized upon recruitment to 'share the vision' of the company. This way, everyone would have the same vector force which could only push the company forward in its endeavours.

Leonard Holmes, Asst. Brand Manager, Tazzlon - April 3, 2002

From an employee's perspective every company has an internal brand whether by default or design. So, the question employers should be asking is 'is our internal brand the one we need? Does it help to create a culture that can meet the demands made of it by our corporate strategy? Does it promote behavior that is supportive of our external brand, corporate values and personal beliefs?'

I sympathize with Fed Up Designer. For those who question the importance of internal branding, imagine a workforce full of similarly demotivated, disenfranchised and patronized employees. Long term business success is not built on such foundations.

Stephen Bass, Creative Director - April 3, 2002

Internal branding is no different from external branding. Employees like to work for companies which have strong customer equity in the market and reputation with other stake holders.

Rajat Gera, Birla Institute of Management Technology, N Delhi - April 7, 2002

If internal branding is viewed simply as an esteem-building process then it’s definitely a waste of time, money and opportunity. However, if the company brand isn’t supported internally it’s impossible to build a functional brand of any type. Done properly, internal branding is an invaluable business tool that supports the business plan.

Company-wide understanding of what the company stands for, where it’s going, and how it plans to get there is the key to aligning management/staff expectations, simplifying internal communications, and creating a common sense of purpose. As a result, the effort ordinarily expended holding a misaligned group together can be redirected to advancing the business — the goal of all smart companies.

Bob Grindeland, Principal, Methodologie, Inc. - April 8, 2002

In too many companies, employees feel "hit over the head" with internal branding initiatives ... and senior mgt. is still unhappy with the results of these initiatives.

It's only when this information is really positioned as something critical to the job, serving employees needs, and tied to company success ... that employees really buy into it.

John Garrison, Principal, Messaging Lab - April 8, 2002

As a production person, I do not agree with the counter point. It's the "revenue earners" that ARE the brand. It's important to have a common brand so that we all work toward the same goal. Plus, being part of a great brand benefits the same folks in future employment.

Dan Vaslow, Interactive Specialist, Methodologie, Inc - April 8, 2002

If internal branding has no merit, then why is society in general, and are individuals more specifically, so fixated on introspection? Why do we try to better ourselves? Why do we try to identify weaknesses and strengths, then better them? Could it be that we want to become better at our chosen craft? A better partner / spouse? Maybe a better member of our community? Ah, there it is. A better part of our community. After all, what is an organization without people? It's paper and nothing more. And what is an organization without a driving force and focus? It's a community with no reason for being, or at least no reason for belonging to.

People want to belong. So much so that they will, at times, go to extraordinary lengths to find, or even create, it. Internal branding gives focus and purpose to a community. When created, communicated and demonstrated correctly, it provides a greater purpose for our getting up and getting to our jobs every day. It creates belonging. And when the brand goes external, it creates the desire to "belong" with targeted groups. It will be felt and it is the source of emotion behind individual brands.

Is it easy? No. Is it a waste? Only if you believe that people operate best without purpose in their work. Could it require more than organizational change? It could go as far as to require an entire business plan to be rethought without the burden of historical bias weighing too heavily on future guidance. Who has the guts to undertake such a task? This can be the topic of the next debate: Leadership.

T. Kurt Bentley, Director of Brand Development, Emergence Creative Labs - April 8, 2002

In agreement with Lindsay Marshall's comments on 'brand dissonance,' the challenge with (internal) branding, which I've experienced professionally, is that a disconnection occurs and is revisited each time a brand fails to meet it's promise, either externally to the consumer or internally to the employee. Some may debate about proper budget allocations, resources, authorizing change agents to set in motion a successful program, but remember it's employee driven —if employees don't believe in the brand's credibility and deliver a consistent message and valuable experience, then it is a waste. It's not a matter of just enlightening employees, it's about taking a look at what values are in conflict (priorities are influenced by values), and the relevant value built through an internal branding program.

What does providing a better brand experience for the consumer also offer that is of benefit to the front line employee?

Richard Long, Graphic Designer - April 8, 2002

Brand needs to be looked at holistically to drive results for a company. And the human components of a company’s brand assets are significant drivers in brand value. The executive brands provide the vision, and the employees throughout the company contribute to customer experience. Whether they are building product, answering the phones or delivering services, if the employees are not connected to and committed to the corporate brand, the customer experience will suffer. One only has to look at companies like Saturn and Yahoo, where employee brand evangelism is exemplary to see the benefits of internal brand communications.

William Arruda, President, Reach Communications Consulting - April 8, 2002

'Internal Branding' is really the wrong word. It is not about branding non-marketing, e.g., production staff, but getting them to contribute to the branding effort in all 'moments of truth' where contact with customers or other stakeholders is involved. 'Internal Branding Extension' might be a better word, meaning the extension of the branding effort to include non-marketing staff (and maybe even some marketing people like the ones in sales who are not fully contributing to the branding effort).

The question is not whether it is important (IT IS!), but how to best get non-brand marketing staff on board. One way which I found very effective is to simply explain to non-brand-marketing staff how branding actually works, give them a 'feely' understanding, and then let them define what they can DO in their own job to contribute better to the overall branding effort. I have done this successfully on a number of occasions. The approach is based on the assumption that non-brand marketing staff know their jobs better than some 'marketing guy' who comes along to tell them something. It is important though to get a change of behaviour out of this exercise, not just a change of attitudes!

Professor Guenther Mueller-Heumann, Emeritus Professor of Marketing, New Zealand Marketing Management Programmes - April 8, 2002

Truly successful brands are seamless across all levels of a company’s communications, from logos to ads, from employee benefits to the music you hear in the office lobby. To that end, the internal brand should flow logically and beautifully from the core brand idea.

Sure, no internal branding campaign is better than one that’s pandering or poorly planned. But know that internal branding is not a poster or picnic or newsletter or referral program or any other execution from Human Resources 101. Rather, it’s a logical extension of what the brand stands for.

If a company has a strong brand, it will build employee loyalty. And loyal employees lead to increased service levels, which lead to increased revenues, which make shareholders very happy. Further, study after study reminds us that salary is never the number one factor in employee satisfaction. If you’re miserable at work, you remain miserable with a 5% raise. But a great culture, an internal brand that employees can grasp and become excited by, triggers the loyalty gene in your best employees and acts as a lightening rod with top talent. Its effect is tantamount to a cult. When done right, the internal brand is strong stuff.

Cliff Courtney, Consultant/Writer, Jumbo Green - April 8, 2002

Saying that internal branding is a waste of money is like saying marketing dollars would be better spent on increasing sales commission or applied against a reduction in the price of goods: it works short term, but is not sustainable long term. Sales and production are often quick to point the finger on so-called 'soft' initiatives, but are the first to look for and benefit from strong and positive internal culture.

Cristiane Bourbonnais, President, Cohesion Strategies - April 8, 2002

Real brand equity is only built through ongoing positive customer experience.

In the services industry, such customer experience is usually experienced via an interaction with a staff member (sales, call centre or even an office worker answering a call).

This interaction can be greatly enhanced by ensuring that the brand promise has firstly been accepted by staff, well before it's exposed externally.

Matching the external promise to the internal reality is critical, and internal branding can assist in this process.

Mike Adlam, Corporate Brand Manager, Australian Unity (Insurance & Investments) - April 9, 2002

Internal Branding is a critical element in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). After all, there are people behind the powerful (and failed) brands.

Albert Cuadrante, Managing Director, Acumen Strategic Consulting, Inc. - April 9, 2002

To describe internal branding as a dangerous fad is about as accurate a prediction as Bill Gates' famous quote that “640k ought to be enough for anyone”. Company culture has always been an important factor in business success and a business’s people can make or break the business. It is just that it has not been until relatively recently that businesses have recognised the powerful role the brand can play in creating a focal point for defining this culture. So we are not talking about some new-fangled new-age story here. Internal branding, like the majority consulting techniques, is simply a refinement into a practise of what successful businesses have been doing for years. Indeed, was it not Lord King who described each and every one of British Airways’ flight attendants as brand managers…in the early 80s.

Fred Burt, BrandWizard Technologies - April 10, 2002

Getting personnel to understand and embrace the promotion of a brand is absolutely essential if a company is to fulfill it's maximum potential. There is no doubt in my mind that brand leaders are led by management that really get's behind and educates their staff, allowing them to deliver the brand story the way it should be given. Everyone in the company represents the brand, they just don't always know it, and once they do, the brand awareness level will grow by leaps and bounds. It's a great way to spend time effort and get a real return on the investment.

Jack Sims - April 11, 2002

Internal branding is great but even if employees understand the brand it doesn't necessarily translate to the same employee upholding the brand's values. A company that has any employees dealing externally must ensure that those employees are the greatest proponents of the brand.

Leanne Higham, Marketing Mgr. - April 15, 2002

Branding gives rise to expectations. Unless everyone involved in the value delivery transaction is in synch about what expectations the brand is to give rise to and fulfill, the consumer is going to feel short changed sooner or later. There is no way this can be done without serious attention being paid to internal branding. It is critical.

Rajiv Badlani, Consultant, Norquest Consulting - April 16, 2002

When you decide to embark on internal branding it is like deciding to love the person you are married to: If you don’t love that person already, there is something wrong with the way you have made choices. If you have to make a decision to love that person, you are ignorant about the nature of love. Then what? Give them all an excuse for not having done your job and start doing it now.

Brian Dan Christensen, Strategic Planner, marselis-marketing.dk - April 16, 2002

If your brand is the distilled essence of your company then obviously it is important that your employees are aware of what this means to them. I'd be interested in hearing some thoughts on what this means in relation to globalisation.

Stuart, CD, Thorndyke - April 16, 2002

Endomarketing is cool and absolutely necessary to branding. The point is: how much internal branding is effective so that the brand will come alive in the organization and beyond by building value??

Cleuton Carrijo, Director, New Business, Midiaweb - Interactive Agency - April 17, 2002

Internal branding or a form of "co-opting" -- having the best people on your board to influence the brand's image. But as far as the brand image is concerned, it's all about brand personality and that can be enhanced by recruiting new and more creative members in the board who might not seem to be the one having the strong or powerful image. Therefore, just to say that quality products and services can be made by quality people will be incorrect until and unless we clearly define the phrase" quality people" and not just relate it to "co-opting" -- recruiting quality people.

Sunil Kataria, Student, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies: INDIA - April 17, 2002

I know how easy it is to be cynical about internal branding --especially when it's perceived as some goofy HR program that insults your intelligence by not focusing on what really matters to you as an employee, and as a person.

But, for a handful of companies who have figured out that employees ARE the brand, the rewards of internal branding are considerable.

Once management focuses on how to keep people centered and involved with their company's objectives, they'll enjoy the returns of a mobilized, inspired workforce. It isn't flavor of the week stuff, it works. I've experienced it first hand.

But, it has to be treated seriously -- with dedicated resources allocated to continually engage people. I believe it involves competitive pay and bonuses, a respectful work environment, advancement based on merit and communication that ties to business strategy. Nothing new here in the telling -- but it amazes me how few leaders take on this challenge with a long-term commitment to the foot soldiers who make things happen -- the employees.

Perhaps we should base CEO compensation on the opinions of employees around their leaders' abilities to command, lead communicate and engage people in the brand from the inside.

Think anyone would sign up for that job?

Larry Eckerle, Managing Partner, Zero Gravity Group - April 17, 2002

Internal branding? whatever. if you have a company that needs internall branding it's either you are 1) too big, so much so that your own employees don't even know what you stand for as a company 2) have a bunch of management overheads in need of something to do to advance their own careers. I just left a tech consulting firm that was all of the above. join a smaller firm, or start your own. then this whole internal branding discussion wouldn't even need to take place.

anonymous - April 21, 2002

Internal branding definitely strengthen brand building effort. It's a part of total branding.

Md. Quamrul Hassan, Group Brand Manager, Virgin Drinks, Bangladesh - April 21, 2002

Yes - internal branding is of course a strength - surely no-one will seriously debate it on principle? It often fails in practice though because it is treated superficially as spin-doctoring, perhaps just as a part of the marketing communications remit, and often without any real senior management commitment to improve the business and live up to the promise made in external communications. Often too, the content of the brand strategy is too ephemeral and "motherhood" oriented to really inform action and choices. As in all things, it's not what you do so much as how you do it.

Chris Warren, Business Brand Consultant - April 22, 2002

The question of whether internal branding is a strength or a weakness depends upon how it is used.

Remember that a lightpost can be used for illumination or as a crutch to lean against.

Mark Alexander, Owner, www.markalex.com - April 25, 2002

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