Note on Ceo Branding

Note on CEO branding

Bendisch et al. (2013) proposed a conceptual model of CEO brands. The authors examined the marketing literature to identify differences between products and people as brands and discussed how CEO brands can enhance corporate brand equity. Their proposed model is based on an application of existing corporate branding concepts to CEOs.  The authors argued that CEO brands can be legitimately considered as brands. CEO brands are influenced by their personality and their role as managers. Organizations need to constantly monitor CEO brand reputation as well as communicate its positioning. Successful CEO branding enhances perceived brand value and creates value for organizations.

    A corporate brand is defined as ‘….a systematically planned and implemented process of creating and maintaining favorable images and consequently a favorable reputation of the company as a whole by sending signals to all stakeholders by managing behavior, communication, and symbolism’ (Einwiller and Will, 2002). One way of operationalizing the above definition is through CEO brand personification. A CEO brand can personify to stakeholders what the organization stands for. A favorable stakeholder perception enhances a CEO’s status leading to greater CEO brand equity.

    CEOs are public figures. Public’s opinion about a company is partially accounted for by the reputation of the CEO (Burson-Marsteller, 2006). This has implications for the corporate brand. A corporate brand can benefit by developing and managing CEO brands taking into account the impact of stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers, consultants, investors, media etc. This has potential for creating value for the company.

    The model proposed by Bendisch et al. (2013) suggests that congruency between the brand identity as viewed from the creator organization’s perspective and brand reputation as perceived by stakeholders facilitates a strong positioning against competitive brands, which ultimately leads to CEO brand equity. A successful way of achieving this congruency might be to systematically build an emotional relationship with stakeholders over time. Monitoring of the CEO’s brand reputation might prove beneficial (Casanova, 2004; Fombrun et al., 2015). The CEO RepTrak® study (Fombrun et al., 2015) showed - the better a CEO’s reputation, the more likely it is that managers want to work for that CEO, the more likely peers are to say how they feel about having that CEO as the spokesperson for the company, and the keener they are to invest in the companies that these executives lead. Stakeholders are more likely to speak highly about, to work for, and to invest in the shares of a company where the CEO has a favorable reputation. They are also more likely to be receptive to corporate messages expressed by that CEO.

    Bendisch et al. (2013) used two frameworks for the conceptualization of CEO brands – Hankinson and Cowking (1995) and Aaker’s (2003) brand identity dimensions. The assumption in the conceptualization was that CEO brands are unique type of People brands as they are subject to various stakeholder needs. Also, CEO brands have a managerial identity and have to consider their relationship with the corporate brand.

    Two perspectives are noteworthy – ‘input’ and ‘output’. Aaker’s framework takes an ‘input’ perspective whereas, both, Kapferer’s (2012) brand identity prism and De Chernatony’s (1999) process for managing brands and their identity, additionally incorporate an ‘output’ or stakeholder perspective. The stakeholder perspective relates to actual brand identity – how the brand is perceived by stakeholders. For CEO brands, it is particularly important to consider not only personal identity but also managerial identity (Bendisch et al., 2007). The constant need to control personal identity in order to fulfil responsibilities as a CEO and meet the high expectations of stakeholders can result in “role stress”, (Cooper and Payne, 1978). The result is that CEOs may behave in a way that can erode the perceived value of their brand. The personal conflict is unique to people brands. A successful CEO brand is the one who is able to create the essence of both his CEO brand and the corporate brand in such a way that it resonates with a wide range of stakeholders.