Branding beyond the CEO

All companies aspire to build brands that eventually get etched in the culture of the society and become cultural icons. But very few companies are able to achieve this iconic status. Contrary to popular perception, iconicity does not happen by chance, but rather has to be carefully planned and executed.

Branding enhances shareholder value, it can become a catalyst for better leadership, it enables a shared vision to be driven throughout the organisation, and it can help to balance short- and long-term perspectives and performance. But what makes an iconic brand?

A strong brand is characterized by a unique brand promise (the customer focus) and an outstanding brand delivery (the organisational system and performance behind the promise). The brand promise and the brand delivery must be rightly and consistently balanced to achieve branding excellence.

The modern brand-driven organisation is characterized by three distinct characteristics which set it apart from less brand-focused organisations. The company has the right mindset towards and beliefs about branding, it has the right skill sets to build and manage brands, and it allocates the right organisational and financial resources to achieve the various business objectives and build sustainable brand equity.

At first glance, these three elements seem obvious and fairly easy to achieve in any organisation, but in real business life, it is more complicated to get them right. It requires a fair deal of orchestrated and detailed efforts in all parts of the organisation and a long-term perspective, which can also sustain short-term fall-outs in the overall economy, in the industry and among customer segments. The following examines three important characteristics:

Branding is a comprehensive process

Successful branding must encapsulate the entire company and its multiple and cross-functional actions and activities. When everyone in the organization serves the customers and creates customer value, then everyone is doing marketing regardless of function or department.

This comprehensive task of aligning and managing customer touch points cannot be left to or even controlled successfully by the marketing departments alone. All customer touch points have to be aligned and optimised around the brand.

Hence, branding is not a one-off session run by a separate marketing function by mid-level marketing managers but a truly integrated part of the boardroom strategy that involves finance, operations, human resources and legal issues.

The important role of the CEO

One of the key components of iconic brands is their CEO who acts as the chief brand ambassador. CEOs do not only consistently invest in building brands that resonate with customers across time and space, but they also become highly visible representatives of the brand itself. Some of the most iconic brands in the world demonstrate this. The Virgin Group has almost been an extension of the flamboyant and energetic personality of Sir Richard Branson. Dangote is almost inseparable from its namesake owner.

Such close associations of the brands with their CEOs undeniably bestow considerable advantages on the underlying brand equity. It conveys significant investment in brand building activities, a complete buy-in from the top management and an implicit guarantee from the CEO about the quality of the product and/or service.

But what happens when such CEOs leave? Steve Jobs is a case in point. Before his demise, every time he announced a break due to his health reasons, Apple’s stock suffered a significant dip. In fact, many firms such as Nike, Starbucks and Dell suffered significant financial losses after their CEOs left. And subsequently, Phil Knight, Howard Schultz and Michael Dell returned as CEOs to bring their companies back to past glory.

With strong associations and reliance on the CEO comes the obvious void that is bound to be created once the CEO steps down. As such, it is crucial for companies and the top management to devise strategies to protect the brand independent of the CEO such that the equity of the brand is not too tightly coupled with the charisma and personality of the CEO.

Infact, there are three strategies that are crucial for brands to continue even after the departure of their iconic leaders:

Cultivate multiple top level brand ambassadors: The charisma and personality of CEOs, who are traditionally the most visible brand ambassadors, is a double-edged sword. Having multiple brand ambassadors at the top management level not only enables the transition of the iconic CEO easily, but it also redirects the focus from the CEO representing the brand, to purely the brand itself.

Inculcate an internal branding culture: One of the most strategic routes for brands to tackle the challenge of navigating the exit of iconic CEOs is to make the branding culture in the organisation the core aspect of the company. Although CEOs appear as the tangible manifestation of such cultures, developing a strong internal brand culture wherein all corporate activities are centered on the core brand promise ensures that the company seamlessly transitions between iconic leaders.

Develop a leadership pipeline: In addition to redirecting the corporate focus on the brand, it is also essential for companies and their top management to instill a well-structured system that develops internal leadership pipeline. Anecdotal evidence abound about the devastating effects of the lack of any formal succession plans in some of the most iconic companies. Given the centrality of the CEO in representing the brand to both the external and internal stakeholders, it becomes imperative that brands invest in developing top leaders that not only understand the strategic charter of the brand but also enable the brands’ further development and growth.

Last line

CEOs as chief brand ambassadors are very powerful tools for companies. However, such intense leadership associations invariably lead to inherent costs. By following the three-step strategy, companies can strategically navigate such tricky transitions and drive successful business impact.