Elliot S. Schreiber, PhD

I believe that the role of the communicator is to make branding more than simply an articulation of the vision, but to actually be at the center of the crafting of that vision and helping to orchestrate the various pieces that need to be in place to fulfill the brand promise. Put in the context of the Page Principles, you can see how very important those principles are to corporate branding strategies.

Tell the Truth. One's brand is a promise of performance and delivery. I trust that I will receive from you that which has been promised. We know from our research that the road to trusted partnerships with our customers begins with a transaction, which is very sensitive to price, product quality and service quality. The brand is about a customer getting the value that he/she wants and expects based upon the brand presentation. If you do not tell the truth, if you spin the image for the sake of brand awareness, you will pay the price of lots of transactions and few partnerships. Partnerships have a higher return on sales, produce more share of customer, and lead to increased preference and reference. The customer expects you to keep your promise. Also, while public relations people believe that familiarity leads to favorability, I think that we need to remind ourselves that favorability will increase only when we keep the promises we have made. The relationship between favorability and familiarity is not an automatic one, although I have heard many communications professionals argue that it is such.

Prove It with Action. The transaction allows the customers to determine if the brand promise has been fulfilled. If branding efforts are tactical and not part of the company's strategic efforts and plans, they will ultimately fail. Companies must "walk the talk" of their promise. The PR people can be important catalysts for the corporation in making certain that the branding efforts are not simply communications activities. At Nortel, we face a number of competitors who are working to enhance their brand preference. Almost all of them spend tons more money than we do. Our brand focus is not to be the most famous name in our industry. We want to be the most valued in our industry in the eyes of customers, employees, shareholders and communities. Value is not the same as fame. Determination of value rests with the customer. Value is tangible and lasting; fame is fleeting.

We also need to be mindful that in the new world of cyberspace, there are a lot of people who make contact with the company through the Internet, either intentionally or unintentionally. Cyberspace is more about two-way communications as compared with one-way advertising. Consequently, we need to be much more concerned about how people are treated on the Web and the actions we take there.

Listen to the Customer. Brand activity makes you the voice of the customer for the corporation. We need to help the company understand who the customer is for each and every message. If the customer pushes back on messages or believes that the brand promise is not being fulfilled, it must be addressed immediately. Brand value is something that is perceived by each and every customer. We cannot determine what is of value to the customer if we don't listen. This is what separates companies that communicate features - the things that they value - from benefits - the things that the customer values.

Manage for Tomorrow. The brand is an aspiration so it is focused on the future. We want to be known as a company of value and want our Nortel brand to be thought of by our customers as the one that they can have confidence and trust in to make them successful. Our efforts are focused on the future as much as the present.

Conduct PR as if the Whole Company Depends on It. When I first introduced the concept of corporate brand equity to Nortel, it was thought of as an advertising or PR activity. The brand and customer value model that has come from our efforts is now a required part of our strategic planning for each line of business. Our strategic planning organization now analyzes the brand promises and actions of our competitors as thoroughly as they analyze the finances, markets and technologies of these competitors. The whole company does depend on its brand equity. By focusing on branding, we have brought PR into the mainstream of needed functions, rather than a corporate function on the fringe.

Remain Calm, Patient and Good-Humored. What else can people in our positions do if we are to remain sane? There will be a lot of resistance to having communicators at the center of brand activity and a lot of push-back from your own staff because the concept of brand I have presented here will rock the boat for communicators. But, after a while, you will smile.