It has been established that brands have a powerful and continually evolving position in contemporary society. Of the many aspects of brands and brand management which have been the subject of academic investigation, this study focuses on the concepts of image and identity. Prior to examining how the two concepts have been developed in the branding literature, the next section outlines how the concepts were
2.5.1 Development of the image concept
The first author to draw a comparison between the corporate image and human personality was Newman (1953). The role of image in business activities was developed by Boulding (1956). He theorised that human behaviour is not influenced simply by knowledge and information, but is influenced by the images the person perceives. He argued that individuals do not respond to what is true, but to what they believe to be true. He further asserted that subjective values and knowledge are used to mediate between individuals and the external world. Additionally, Boulding (1956) stated that the human mind can handle only a limited number of complex situations and stimuli; it copes by oversimplifying circumstances and by abstracting only a few meanings that appear relevant.
The theoretical explanation of image is rooted in early constructs within cognitive psychology. The associative network model conceptualises knowledge structure or memory as a network where all units or elements are nodes and the connections among them are links (Anderson 1983). The nodes represent various pieces of information stored in memory and links represent the strength of associations between them. Images are stored in the long-term memory, defined as “a subcomponent of memory which is permanent, virtually unlimited in storage capacity, and well stored” (Dacin and Mitchell 1986). The spreading activation theory explains the process of retrieving information stored in memory (Collins and Loftus 1975).
When a stimulus (e.g. a brand name) triggers a node, through spreading activation, the information in this node is recalled and also triggers new nodes associated with the first one. Spreading activation identifies and favours the processing of information nodes which are most related to the source of activation. How spread the activation is depends on the number and strength of links connected to the activated node i.e. how well the association is stored in long term memory.
Boulding (1956) in his seminal work identified three different but hierarchically interrelated components of image:
i) Cognitive: images derived from fact, viewed as the sum of beliefs and attitudes of an object leading to some internally accepted picture of its attributes;
ii) Affective: images related to the motives for selection of the object being considered, thus affecting the object’s valuation;
iii) Conative: the action component which is directly dependent on the images developed during the cognitive stage and evaluated during the affective stage.
The conceptual development of image in the business literature first focussed on the corporate image process (key contributors were Swanson 1957; Harris 1958;
Gardner 1965; Pildich 1970; Kennedy 1977; Gray 1986), and then on the image of retail outlets (e.g. Burke and Berry 1974/75; Lindquist 1974/75; Marks 1986).
Bernstein (1984), in relation to corporate image, stressed that the image is not what the company believes it to be, but the feelings and beliefs about the company which exist in the minds of its customers, which arise from experience and observation.
In spite of the considerable amount of discussion of the image concept in the literature between the 1950s-1980s, no universally accepted definition emerged.
Kotler’s (1997) definition however is one which effectively encapsulates the concept:
“the set of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person holds regarding an object…thus, what motivates consumer behaviour is not the ‘true’ attributes of products but rather mental images in the minds of consumers” (p.607).
Abratt (1989) in his review of the conceptual development of corporate image, reflected on the lack of clarity and ambiguity in the use of the term and was first to attempt to differentiate the concepts of corporate personality, identity and image and clarify the relationship between them.
2.5.2 Development of the identity concept
The identity concept originated from Olins (1978) who proposed that a sense of identity is necessary for every social group and that an organisation’s identity becomes apparent through its behaviour, communications and symbolism to both internal and external audiences. Central to theoretical and empirical work on organisational identity is the view expressed by Albert and Whetten (1985) that defines identity as that which is central, enduring and distinctive about an organisation’s character. Van Rekom (1993) and Balmer (1995) described corporate identity as simply “what an organisation is”. Bernstein (1984) observed that a company cannot directly change its image, but it can change its identity.
Abratt (1989), in distinguishing between corporate image and corporate identity, stressed that having a clear sense of identity and successfully communicating that corporate identity is crucial so that the corporate image reflects reality. It was equally recognised that attention to corporate identity could have a major impact on differentiation and repositioning of companies (Abratt 1989).
Van Reil and Balmer (1997) and Balmer (2001a) further attempted to clarify the concept of corporate identity, differentiating between three related concepts from the literature i.e. corporate identity; organisational identity; and visual identity. Balmer (2001a), noting the growing interest in ‘business identity’ studies offered the following definition of the characteristics of identity:
“An organisation’s identity is a summation of those tangible and intangible elements that make any corporate entity distinct. It is shaped by the actions of corporate founders and leaders, by tradition and environment. At its core is the mix of employees’ values which are expressed in terms of their affinities to corporate, professional, national and other identities. It is multidisciplinary in scope and is a melding of strategy, structure, communication and culture” (p.280).
2.5.3 Image and identity in marketing
Boulding’s (1956) concept of image as an important variable in the functioning of human behaviour became a pervasive position in the field of marketing (Lindquist 1974/75). As early as 1957, Newman defined brand image as consisting “of everything people associate with the brand”. In marketing, the marketing concept (i.e. following customers’ needs) focused on the demand side of the market (Deshpandé 1999; Alsem and Kostelijk 2008). This external customer focus i.e. the images consumers have of entities such as products services and corporations, became the major focus of marketing (Deshpandé 1999) until the mid 1990s when the underlying principles of the subject area started to be questioned (van Riel and Balmer 1997; Balmer 2001b). Doyle’s (2000) support for a ‘value-based’ approach to marketing moved away from an explicit customer orientation to a more introvert activity of identifying core competencies.
2.6 BRAND IMAGE AND BRAND IDENTITY