Corporate Image

How Image Differs from Reputation

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Image is the associations, impressions, and subjective feeling that arises when a brand is mentioned. For example, when Booking.com is mentioned, you will most likely think of easy hotel deals or great travel prices; when Google comes to mind, you will probably picture a clean interface and convenient everyday technology.

Reputation, on the other hand, is an objective assessment of a company's activities, based on specific successes or failures. For example, Meta has the image of a technology company. At the same time, the brand's reputation in recent years has been damaged by scandals involving personal data leaks and a weak system for combating fake news — the spread of false information.

A strong image helps an organisation solve several tasks at once.

Strengthen market position and improve brand recognition. A well-built image helps a company become top-of-mind — that is, the first brand that comes to mind when a user wants to buy a product or service.

Nike is a top-of-mind brand for those who want to engage in sport.

Build trust in the brand and increase loyalty. A strong corporate image helps a brand create an emotional connection with customers at the level of values, evoke certain associations, and a sense of familiarity. Moreover, image work often includes managing reviews — this signals to buyers that the company cares about its customers. In the long term, all these factors help build trust in the brand.

Increase sales. A customer is more likely to make a purchase from a company they remember and trust. A positive corporate image is not a direct source of sales, but it can increase a company's revenue in the long term.

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Corporate image forms regardless of whether a company actively works on it or not. Image is influenced by the quality of goods and services, customer reviews on social media and marketplace platforms, and news coverage in the media.

If you work on your image, you gain the ability to manage the impression the company makes on job applicants, partners, and customers — both current and potential.

A timely and human response to reviews on social media will help improve the company's image in the eyes of customers who have encountered problems, and demonstrate a personalized approach. The participation of company employees in events (such as conferences)  will help raise the company's expert profile in the eyes of partners and corporate clients. And image advertising will create a lasting association of certain values with the brand.

Dove's image advertising campaign "Real Beauty Sketches" communicates the message that the company values the natural beauty of its customers.

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Types of Corporate Image

Corporate image is most commonly divided into internal and external, based on which group of people is being referred to.

Internal image is how employees perceive the company they work for:

• whether they believe that a manager will help them deal with a problem or, on the contrary, will make the situation worse;
• whether they feel like part of the team or think that each colleague is on their own;
• whether they consider the working conditions to be fair, and so on.

Internal image affects staff turnover and whether the company will be a desirable place to work for job applicants.

External image is how the company is perceived in the market and in society. External image is divided into subtypes depending on the social group: consumers, media, investors, partners, government bodies, and the international community. Each group sees the company differently, and it is important for a brand to work on these segments separately.

For media representatives, for example, press lunches can be held to create an image of a company open to dialogue. For potential clients, an image product can be developed through which the brand can communicate its values.

One of Bank of America's products is the World Wildlife Fund credit card, which supports the brand's corporate values: care for the environment and social responsibility.

There are also other image classifications. For example, a distinction is made between a company's real image — how the company is currently perceived — and its ideal image — the image the company aspires to.

Image is also divided into tangible — which includes goods, services, customer support, and the brand's visual aesthetic — and intangible — the customer's reaction to their interaction with the company.

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The structure of a brand's image includes:

• the organisation's corporate culture;
• the image of the manager or company founder;

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A vivid example is the image of Steve Jobs, which was inextricably linked to the image of Apple.

• the image of employees: managers, sales staff, support agents;
• the company's brand identity: logo, design of printed materials, corporate typeface, and corporate colours;
  
  

Tiffany & Co. achieved a lasting association with specific colours: for fans of the brand, it is enough to see a turquoise box with a white ribbon to know what is inside.

• products: how the quality and effectiveness of goods and services are evaluated;
• the consumer image: customers may choose your store or, on the contrary, avoid purchasing from it because they do not associate themselves with the group your brand targets;

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Lamborghini targets a premium audience and presents the car against the backdrop of a villa — a middle-class buyer is unlikely to be interested in such a vehicle.

Volkswagen, on the other hand, targets the middle class and features an ordinary office worker in its advertising.

• the opinion of the local and international community about the company;
• business image: how the company is perceived by partners, contractors, competitors, and other market players;
• the social image of the organisation: the company's involvement in charitable, social, and community initiatives, and its willingness to run promotions for its customers.

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At the same time, for each specific company, certain image traits may prevail over others. For example, the strongest components of Chase Bank's image are: high-quality support from staff who seek an individual approach to customers; a convenient mobile app; and a consistent corporate colour used across the logo, website elements, and ATMs.

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How to Build Corporate Image

The desired organisational image is usually articulated in a dedicated document — the brand platform. It sets out the company's mission, brand values, target audience, branding elements, and what sets the company apart from competitors.

Based on the platform, the company begins working to create the desired image. Below are the main tools that help achieve this.

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Branding.

This usually involves market positioning and the development of a brand identity: name, logo, typefaces, colors, and the design of printed materials.

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Marketing.

To promote brand image, companies most commonly use social media, display advertising, image advertising, event marketing, and brandformance campaigns — advertising that simultaneously builds image and promotes specific products.

Coca-Cola has used the image of Santa Claus in its advertising since the 1930s — this is image advertising that encourages users to associate the brand with the holiday season.

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PR.

Public relations specialists work with journalists and bloggers — this increases the number of positive mentions in the media and on social media, and allows the company's image to be highlighted from the desired angle.

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Social and community initiatives.

To improve its image, a company can launch a charitable initiative or communicate its responsible approach to production.

H&M communicates its environmental initiatives in stores — promotions offering a discount for donating old clothes for recycling, and collections made from recycled materials. This helps create the image of a brand that cares about the environment.

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HR.

Thoughtful personnel management helps create a favorable internal climate and increase employee loyalty, which affects the company's internal image.

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Customer support.

Friendly and helpful support specialists can become one of the elements of a company's image.

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Review management.

Finding and responding to both negative and positive reviews helps demonstrate the company's closeness to its customers, and also allows it to partially take control of what is said about it online.

• Corporate image is the way a company is perceived by employees, customers, business partners, the public, and the media.
• Corporate image can and should be managed — it helps make a brand more recognisable and increases loyalty.
• To create the desired corporate image, companies use branding, advertising, event marketing, PR and HR, social and community initiatives, customer support, and review management.