B2B Integrated Branding -- The Hidden Challenges of B2B Branding

“To build a focused brand image you have to tie your brand to a single attribute that will help customers, prospects, suppliers, employees understand why they should do business with you...you can’t have divisional marcom people emphasizing things that might create different impressions”. Bob Lamons – author - The Case for B2B BrandingThe culture of the typical B2B company is unique and provides the necessary conditions for implementing an integrated branding strategy:

• Industrial companies are typically run by some generic types including: engineers who foster autonomy and equality, loathe structure and are “technology” versus “market” driven. Or they tend to be “sales” driven cultures with little time for the disciplines of marketing.
• Operationally B2B companies tend to be decentralized in many ways – but especially with respect to communication strategy.
• Company employees tend to have a more direct relationship with customers at almost every level – and tend to be confident that they know exactly what customers need.

There are two key communication principles that separate B2B and B2C companies: 1. Brand variation versus integrated branding – B2C companies are notoriously successful at creating strong sub-brands: Kraft sub-brands include Jello, Philadelphia (cream cheese), Nabisco etc, etc, etc; B2B success stories are noted for re-organizing and rationalizing units, divisions and sub-brands. 2. Globalization versus internationalism – on the B2C side not only does a company like Kraft develop sub-brands domestically it also adopts international brands and lets them flourish locally; again, the most successful B2B case studies involve the promotion of a corporate brand (or overbrand) across all markets. Some of the more high profile and well documented cases of successful B2B integrated branding cases include: Emerson A success story in integrated branding – previously known as “Emerson Electric” this company was once comprised of 66 autonomous divisions, known as a provider of components (about as non-strategic as you can get) and utilizing uncoordinated marcom strategies. A substantial makeover was initiated.

• In addition to a name change and logo re-design Emerson re-defined itself as the market leader in technology. All product brands were linked with the Emerson overbrand.
• The company’s 66 divisions were re-organized into 8 business groups including “Emerson climate technologies” and “Emerson motor technologies” -- with emphasis on sophisticated engineering products such as industrial automation.
• Rather than “telling employees what they couldn’t say” Emerson launched a global advertising campaign with a new tagline: “Consider it solved" – with the objective of turning Emerson into a company of “problem-solving zealots”.
• Eight years later Emerson is successfully perceived as an organization of cross-functional teams selling integrated solutions.

Caterpillar – fully integrated with personality plus In the mid-90’s Caterpillar attempted to control its global brand image with its One Voice campaign which focused on “creating an accurate picture of a manufacturer of rugged, reliable construction equipment”. Caterpillar ads have been described as “strong and manly – never delicate”. Breaking up Motorola – “Good branding gone bad”???? A few recent articles have described (negatively) how Motorola’s decision to split into two different companies with separate logos Motorola Mobility (for the consumer market); Motorola Solutions (for the enterprise market).

• The name change reflects an organizational re-structuring into two divisions.
• The add-on names have been criticized for being meaningless and confusing: “Mobility is a term strongly associated with the mobility industry which markets scooters and wheelchairs to the disabled...the word “mobile” better carries the meaning”.
• Splitting a high profile name like Motorola is thought to be damaging to the integrity of the brand: “The Motorola brand is best suited for its vast consumer business”. Some have suggested that a completely new name should have been developed for the enterprise “solution” side of the business.

An integrated and focused branding strategy is more critical for B2B companies

• B2B companies are more likely to operate from a position of weakness -- they are competing with high profile consumer brands (such as Coca Cola and Hershey).
• Only one “true” B2B brand (Intel #70) scores in the top 100 of Corebrand’s Brand Power rankings. Other high profile B2B brands Caterpillar (#277), Emerson (#422) and Motorola (#117) are way down the list (out of 788 brands).
• Corebrand (which measures brand equity (as % of market cap) calculated at one point that average B2B scores are half that of B2C brands.

Ruth Lukaweski