What’s in a Brand: How Brand Stewardship Can Impact Corporate Reputation 

What’s in a brand? A company by any other name might perform just as well, but the identity—the look, feel and sound—of a brand often leaves a mark on the average consumer. There are brand names we commonly ascribe to household items and others that become part of our everyday routines. This gives brands great power, which can make—and sometimes break—its company’s reputation.  

There’s no longer any doubt that a strong brand and reputation translate to stronger business performance. While brands create definition for a company (and by extension, its reputation in the marketplace), the past few months have shown us how they can bend or break under pressure. The consequences of these incidents can have a much further reach than anticipated, leaving lasting damage not only to the brand, but also to the bottom line, if not appropriately addressed.  

• There’s been much discussion about how the values of a business can engender consumer and employee loyalty, but this trust can be easily broken. A major U.S. retailer abruptly rescinded its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—a sudden reversal of the company’s values which had been built into the bedrock of its operations in recent years—this led to consumer, employee and partner backlash, high-profile boycotts and sharp declines in sales and share price. Despite the intent to comply with new U.S. regulations, the incident eventually led to the CEO’s ousting and a much steeper hill to climb to regain the trust they had come to rely on.   

• The weight of the CEO title often comes with more pressure than just business performance. Astronomer became a household name not for its products or its own efforts but rather through the very public misconduct of its CEO and Chief People Officer. Even beyond the C-Suite, many consumers now associate actions of any level employee with the behavior of the company itself, creating additional risks to business performance and reputation amongst its most loyal people. 

• Brand refreshes are not uncommon. Cracker Barrel’s recent attempt to modernize its logo attracted significant backlash from its base and conservative influencers for straying from its roots. While the company noted its premise and culture wasn’t changing in its first statement on the controversy, it acknowledged it “could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” especially to its devoted audiences. After significant backlash, Cracker Barrel has opted to revert to its original logo, closing the loop on a refresh that didn’t land as intended. 

As stewards of their brands, it is important now more than ever for companies to note their actions can speak louder than their words. And their words can also travel swiftly across their audience base and disrupt their potential. Observing these trends, there are a few key principles to maintaining the reputation of your brand and enterprise: 

• Defining and adhering to your values: The concept of sticking to your values isn’t new; Shakespeare himself wrote in Hamlet “This above all: to thine own self be true.” It’s been proven time and time again that consumers are more loyal to brands who have a defined value proposition. But like any bad breakup, consumers are likely to change their minds about brands that publicly divorce from their stated values set. This isn’t to say that change is inherently bad or necessary to comply with local rules and regulations, but rather a careful evolution that pays homage to your core vision while balancing compliance obligations will be far more effective than ripping off the bandage. 

• Understanding who your standard bearers are and ensuring they know too: All the world is a stage for your brand and those within your company, the players. For every pre-identified influencer or brand ambassador you carefully engage to promote your brand, there are that many more employees who are also bearing the weight of this representation, knowingly or unknowingly. This can be both a risk and an asset and it’s important that everyone from the public-facing CEO to the mid-level manager know how their actions can reflect on the enterprise. Social media guidelines, media protocols and thoughtful executive visibility plans can help frame up these engagements and protect your players.    

• Knowing your audience(s): Although some might think changes to a brand—from a logo redesign to a new name—might be madness, there is usually some method to it. Evolutions to values and/or brands are far more effective if companies truly understand where their audiences currently stand versus where they want them to go. The importance of research cannot be understated here; knowledge is not only power, but also a validator of your efforts to give context and answer questions should they arise—especially from those who are outside of your core audience. 

While the dynamics of the external environment can often be beyond our control, companies and brands largely remain the masters of their own fates. Protecting the power of your brand will serve as an extra layer of defense for your organization’s reputation and thereby your ability to weather any potential threats.