What is internal branding anyway?

19 Pages·2012·0.36 MB·English

What is internal
branding anyway?
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“Make clear as a company who
you are and what you stand for,
make that true in everything you
do and a sound reputation and
success will follow. It’s not rocket
science. Being yourself is enough
and that always starts internally.”

Luc van Beers
1. What is internal branding anyway?
There are many definitions, whether scientific or not, of the concept of inter-
nal branding, but the above quote clearly shows what it’s all about. Most of
the definitions (see this chapter for a few examples) approach internal brand-
ing from outside to inside, with a focus on translating the brand promises set
by the management into desired behaviour.
We have, based on our experience, a different perspective. We say that
internal branding is done together. If you want an internal branding pro-
cess in an organization to be successful, make sure that marketing, com-
munications and HR take it up jointly, from the same basis and with the
same goal.
From 1.0…
Internal branding is still a young field which was originally mainly driven
from the marketing angle. Marketers have a powerful motive: they want the
promises that they make externally to be realized internally. Internal
branding is then seen as “the aligning of employee behaviour with the
external brand values.” Brand scientist, Rik Riezebos, calls this internal
branding 1.0. Riezebos is general director of EURIB (European Institute for
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Brand Management) an independent institute in the field of brand, reputa-
tion and design management, and has immersed himself for years in internal
branding.
More and more companies realize that reality is unruly. People, especially
large groups of people, tend to not let themselves be pushed in a certain
direction. Furthermore, it would be unwise, in our view, to only use brand
values as a basis for employee behaviour. Employee behaviour would then
be (if that were even possible) entirely linked with the brand. But the life of a
brand is dynamic: mergers, acquisitions, rebranding; brands appear and dis-
appear. This would mean that employees would have to change their behav-
iour or behavioural standards with every new or renewed brand. This is not
only impossible, but also unrealistic.
Ideally, the internal and external (brand) identity would be aligned. This
rarely occurs in practice. Consumers are therefore confronted daily with
seductive brand promises arising more from the desire of brand builders
than from actually being propagated by the employees of the company.
This is rather confusing for both customers and employees. It also puts to
the test employee perception of the company’s integrity; management tells
one story, while employees hear otherwise in the promise made to the
customer. Employees do not know what is expected of them and what their
contribution can be whereby their commitment decreases.
… to 2.0
We believe internal branding has more impact if it starts from basic, under-
lying behavioural standards that fit with the brand values, but that are not
entirely dependent on the current appearance of a brand. It is about creating
a kind of mental architecture in an organization, with which all employees
can identify and that encourages them to align their actions (even) more
with the identity of the company. That delivers confirmation to the outside
world of what they have been promised. According to Riezebos1, a brand
promise must first be internally determined and may then be externally
propagated. He calls this branding inside out, internal branding 2.0. The
beginning is always an analysis of organizational identity. By unravelling
the identity of an organization, you make clear the playing field for the to-
be-positioned brand. Positioning must be realized by the organization.
Actually, all change processes within a company are internal branding
1 Riezebos, R., 2002 Internal branding: medewerkers zijn het merk.
Marketing Journal vol. 36, No. 6, p. 24-26
Question: 1 25
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processes. It is thereby important to ensure that internal branding does not
degenerate into an advertising explanation service. Naturally, internal
branding is also applicable in (re)positioning of brands, the introduction of
new brands or in new campaigns. Here lies the history of internal branding.
Ideally, you start an internal branding process simultaneously with posi-
tioning, before the external campaign is being developed. In practice,
however, we see that internal branding is usually only begun after reposi-
tioning and after the launch of new campaigns. This is a missed opportunity
because the positioning will most likely not be (or be insufficiently) based on
the core of the company itself, but will instead be based only on the market
desirability.
It is not easy to really define who you are and what you stand for, suiting
your position in the market2. Let alone to then set this into behaviour and
processes for your company. That requires insight into the character and
values of the organization, a good dose of realism and the willingness to
discuss all this with staff. Internal branding is a tool thereby. A powerful
tool, but one that will not work just like that. It requires courage and coop-
eration of all concerned. Courage to abandon the familiar, not to cling to
individual roles and competencies, to sometimes follow an unfamiliar
path. A collaboration between disciplines (such as communication, market-
ing and HR), which have historically been more adversaries than allies,
because they view the world from their own universes and competencies.
2 Find out more in Question 6: What is the role of identity and values in the internal
branding process?
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Looking for the common thread
Mary Hoogerbrugge is an independent advisor in the area of brand and communication 
strategy. At the time of writing this book, she was ad interim director of SWOCC, the Scien-
tific Research Foundation for Commercial Communications. “Internal branding has really 
developed in recent years. Initially it was about translating the external brand promise to 
the desired employee behaviour. There is growing attention to the strength that can come 
from an organization’s identity. You can see there is now a search for a unique focus arriv-
ing from the identity which is also reflected externally. It is ultimately about an optimal 
connection between inside and outside. Our experience is that you preferably begin inter-
nally with these processes and try to appoint the identity of the organization.”
This appointment is also not so simple and requires a good analysis of the organization 
along with employee interviews. In practice, such a project requires a specific reason. 
This does not necessarily have to be a negative reason. For example, a newly appointed 
CEO may be looking for the key organizational challenges or the best strategic direction 
and therefore needs a clear and concise formulation of the identity of the organization. 
Urgency is, at the core, always short-term oriented. That is not bad as long as the long-
term orientation is not forgotten.

And how do you organize a dialogue with employees?
Hoogerbrugge: “A good way to bring out the identity of the company is to look at the 
stories of individuals. Talk to all kinds of people engaged with the company. You talk 
about what makes the company special, what distinguishes it from other companies. It is 
also important to know why someone works for a company and why they want to stay. 
I would also like to know what dilemmas they face and what they would like changed. 
By holding discussions with different people, the common thread within the organization 
comes forward, the strength and core values that people can identify with. By making 
this strength explicit, you give your employees the opportunity to be proud of what at 
first was implicit. They are also then well aware of the suitable corresponding behaviour.”
Hoogerbrugge also feels that there are major differences between organizations. 
 Purchasing companies, for example, have no other motivating common thread other 
than the pure focus on sales. In contrast, organizations with a strong leader or founder 
often show a strong motivating identity. Communication managers can play a role in this 
process. They help in discovering the stories that give shape to the company and ask the 
questions necessary for finding a clear common thread. An important role of communi-
cation staff lies in stimulating the process and making explicit the wishes, choices and 
promises enclosed in the stories.
›› Read an extended version of this interview later in this book in the Cases.
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Internal branding: definitions1
“A brand is one of the most powerful assets a company has in binding the client and 
consumer at an emotional level. The brand is an icon that gives the company, its services 
and products emotional meaning. The brand message is not only received by the external 
world but also internally by employees. A brand (with its brand values) can also be used 
internally to generate identification with the company. A direct link is hereby established 
with the employees between market and behaviour. We call this internal branding.” 
NIMA, Internal Branding, 2008
“Internal branding is a planned process in an organization where people, with the help of 
the corporate identity, try to involve employees with the brand. Internal branding aims to 
improve the work culture, which should help employees to better convert the brand  
promise to the desired customer experience.”
Rik Riezebos, EURIB, 20082
1
“Internal branding has the aim of creating simple communication, achieving the desired 
brand image or achieving synergy between internal and external communications. Moti-
vation, enthusiasm and commitment are also mentioned as reasons to conduct internal 
branding. Internal branding is aimed at the realization of the external brand promise and 
brand values.”
Myriam Baaten, MBC Communication bv, 2005
“Internal branding is a way to involve all employees in deeply connecting with your cus-
tomers, to involve all employees in truly understanding your customers. Then you can 
involve all employees in creating and delivering the brand.”
John Guaspari, Guaspari & Salc Inc., 2003
“Internal branding is a process that bonds staff behind a central cause that they can 
eventually believe in, feel committed to and support.”
Ruth Mortimer, Marketing Week Magazine, 2002 ››
1 With thanks to Anna Giling, in her publication Internal branding. An introduction (2005, SWOCC), she collected many    
definitions of internal branding. We made a choice from here and added a number to it.
2 You will find more information about the people mentioned in the Persons Register.
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“Internal branding is a process that must ensure that employees feel committed to the 
organization and possess a certain loyalty to the organization. Through this commit-
ment and loyalty, employees are better able to deliver what is promised by external com-
munication.”
Suzanne de Bakker, University of Nijmegen, 2005

“Internal branding is about matching each member of the internal organization to the 
development, production, communication and selling of the brand concept, in such a way 
that the brand manifests itself as a ‘total artwork.’ Internal branding is the making of the 
brand in the broadest sense.”
Giep Franzen, 2005

“Internal branding is using the brand to steer the internal organization in fulfilling the 
promises made to customers. Different disciplines can benefit from this. Those who use 
the brand as compass not only work on a strong brand, but also a strong organization.”
Marc van Eck, Niels Willems, Ellen Leenhouts, Internal branding in de praktijk, 2008

“Internal branding is more than a series of communication events. Turning a brand  
promise into reality requires coordinated planning and action at all organizational levels 
to align leadership practices and individual behaviours with the brand.”
Tosti & Stotz, 2001

“Internal branding is a process aimed at influencing attitudes, behaviour and work  
systems of both management and employees, with the aim of achieving consistency and 
distinctiveness in customer relationships.”
Willem Blanken, Yardmen, 2005

“Internal branding is a continuous process which attempts to steer the attitude and 
behaviour of staff in line with the brand identity. Internal branding aims to communicate 
the brand values of the organization internally and to implement them in the various 
business units and systems of the organization which creates a positive work culture 
and allows employees to provide internally what is promised externally.”
Scientific Research Foundation for Commercial Communications (SWOCC), 2005
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2
When does
internal branding
make sense?
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“If you don’t risk anything,
you risk even more.”

Erica Jong, American author
2. When does internal branding make sense?
The concept of internal branding implies that internal branding is only used
in branding processes and brand positioning in companies. This is certainly
not the case in our view. The techniques and insights of internal branding
are applicable in many situations where a company faces big changes.
Think of reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, optimizing business
processes or the reassessment of the organization to improve the reputa-
tion. These are transition processes where the whole company is often
shaken up and everyone must try to find their place. A new balance must
be found, not only within the company itself but also with a new connec-
tion to the outside world.
The company and employees formulate a new direction and the goal and
the manner in which these must be achieved. The core is often revived, the
guiding principle of the (new) company. In fact, all organizations have a
guiding principle (or they should have) and thus a starting point for internal
branding and an internal branding concept.
Internal branding is therefore applicable to all transition processes within a
company. Each change leads to the inner and outer worlds of the company
better aligning and thus becoming a more effective company where
employees enjoy working and that is recognizable in the market. We have
encountered many different situations in our practical experience. They can
be divided into five groups:
1. Merger, acquisition, reorganization.
2. Brand positioning as a starting point.
3. Reputation management.
4. Visionary leadership.
5. Professionalization of staff.
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