BRAND MANAGEMENT ONLINE
Brand management online presents several opportunities and challenges in today's digital landscape.
OPPORTUNITIES
INTERNET GLOBALIZATION
The internet allows brands to reach a vast global audience, transcending geographical boundaries.
Online brand management enables businesses to expand their customer base and dive into new
markets, leading to increased brand awareness and potential revenue growth.
Airbnb is a great example of a brand that has leveraged online platforms to achieve global reach. By
providing an online marketplace for booking accommodations, Airbnb has connected hosts and
travelers from all around the world. Through effective brand management, they have built a strong
global presence and expanded their customer base exponentially
TARGETING MARKETING
In the last few years, the new marketing flow is leading to a more tailor approach with a special focus
on specific customer segments and needs.
Using online platforms that provide precise targeting options and through data analytics, brands can
design their marketing messages and deliver personalized content, enhancing customer engagement
and loyalty.
For example, Nike, the renowned sportswear brand, has excelled in targeted marketing through its
online platforms. They have implemented data-driven marketing strategies to segment their audience
and deliver personalized marketing campaigns. Nike's NikePlus membership program collects data on
customers' preferences and activities, allowing the brand to provide tailored product recommendations
and exclusive experiences.
CONTENT MARKETING
The digital space offers opportunities for brands to create and distribute engaging content. Content
marketing allows brands to showcase their expertise, build credibility, and develop a loyal customer
base. Through blogs, videos, podcasts, and social media, brands can establish themselves as thought
leaders and connect with their target audience
Red Bull, the famous energy drink brand, has become synonymous with content marketing excellence.
They produce and distribute a wide range of content, including extreme sports videos, music events,
and lifestyle articles. By focusing on their target audience's interests and passions, Red Bull has built a
strong brand identity and established themselves as a leading authority in the energy drink industry.
INTERACTIVITY
People using the internet do not imagine being in the passive mode that characterizes their
involvement with television advertisements. Instead they expect to follow a journey whose path
emerges from the discourse they establish with the brand’s website. They envisage being given
options, making decisions and, through their interactions with the brand, forming opinions about its
character.
Through this considerable interactivity, people become more confident and their trust in the brand
grows. It also encourages customer feedback and provides valuable insights for product/service
improvements
Examples of great interactivity involve customers in short games. Particularly when the values of the
games reinforce the brand’s values, these can be helpful ways of engaging customers with the brand.
CHALLENGES
Besides the opportunities that we analyzed above, managing brand online is challenging because of
the intense competition. “Marketers must create competitive advantage by adapting to an instigating
change. An innovative product or service loses its competitiveness if competitors are able to duplicate
or counter its capabilities. Adaptations to market changes are more successful if guided by knowledge
and competitive advantage.” (Shocker, 1994)
TRANSPARENCY
In the digitalization era, the audiences and customers demand brands to clearly communicate their
values, origins, associations and interests. According to Yoganathan (2020), “The transparency that
comes from being clear about what a brand stands for, is the foundation for trust to develop between a
brand and its customer base.”
REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Since the customers require more information about the brand, it is more important to manage the
reputation online. However, controlling a huge amount of information on the digital platform is
challenging. “The nature of conversions surrounding latest brands is difficult to shape or direct by
brand owners, not least because myriad online platforms can proffer a diverse range of fast-changing
stakeholder expressions and opinions. Consumers' and other stakeholders' perceptions of a brand can
be swayed sooner than brand managers can react to a situation, such is the influence of user-generated
content.” (Yoganathan, 2020). Effective brand management requires constant monitoring, swift
response, and transparent communication to mitigate potential reputational risks.
For example, United Airlines faced a significant reputation management challenge in 2017 when a
video of a passenger being forcibly removed from one of their flights went viral. The incident sparked
widespread public outrage, and the airline's handling of the situation received heavy criticism.
CONSISTENCY
Maintaining brand consistency across various online channels can be challenging. “The internet is not
an isolated environment and customers do not view it as such. Perceived differences between the
communications of a brand using traditional compared to interactive media could erode the brand’s
image” (Chernatony, 2004). Brands need to be “consistent in the way the brand is delivered across
these channels (e.g. in communications, services and support)”.
One example of inconsistency is PepsiCo's 2017 advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner, where she
offers a can of Pepsi for the police officers and seemingly resolving the tensions and creating a
moment of unity in a protest. While Pepsi’s brand message aligns with social activism, unity and
positive change, many viewers and critics found the ad to be tone-deaf and trivializing serious social
issues, such as protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
RESPONSIBILITY
According to Yoganathan (2020), it is important for brands to take responsibility for the society and
the environment. “In addition to traditional financial valuations, brands are now evaluated and ranked
based on their ethical and responsibility credentials by organizations such as the Ethisphere Institute
and B Corps. […] Responsibility is intertwined with a brand's identity, and with increasing
transparency, becomes the foundation for stakeholder relationships and trust.”
Golob (2020) also stated that “Just as any social science discipline or field, brand management should
also pay attention to its wider or social influence beyond perhaps the narrower solutions and
suggestions for brand managers.” Becoming a responsible brand requires taking a more
stakeholder-oriented perspective, as opposed to simply being customer-oriented; for example, the
inclusion of residents' views and voices in place branding, which Strandberg and Styvén's paper
touches upon.
REFERENCES
Chernatony, L., Christodoulides, G. Taking the brand promise online: Challenges and opportunities. J
Direct Data Digit Mark Pract 5, 238–251 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.im.4340241
Shocker, A. D., Srivastava, R. K., & Ruekert, R. W. (1994). Challenges and Opportunities Facing
Brand Management: An Introduction to the Special Issue. Journal of Marketing Research, 31(2),
149-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379403100201
Simmons, G. (2007). “i‐Branding”: developing the internet as a branding tool. Marketing Intelligence
& Planning, 25(6), 544–562. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500710819932
Golob, U., Davies, M.A.P., Kernstock, J. et al. Trending topics plus future challenges and
opportunities in brand management. J Brand Manag 27, 123–129 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-019-00184-4
Yoganathan, V., Roper, S., McLeay, F. and Machado, J.C. (2020), "Guest editorial", Internet Research,
Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 19-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-02-2020-555
