Marketing communication: principles and practice

chapter 
ten
IDENTITY, IMAGE,
AND REPUTATION
LEARNING POINTS 
Careful study of this chapter will help you to:
• identify the relevance of the concepts of corporate identity, corporate image,
and corporate reputation to the management of marketing communication
• distinguish and relate the concepts of identity, image, and reputation
• distinguish and relate the respective roles of marketing and public relations

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A recent conference entitled ‘A Most Admired Company’ was subtitled
‘Success builds reputation: Reputation builds success’. The promotional
brochure stated that:
A company’s reputation is a valuable asset, yet many companies are
relatively unaware of how they are perceived, and how important this
can be for their business. 
This chapter on identity, image, and reputation seeks to show that the
reputations of the corporation are both significant and, at least to some
degree, manageable. Corporate reputation management should be part of a
strategic communication agenda. This work will be part of organized
stakeholder relationship management.
What makes and influences a company’s reputation? Can corporate
reputation be managed as an asset through enlightened investment? Some
industries – financial services, chemicals, nuclear, utilities, etc. – suffer from
a serious image problem. In the eyes of many they are seen as exploiters,
inefficient, having fat-cat bosses, etc. Such views may be justified, but in
many cases are uninformed. But this is not a new realization. Parkinson and
Rowe (1977) voiced the need to communicate over twenty years ago – to be
part of any debate about what matters to you – many executives and managers
have yet to take heed.
Sound ethical and responsible behaviour is not enough. Performance
improvement must be communicated if a positive reputation is to be built
and defended.
Everyone may potentially hold some notion of a particular corporation or
industry in mind. Corporate reputation is an all-encompassing term for what
employees think about their employer, what customers think about their
provider, what investors think about their shareholding, etc. A range of
public-specific roles exist, defined by each member of those publics.
Reputation is a stakeholder issue.
Reputation does not originate from the corporate communications office,
or the marketing plan, or individual behaviour. It is not a fabricatable artefact
that can be used to manipulate others’ feelings, in the way that advertising
can be (mis)used. Reputation springs from experiences, thought processes,
and values of people who see themselves as stakeholders of a business.
Reputation may be good or bad in the mind of an individual, and may not
be based on direct knowledge of the corporation and its members and their
actual behaviour and intentions. Reputation leads to liking and disliking
and a sense of comfort or concern with what is perceived.