INTEREST CATEGORY: GLOBAL MARKETING
POSTING TYPE: Revisits

Author: Pantea Foroudi

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Special Issues

Industrial Marketing Management

BRAND IDENTITY FOR THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

Brand identity creates distinctive recognition using its elements such as logo, imagery, colour and typography (Foroudi et al. 2014). Can such a recognition facilitate reflection of value a brand offers to its Business-to-Business (B2B) customers? A brand with an appealing identity is also preferred by its customers who buy to sell (Beverland et al. 2007; Coleman et al. 2011). The use of visual identity not only makes product of the brand look attractive and welcoming to consumers, but also communicates brand value and brand reputation that saves extra efforts required from its business customers who face the consumer and try to convince them, when they are ready to buy a product at a retail counter (Baker and Balmer, 1997). The use of brand identity in a digital era has become even more important for companies using e-commerce wherein consumers who consume or business customers who buy to sell do not have any personal encounter with a person who represents a brand (Yadav and Bansal, 2021). In a digital scenario, visual identity offers such a blueprint of the brand that customers can use to relate to the brand by looking at its image and identity (Vlahvei et al. 2013).

Appreciation of brand identity by different stakeholder communities in both digital and non-digital aids success of a penetration strategy adopted by the brand into a competitive market involving distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retailers and service providers. Previous B2B literature and market penetration studies have explained how brands expand their selling territories by remotely engaging with a large network of sellers who see value for their firm in offering the brand to the consumer (Gupta, 2022). Remotely communicating the value a brand offers without consistently using any cues would be a challenge for any brand manager, even if they apply a combination of theories of standardisation and adaptation (Mason and Leek, 2012; Melewar and Saunders, 1999). Brand architecture that allows standardisation of brand image, reputation and identity encourages adaptation using knowledge of the local market received as information and feedback from B2B relationships and makes their brand journey enjoyable (Gupta, 2022).

Brand managers find it challenging to justify capability of brand to enhance performance of operational activities that are carried out by different entities external to the firm across different markets by resonating local sentiments across dissimilar markets (Navis and Glynn, 2011). While branding literature established its ability to create differentiation and address competition, it has failed to explain how brand managers can align their visual identity, sound identity or design identity with their aspirations of engaging B2B network for remotely penetrating highly competitive non-digital or digital markets. This special issue aims to fill this gap by successfully providing answers to questions related to brand journey of the business-to-business customer of the brand.

Sample Topics

We welcome papers that shed light on use of brand identity in B2B relationships? to resonate with the brand and feel confidence of availability of support and capability of creating a strong positioning in the competitive market in times when technology driven marketing is taking a larger space than ever before. With this agenda, we invite papers that will contribute to debate on this topic and are not limited to the research agenda that deals with issues such as:

• Corporate B2B brand management
• Corporate B2B brand communication
• Corporate B2B brand identity
• Brands, Branding and Rebranding in B2B setting
• Brand awareness, brand image, brand reputation and brand identity in B2B relationships?
• Brand identity as a B2B brand based marketing strategy
• Brand visual identity, brand communications and brand value in B2B relationships
• Brand identity for business customers
• Strategic alignment of brand with journey of business customers
• Brand identity for business customers serving consumers of the brand
• Brand identity, brand trust and strategic brand-reseller relationships
• Strategic brand identity creation for international B2B markets
• B2B branding from theoretical lens of standardisation adaptation
• Brand names, brand aesthetics, brand identity, brand logo, brand personality and product design in B2B setting
• Branding for management of international B2B marketing strategy
• Standardisation of brand identity and the adaptation of local culture for global markets in B2B setting
• Issues and controversies surrounding B2B brand identity management
• Influence of heritage on B2B brand identity management strategy

Important dates

• Submission opens: May 1, 2023
• Deadline for submission: Aug 1, 2023