 Recently, we have seen a rise of “CEO Brands” in the consumer market – brands based on the personality and values of the company’s CEO. There are even books written on the topic.
Research shows that a CEO’s reputation can account for up to 50% of a company’s reputation, so building and managing a CEO brand must be planned and executed carefully. Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Jamsedji Tata and Li Ka Shing are just a few examples of dynamic CEOs whose reputations are strongly linked to the companies they founded. Increasingly, there are some CEOs whose personal brand names are not necessarily tied to companies they set up but which are built around their business reputation. Take Jack Welch at General Electric or Lee Iacocca at Chrysler for example.
 CEOs are often assigned as the default spokesperson for the company as they are naturally assumed to share the views and vision of the company (which they should, of course), but this must be approached with caution. Anything they say or do in public may have an impact on the company’s performance, so building a CEO brand may not be suitable for all businesses.
What constitutes a CEO brand?
Similar to a corporate or product brand, a CEO brand provides an image to the public that describes the CEO as a person and what they stand for, including their values, abilities and actions. It often evokes an emotional response from the consumer, and offers a human face to the corporate brand. This in turn allows the public to identify with the company more closely or even build a relationship with the brand. In other words, it is a personification of the corporate brand.
Why build a CEO brand?
CEOs today are inextricably linked to the companies they represent, and, often as the public face of the company, they are a large part of the company’s brand equity.
Research by Burson-Marsteller indicates that a CEO’s reputation can affect up to 95% of those who decide whether or not to invest in a company, 93% of those who would recommend the company as a good alliance or merger partner, and 88% of those who would recommend the company as a good place to work. With such a significant impact, CEO branding is undoubtedly a powerful brand strategy and marketing tool that should not be neglected.
As mentioned earlier, a CEO brand provides a human face with which the public can relate to on a personal level. It becomes something the consumer builds an emotional attachment to, which can flourish into a sort of relationship between the consumer and the brand. Studies have shown that people who feel that they trust a company’s CEO often extend that trust to the company as well, even if they do not know very much about it. In an era where celebrity status is revered, a CEO brand, through name recognition, can offer great value to a company.
How should CEO brands be managed?
As with branding any corporate product, the branding of a CEO must be handled with careful planning and strategy.
Here are a few areas to pay attention to when managing a CEO brand:
- Creat a distinction. As the personal reputation of the CEO often becomes linked to the reputation of the company, it is important to build a CEO brand image that is distinct and separate from the corporate brand.
While it’s a good idea to project the values of the CEO as the same as the values of the company, it is vital to express his or her individual personality as well, which will set the CEO apart from the company. The CEO brand should not dominate the corporate image and the corporate brand should not rely solely on the CEO – that way, in the event of something happening to the CEO, the corporate brand will still be able to stand strong.
Take Donald Trump or Michael Dell, for instance – though their companies are branded with their names and they are both spokesmen for their brands, their companies have been able to create separate, institutional identities so that consumer decisions to use their products are not completely influenced by factors such as their personalities or actions.
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- Manage the media. With the CEO as the official spokesperson for the brand, it is imperative to know how to handle the media. If PR is not the company’s strong suit, it is advisable to hire an external consultant or agency to assist in this area.
Ultimately, the CEO should strive to be a subject matter expert who is available as a resource to the media, rather than a target or an anonymous face behind the company. And while it benefits the company to be involved in as many media opportunities as possible to gain exposure, it is helpful to conduct some background research on each publication before committing to an interview, so as to avoid the possibility of the company being misrepresented.
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- Networking. Build business relationships both internally and externally that can be mutually beneficial to both parties. A strong business network in the marketplace builds trust between companies and serves as a solid, effective way of communicating a CEO brand.
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- Avoid the spotlight on sensitive issues. As representatives of their companies, CEOs should take care to stay on point when speaking publicly, with topics that revolve around areas that are meaningful and relevant to their core consumers.
The image of the company can be affected if the CEO decides to take a position that he or she personally believes in, but is not something that is aligned with the company’s values. If asked to comment on something that is irrelevant to the company’s core values, it is advisable for the CEO not to respond, or to direct the conversation back on topic.
What are some warnings against building a CEO brand?
While having a CEO brand can add value to a company’s brand image, it is definitely not imperative. Corporations such as Mckinsey, Coca Cola or IBM Consulting have been able to build emotional attachments between their consumers and their product through powerful sales and effective execution, without having a CEO brand.
Brand loyalty is often built through experience, and some believe that a CEO Brand, unlike a product, can not be experienced by the consumer, and is therefore actually harder to relate to, while say, a can of Coke can be consumed and quickly determined by the consumer whether they feel that the brand and product image are aligned. It seems, then, that having a great product should be the first and foremost consideration to building a great brand.
As an example, many analysts agree that the keys to Apple’s success, over anything else, have been the superior design of its products and the customer-centric approach to its designs, rather than its marketing efforts or its CEO brand.
There are instances where CEO brands have actually hurt the companies they represented. When Martha Stewart was convicted of insider trading, stock in Martha Stewart Omnimedia plunged by 23% on the day of her conviction, while the Martha Stewart Living show was quickly dropped from various TV stations. Even though Martha Stewart had resigned as CEO of the company, her name had become inextricably linked with the brand over the years, and continued to hurt the company following her conviction.
It seems, then, that the key to building a successful brand is to strike a balance. It does benefit the company to have an appealing personality as its spokesperson to relate to its consumers on a more personal level, but it is also important to build and maintain a strong corporate brand and identity that stands on its own and does not fully rely on the individual. |
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