The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix—The Case of the Nobel Prize

Mats   Urde; Stephen A. Greyser

Article | Journal of Brand Management

The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix—The Case of the Nobel Prize

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore corporate brand identity and reputation, with the aim of integrating them into a single managerial framework. The Nobel Prize serves as an in-depth field-based case study and is analysed using the Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix (CBIRM), introduced here for the first time. Eight key reputation elements adapted from the literature and enriched by the case study are incorporated within an existing corporate brand identity framework. Among the key findings are structural links outlining essential connections among elements of corporate brand identity and reputation. The new framework provides a structure for managing a corporate/organisational brand. It is a potential tool in the definition, alignment, and development of such brands. A limitation is that the communication dimension—the journey from identity to reputation and vice versa—is included but not explored in detail. The originality of the article is two-fold: first, developing a new integrated framework and second, refining and applying the framework to a distinctive research study of a specific organisational case, in this instance, the Nobel Prize. Specific quotes from extensive field interviews support the development of the new CBIRM and its broader managerial relevance and applicability.

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Urde, Mats, and Stephen A. Greyser. "The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix—The Case of the Nobel Prize." Journal of Brand Management 23, no. 1 (January 2016): 89–117.

Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2020

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?

Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own money and funds from friends and family members. Their initial product sells reasonably well, but not enough to remain profitable. When they introduce a reformulated product, Totaled, its social media presence explodes. Young consumers upload many videos to YouTube that record the impacts of consuming large quantities of Totaled that earn millions of views. Totaled becomes a star brand on social media and sales skyrocket. The company is inundated with distribution requests. The founders see success looming. As sales of Totaled and similar products increase, so do reports of binge drinking and its negative consequences. Emergency room doctors and public health officials express concern about the combination of high levels of alcohol and caffeine in these products. Rapidly expanding distribution of the beverage through convenience stores gives underage drinkers easier access to the beverage. All these factors attract national media coverage. The founders are unprepared to deal with the bad reputation their product is gaining and regulatory and public-relations crisis they face. As the case ends, they are deciding how to respond. "Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?" can be used with undergraduate and MBA courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, general management, and public health.

Keywords: alcoholic beverages; energy drinks; regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making;

Citation:

Greyser, Stephen A., and William Ellet. "Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?" Harvard Business School Brief Case 920-557, May 2020. View Details

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Teaching Note for HBS Brief Case No. 920-557. The case addresses analysis and decisions related to the entrepreneurial life of a distinctive energy beverage, including its niche market launch, early problems, reformulation, social media impact, market success, and public policy/ethics challenges—as well as the three co-founders' approaches to management and decision making. Ultimately, the partners must opt for "fight or flight." The extensive Teaching Note encompasses two alternative discussion plans, one focused on the ultimate decision (fight/flight/compromise), and the other following the case facts, analysis, and decisions over time. The elements of market entry, competition, product modifications, communications strategy, regulatory challenges, and management decision-making are all treated. Key topics and study questions assist instructors in course selection for the case and student assignments.

This chapter presents and interprets two field-based studies of sponsorship collaborations between major museums and significant financial institutions—a global multi-year partnership between the Guggenheim Foundation and UBS, and the pioneering regional integrated sponsorship program between the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Fleet Bank (subsequently part of Bank of America) for the “Monet in the 20th century” exhibition in 1998. The studies offer insights on the rationale (as well as non-objectives) and implementation of the sponsorships and explore critical elements of resource integration in terms of complementary resource mobilization and internal integration.

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The Corporate Brand Identity and Reputation Matrix—The Case of the Nobel Prize

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