Citizen Brands

Every marketing manager is looking for a way to make their brand out perform the rest, to have more market share and a longer shelf life. Research has shown that what Michael Willmott calls "Citizen Brands" will be more commercially successful than those that do not take on board societal trends. The concept of Citizen Brands arose several years ago when Michael Willmott was researching and writing about corporate social responsibility and the growing pressures on business to take the idea seriously. Recently, Michael’s thinking has moved on. He now argues that the suggestion that companies have a responsibility to do ‘good’ in society is hamstrung by its association with old-fashioned corporate paternalism that is inappropriate in today’s consumer empowered world. Rather, Michael believes that the critical issue is a company’s relationship with society — it is that relationship that needs to be managed and nurtured. He prefers the term ‘corporate citizenship’. Corporate citizenship is a far more reciprocal and a less philanthropic relationship. It is far more than benefaction (straightforward giving), it is about showing that a company understands societal issues and cares about them. Beyond this just being an idea, Michael Willmott has evidence to prove that companies that embody core values based on understanding society — those that put society at the heart of their business — can be more successful than those that do not. The reasons for this are twofold. First, the social values and behaviour of a company affect its branding and the way it is perceived by those outside the organization, particularly its customers. Second, the consuming public and citizens generally are becoming more aware of social and ethical issues and more demanding of companies. Citizen Brands provides the answers to many questions on this topic. Michael Willmott describes why the concept is becoming more important, the social and economic trends that are driving its development and the process by which being a citizen brand feeds through into commercial success. Finally, he outlines the strategic approach companies should take to embody this concept in their day-to-day business activities.