Living the Brand : a case study of how management at Standard Bank can create brand ambassadors of their employees.

Abstract

In April 2006 the new brand positioning for Standard Bank was revealed to staff and the general public. The new brand positioning focused mainly on employees and customers and to a lesser extent operational efficiency. The study attempts to find what meanings the employees of Standard Bank made of this new brand positioning through a qualitative case study methodology. As part of the study, theoretical models and concepts covering the brand, brand positioning, living the brand, employee segmentation and the 3-phased approach to implement the programme were reviewed. A qualitative research study was conducted whereby one-on-one interviews were held with managerial and non-managerial employees at Standard Bank. The research is therefore a phenomenological investigation of the business problem statement, that is, the re-positioning of the brand from simpler to better, faster as well as inspired and motivated. The research findings were that the brand repositioning did not have a negative impact on employee perceptions. However, it was found that employees did not understand what the brand stands for and were having problems delivering on the new brand promise. To improve the level of understanding by the employees so that the new brand positioning can influence employee behaviour, the researcher recommended applying the 3- phased approach in implementing an effective "living the brand" programme.