Brand orientation

Abstract

Public institutions such as cities, the police or schools are increasingly adopting a brand orientation, understood as an approach to organization aiming to create coherence around image and identity, such that consistent, precise and coherent messages can be presented about the organization to internal and external stakeholders. Brand orientation refers to a managerial approach, or philosophy to organization “in which the processes of the organization revolve around the creation, development, and protection of brand identity in an ongoing interaction with target customers”. The public sector and its many stakeholders value transparency as a democratic foundation, serving as an important principle for good governance. Svedala is a municipality in southern Sweden that decided to build a prison. Public managers play a crucial role in their communities. Managers can acknowledge the distinctions between managing public and private organizations, and the different values or principles guiding each realm.