Branding/Brand Management

Abstract

This entry explores the complex concept of brand as a point of departure for addressing branding and brand management. Branding has many meanings rooted in different conceptualizations of what constitutes a brand. The result is a multitude of approaches to brand management that can be divided into three clusters: sender‐oriented, receiver‐oriented, and context‐oriented. Each approach has different features to recommend it as far as strategic brand communication is concerned. The sender‐oriented approaches see brand meaning as transmitted from brand manager to consumer. Here, the emphasis is on consistency and unity in messages and contents. The receiver‐oriented approaches view the consumer as an active interpreter of brand meaning, acknowledging that communication is subject to interpretation. And the context‐oriented approaches locate brand meaning in community and culture, privileging the consumer as a communicator. Moreover, the approaches are supplemented by current trends and developments brought on by Web 2.0 and the notion of cocreation among internal and external stakeholders.