Succeeding with brands on the Internet

It is argued that, because of the greater involvement of a brand's community on the Internet, a looser form of control is needed, placing more emphasis on brand management as values management.

Abstract

This paper focuses on some of the issues involved in brand building on the Internet. A new mindset is needed to execute an on-line branding strategy which thinks more about enhancing benefits to consumers rather than just to the organisation. By questioning some of the assumptions managers have made about migrating their brands to the Internet, insights are provided about brand building on the Internet. It is argued that, because of the greater involvement of a brand's community on the Internet, a looser form of control is needed, placing more emphasis on brand management as values management. Finally, it is argued that a new theory of the concept of brand is not needed between the off-line and on-line environment, but rather a different approach to executing the brand's essence.