By Clari Green
We make a lot of fuss about branding in HH group and not everyone understands why. You see members of MCC running around with a sense of urgency, scanning through newspapers, constantly taking pictures, asking you to follow the company’s handles on social media and you wonder…why????
This month’s series I shall focus on culture; how an organisation’s culture influences its brand, and why it is important that we all imbibe the brand culture.
Brand Culture
We have all seen or heard the statement, “We are all brand ambassadors”, during induction, from the chairman, HR and of course from various members of MCC. I sometimes wonder if people really understand what this statement really mean? How can we as employees “live the brand” or imbibe the organisation’s brand culture?
Culture in the brand sense refers to the beliefs and behaviours that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle external parties. As a corporate brand grows and develops, it’s culture evolves encompassing its history, ethos and behaviour.
Brand culture is:
- History: The origin of the brand
- Ethos: The ideology and values of the brand
- Language: How the brand communicates
- People: The community behind the brand
- Leadership: The brands champion
- Traditions: Unique behaviour connected with the brand
- Sensations: The senses.
- Physical: buildings, environment and interiors
The role of the 3Es
Getting us, as employees, to “live the brand” requires an ‘ethos’; this is the spirit of the brand, captured in the mission, vision and values, ideally, these values should be the genuine drivers of business performance. We recently launched our new values, the 3Es – Excellence, Execution and Enterprise. These values are part of the Heirs Holdings brand culture and will drive our operations and interactions going forward.
A strong brand culture attracts deeper feelings of ownership and the opportunity for us as employees to become more involved, so we can reach a common goal.
At this point, I would like you to take time to ask yourself – how plugged in am I with what goes on in my organisation? Have I imbibed the brand culture? Have I incorporated it into my everyday activities?
Our Collective Role
From speaking to my fellow colleagues and even discussions beyond HH, I have come to understand that most people feel that Brand is what the MCC does, and culture should be left for the Human Resources department, but in reality, everyone within an organization is responsible for both brand and culture.
During induction, I always preach that as brand ambassadors, it is our duty to understand Heirs Holding’s values, so that we are able to translate them into our everyday work interactions and communicate them to stakeholders.
This month we are re-launching the Heirs Holdings Brand Guidelines, it is critical that we all take the time to review and understand how our brand works, our ‘raison d’être’ (for the non-french speakers, this means ‘reason for being’).
And next time you see an MCC person looking frantic, give them a hand. Always remember that we are all in this together!
