Brand-oriented Leadership

Many studies have shown a positive relationship between a strong brand and overall financial performance. Experiences of marketing specialists and initial scientific findings demonstrate that in all industries but especially in the service sector, personal communication by a firm's own employees in direct interaction with the customer plays - beside impersonal communication through mass media campaigns - a decisive role in achieving sustainable brand strength. More and more firms have discovered the potential of so-called behavioral branding as an effective way to differentiate themselves from their competition. In this article we argue that leadership within organizations is an essential instrument to foster and control behavioural branding.