Branding knowledge: Brand building beyond product and service brands

Abstract

The paper argues that product, service and corporate brands are about to be extended by one other type of brand: the knowledge brand. A knowledge brand is a clearly differentiated visual and verbal identity that bundles and communicates a set of skills, competencies and methodologies in one coherent manner. This becomes crucial as companies are not only selling specific products or services, but also marketing their unique know-how in improving services or products. For this purpose a knowledge brand has to communicate its topics (why its knowledge is valuable and rare) through specific tools (such as surveys, extranets or CEO newsletters) and transmitters (such as conventions speeches, interviews or specialised conferences) to its targets (such as CEOs, CFOs, CIOs or other regional and functional directors).