Coherence of identity and reputation is essentially a reflection of a conscious decision-making process and profound knowledge of problems, demands and expectations of the company’s stakeholders. Although it also depends on the context, reputation is the direct result of the company’s identity. Reputation is associated with a good economic and ethical behaviour as a result of awareness about the social problems that a company faces by relating to its stakeholders. However, Corporate Social Responsibility is driven also by organizational values, which eventually determine the company’s behaviour implemented by its directors, executives and employees. The main cultural change that occurred in the last few years in the management discourse is the need of a responsible approach in business, developing a long-term vision, a well-balanced relationship with the society and evaluating of the impact of this relationship on the society. Microbank, for example, a project by La Caixa, is already taking this approach. There is clearly higher demand for a corporate behaviour concerned about the problems of individuals. That’s why companies should take extreme care about coherence of their discourse and the actual corporate behaviour because ultimately, it determines the brand value. To be able to be aware of the problems and needs of their stakeholders, companies need to focus on employees first and develop a more human approach. BBVA is a clear example of this perspective. The second step is developing a powerful story that is consistent with the company’s identity and also able to clearly explain the objective of the project and its positive impact for the society and the firm. The third step is to use this story to project some meaningful and consistent messages that reach different stakeholders and lead them to advocate for the company. Unrealistic promises that banks gave to their customers and shareholders during the real estate bubble and before the financial crisis have led to a dramatic loss of trust and reputation. A good example in this context is the brand of Spain - the country brand that is making an important effort to recover the country’s reputation lost during the real estate and financial crisis in international markets. It initial external focus is now being redirected to capture internal stakeholders and recover the country’s reputation with its own citizens.

1. Thus, in the words of Telefónica’s Director for
Corporate Reputation and Sustainability Alberto
Andreu, reputation is a direct result of the company’s
management and self-awareness (its identity),
although it also depends on the context. Connection
between identity and reputation, between what the
company is and how it is perceived is not accidental.
Consciousness is coherence
Reputation is increasingly associated with a good
behaviour(bothintermsoftheeconomicperformance
and ethical conduct) as a result of awareness about
the social problems that a company faces by relating
to its external and internal stakeholders.
However,thisCorporateSocialResponsibility(CSR)
is driven by many factors: internal culture, external
expectations, vision and mission and, above all,
organizational values which eventually determine the
company’s behaviour implemented by its Directors,
executives and the rest of the employees.
Responsible business is, in fact, the main cultural
change that occurred in the last few years in the
management discourse, says BBVA’s Director for
Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Antoni
Ballabriga. This change implies a long-term vision,
a well-balanced relationship with the society and
evaluation of the impact of this relationship on the
society. According to Román Weissman, la Caixa’s
Risk Director, this approach has been applied by
Microbank, la Caixa’s banking project for people
with limited resources. Weissman believes that
sustainability is not just one of possibilities, but a
sine qua non prerequisite of business success.
Companiesandbrandsarenotjustaboutproducts.Their
social stance, their concern and search for a mission
that would be higher than their interest and profit has
become a priority, says Blanca Fullana, lecturer at the
Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University (Spain).
Coherence of identity and reputation is essentially a reflection of a conscious
decision-making process and profound knowledge of problems, demands and
expectations of the company’s stakeholders. Knowing exactly what stakeholder
groups need and expect enables companies to be coherent, act coherently, and be
recognized for coherence.
Strategy Documents
I59/2015
More conscious and
coherent brands: building
reputation from within
Brand
Insights & Trends
This document was prepared by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references
to the statements of Alberto Andreu, Telefónica’s Director for Corporate Reputation and Sustainability, Antoni Ballabriga, BBVA’s
Director for Corporate Reputation and Responsibility; Josep Santacreu, DKV’s CEO for Spain; Román Weissman, Microbank’s Risk
Director; Blanca Fullana, Professor at the Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University (Spain) and Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, High
Commissioner for the Brand of Spain made during the 17th
International Conference on Corporate Reputation, Identity and Brand: The
Reputation Journey, held by Reputation Institute in Barcelona on June 5 – 7, 2013.

2. Insights & Trends 2
More conscious and
coherent brands:
building reputation
from within
“Reputation
is associated
with a good
behaviour
(both in terms
of economic
performance
and ethical
conduct) as
a result of
awareness
about
the social
problems”
in a responsible manner with clear and reliable
information) goes hand in hand with financial
education (better banking education for decisions
on more favourable conditions for customers).
The key role in this process is played by employees
and their commitment to ethical and responsible
financial service, ability to provide all necessary
information to the customer and making sure
that the customer understands this information.
This approach is similar to the one implemented
by the insurer DKV with its integrated project of
healthcare for professional, family and personal
purposes. According to Josep Santacreu, DKV’s
CEO for Spain, employees are the key stakeholders.
They should be placed in the centre of the
company’s reputation and CSR policy.
Creating a link: key factors
For Ballabriga, the first step towards creating a
link with one’s stakeholders and achieving their
commitment is to focus on the employees. In order
to do that, a company should implement one or
two projects that would clearly demonstrate the
role of professionals in helping to achieve the
company’s results.
The second step is developing a powerful story, a
communicative metaphor able to clearly explain
the objective of the project and its positive impact
for the society and the company. The story should
fit with the overall narrative of the company and
be expressly supported by the CEO.
The third step is to use this story to project some
meaningful and consistent messages. The company
should make sure that the message reaches
different stakeholders and secures their support by
using opportune moments such as on the internal
level is, for example, the annual Board meeting.
A more ethical behaviour
Thereisclearlyanewandhigherdemandforacorporate
behaviour concerned about the problems of individuals.
That’s why companies should take extreme care about
coherence of what they say and what they do – of the
discourse and actual corporate behaviour. According to
Fullana, coherence of identity and reputation largely
determines the brand value.
Coherence has become the key factor of business
management since it combines a strategic component
(improving the company’s economic performance) and
anefficiencycomponent(improvingproductivityofthe
employees). Coherence, after all, expresses the ultimate
personal and business value: the value of integrity.
First things first
Awareness starts from within, although it is
frequently spurred by external events. That’s why
in order to be focused on customers, a company
should primarily focus on its employees. Ballabriga
points to a clear correlation between employees’
commitment and customer satisfaction. The barrier
between the internal and external is eroding due to
developing technologies that make companies more
approachable and open, agrees Blanca Fullana.
BBVA first made an emphasis on this approach a
few ago, when it started building its reputation and
tried to recover trust of its internal stakeholders –
it s employees. In the financial sector this means
to project every number and every initiative
to the social sphere. All in all, this reflects the
humanitarian impact of the bank’s economic
activity.
Thus, in line with BBVA’s slogan Working for a
better future for all people, financial inclusion
(the widest possible access to banking services
Gráfico 1: Constituent Brand Equity factor
Source: Blanca Fullana, 17ª Conferencia Internacional sobre Reputación, Identidad y Marca, 2013.
The mission, vision, values shouldn’t step in
the way of profit, rather the opposite!
We’re building business culture, rather
than corporate social responsibility

3. Insights & Trends 3
More conscious and
coherent brands:
building reputation
from within
“Responsible
business
implies a
long-term
vision and
a well-balanced
relationship
between the
society and
the company”
After the years of exponential growth, development
and numerous opportunities, the Spanish nation is
going through one of the most difficult moments in
its modern democratic history: an unprecedented
economic crisis that caused a social and ethical crisis
that depressed trust in the country on the part of
external and internal actors.
Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, the Government’s
High Commissioner for the Brand of Spain, says
that good export results and a significant increase of
tourism are not enough. Spain has to become a good
country not only for visiting, investing or buying,
but also for living, studying and working. In order to
achieve it, the country should build its brand aware
of the problems that the nation faced in the course of
its history and ensuring coherence with its modern
achievements, starting with the internal stakeholders
– the citizens.
Reputational risks
Unrealistic promises that banks gave to their
customers and shareholders during the real estate
bubble and before the financial crisis that some of
the Western countries are still suffering, have led to a
dramatic loss of trust and reputation, says Ballabriga.
As for shareholders, an obvious way of recovering
their trust is to introduce an equitability factor
between the remuneration of top managers in
financial institutions and their employees as well as
a general revision of the compensation plan aimed to
link incentives to long-term objectives.
For the telecommunications sector, the key
reputational risk in the near future is privacy.
Telefónica’s Alberto Andreu believes that preventive
measures in this respect may mitigate the impact of
the risk in case of a crisis caused by a risk event.
Conclusion: building trust and
reputation from within
A good example in this context is the brand of Spain
- the country brand that is making an important
effort to recover the country’s reputation lost during
the real estate and financial crisis in international
markets. It initial external focus is now being
redirected to capture internal stakeholders and
recover the country’s reputation with its own citizens.
Gráfico 2: What we believe: building social value through our core competencies...
Financial inclusion Financial education
We strive to provide new segments of the
population with access to responsible
financial services
We promote financial literacy to
help people make better financial decisions
for their futures
Fuente: Antoni Ballabriga, BBVA, 17ª Conferencia Internacional sobre Reputación, Identidad y Marca, 2013.

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