Every company has a brand reputation—it’s either an asset or a liability.

A strong brand reputation can significantly boost a company’s success and profitability. However, a damaged reputation can have far-reaching negative consequences.

Let’s explore the concept of brand reputation, its importance for businesses, strategies for building it, and methods to protect it from potential threats

What is brand reputation?

A brand reputation is simply how people view a brand. A positive reputation can be one of the most valuable assets a company has. On the other hand, a negative reputation can be a significant drawback. Unlike other business assets, measuring a brand’s reputation in numerical terms is more challenging.

This is because a brand reputation exists in the minds of those who perceive it. Some people may have a favorable view, while others may not, and opinions can change quickly—either for better or worse. While a brand’s reputation isn’t measured like traditional metrics, it is possible to gauge whether it is generally viewed as good or bad.

How to measure a brand’s reputation

The strength of a brand reputation can be estimated with both quantitative and qualitative data. 

Real-world cases of brand reputation

In 2014, the largest Ebola outbreak ever happened in West Africa. Shortly after, airlines across the globe halted flights to the area, citing a concern of spreading the disease. However, one small airline chose to keep the flights going: Brussels Airlines. 

“It is our humanitarian duty to operate there,” Geert Sciot, Vice President at Brussels Airlines, told Time. “Without our fights it would become almost impossible for medical staff to reach the country.” 

Brussels Airlines was the only commercial airline in the world that maintained regular flights to ensure doctors, nurses, and medical supplies reached the affected area. The Belgian company received praise from The White House and the public for their efforts, which significantly enhanced their reputation.

Temu’s struggle with brand reputation

The increasing importance of a strong brand reputation

Brand reputation is becoming more important for every company. This shift is driven by a few key factors, but two main reasons stand out.

How to build a great brand reputation

Building a great brand and building a great brand reputation aren’t the same thing. While you can control your brand’s story, values, and visual identity, your reputation depends on how others perceive it. You can shape it, but you can’t fully control it.

The foundation of a strong brand reputation is a strong brand. That means starting with essentials like choosing the right name, designing a memorable logo, and offering high-quality products. But since we’re focusing on reputation, let’s explore how brands can strengthen their image through effective reputation management.

How to manage brand reputation

A key part of managing your brand’s reputation is recognizing potential threats. Many factors can harm a brand’s image. Let’s explore a few of these factors and look at real-life examples to understand why they can be harmful.

1. Inconsistent branding: When a company’s visual style keeps changing, it creates two main problems. First, it makes it harder for people to recognize the brand. Second, customers might see it as unprofessional. They might think the company doesn’t have a clear direction or isn’t in control of its image.
2. Inappropriate associations: A brand’s reputation can suffer when it’s linked to something negative. This can happen due to mistakes or just bad luck. For example, a company might accidentally use an offensive image in an ad, or their product could appear in the background of a controversial news story. These situations can quickly damage a brand’s image, even if they weren’t directly responsible.
   
   An example of an unlucky, unfortunate association comes from the Danish ice cream company ISIS. The company named itself after an Egyptian goddess, but when a certain group adopted the name globally, the ice cream brand faced ridicule and had to rebrand. Fortunately, they overcame this challenge by changing their name to EASIS.
   
   Inappropriate associations can also be intentional, and these can have much larger consequences. Over a thousand large companies are currently listed on LeaveRussia.org. Some of these include Nestlé, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Mars, which are also mentioned on Ukraine’s less prominent list titled ‘Sponsors of War’. 
3. Scandals: PR crises can take many forms, and some escalate into scandals that lead to boycotts and significant long-term harm to brands. A notable example is the BP oil crisis in 2010, also known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This incident was one of the worst environmental disasters in history and resulted in severe reputational damage for BP.
   
   As the brand at the center of the disaster, BP was held accountable for the oil spill and the widespread loss of marine life. This situation sparked boycotts and public outrage against the company. Even with various rebranding efforts, BP has struggled to overcome its reputation as a brand responsible for a major environmental catastrophe.

Protect your brand against reputational risk

Reputational risk is a major concern among CEOs, according to a 2022 survey conducted by consulting firm KPMG. In order to mitigate this risk, businesses can take steps to protect their brand:

1. Spot potential brand threats: Your company’s reputation can face sudden risks from anywhere. A single unhappy customer’s story that spreads online can seriously harm how people see your brand. It’s not realistic to manually check every website, social media platform, and review site for signs of a coming PR problem. Instead, use tools like Google Alerts to track mentions of your brand. This way, you’ll get notifications about what people are saying, helping you stay informed and ready to respond.
2. Maintain a consistent identity: When we think of threats to a brand’s reputation, we often picture sudden, dramatic events. But there’s a quieter danger that’s often overlooked. It happens when employees create content on their own computers, whether it’s social media posts, sales proposals, or financial reports. This can lead to inconsistencies in how the company presents itself, affecting not just its visual identity, but its overall image.
   
   Platforms like Templafy help large companies manage their brand assets from one central place. This ensures that all materials stay consistent and follow the rules, which helps protect and improve the brand’s reputation. Roos Nederveen, Senior Consultant of Corporate Branding at Ramboll, explains the benefit: “Templafy saves our employees a lot of time, and the branding team can be more certain that content coming from Ramboll is in line with our brand guidelines.”

Start protecting your brand’s reputation with Templafy

Your brand’s image can take a hit from many angles—social media posts, news articles, customer feedback, and more. It varies for each company.

But there’s one thing all brands must do to safeguard their reputation: keep their branding consistent and compliant across the board.

That’s where Templafy shines. Book a demo now and see how we can help protect your brand.