"In this fascinating book, Nicholas Ind and Rune Bjerke go beyond 'living the brand'. They have devised an integrative framework to show how brand performance can follow a steeper trajectory. The strength of this book is its well argued framework and the use of numerous practical examples to bring the application to life. It's a delight to read such a well conceived book." --Leslie de Chernatony, Professor of Brand Marketing, Birmingham University Business School, England "Please add this book to your traditional business readings, you won't regret it !As enterprises become more complex, we all need to think again about how they really work and how they can build value in people's lives. In Branding Governance, Ind and Bjerke tackle this challenge through the creative use of philosophical insight to illuminate the emergent and ever changing world of business." -- Pierre d'Huy, International Brand Consultant, Associate Professor of Strategic Marketing, Management Institute of Paris and University of Paris IV-Sorbonne Branding Governance challenges traditional thinking on brands. Bestselling author Nicholas Ind and cross-cultural communications expert Rune Bjerke expose the flaws in the marketing communications-led approach to brand-building, and argue instead for a highly participative, organisation-wide process that delivers both fulfilment to employees and value to customers.

Their emphasis is on the importance of interaction and experience in determining brand equity. To achieve this, organisations must break down the boundaries between those inside and outside it, and fuse the different parts together. Building a brand, for Ind and Bjerke, is the responsibility not of a select few but of everyone in the organisation. Drawing on a wide range of sources from philosophy and sociology to marketing and organisational development, they show why brand building is a fluid process that requires the ability to sense and make sense of customer behaviour while enhancing the capabilities of the organisation. The key to a participatory approach is that customers and other external audiences must join managers and employees as active participants in defining and developing the brand. For this to work, the relationship between the organisation and its customers must be one of respect and authenticity. Branding Governance looks beyond organisational silos to offer a new and integrated approach to the process of planning, structuring, executing and measuring brand policy.