Once a corporate image is established, it should be linked to values
important to its target audiences. This is because values do not change,
at least not in the short-term. But it is possible to change or alter perceptions
about a company. The role of IMC here is critical. Everything communicated
about a company and its brands must be consistent with the
establishment of the desired corporate image, and with the association in
memory to the appropriate values. In this case values operate very much
like emotions in framing an understanding of brands and companies.
Companies, like brands, are linked in memory with specific emotional
associations. These emotions are present in working memory any time
someone is thinking about that company or processing new information
about it. We will be dealing with the role of emotion in processing messages
in much more detail in Chapter 8.
In the same way, the effective linking of a company in memory with
positive values should ensure the presence of the resulting reputation
in working memory when a person is thinking about that company,
and there when processing communications about it. This is the result
of something neuropsychologists call top-down processing, where one ’ s
knowledge and assumptions about a thing (the company here) will be
present in working memory whenever one is consciously processing
information about it.
Because corporate reputation is value-based, it enjoys a strategic
advantage over corporate image. While both are dependent upon individual
perceptions, the strength of a positive reputation will be greater