Human resources' role in internal branding at Patagonia

Patagonia

Human resource management's role in internal branding: an opportunity for cross-functional brand message synergy

Many researchers study the effects of branding on various target markets. However, less attention is typically paid to the employees of a company and their perception of their own brand that they work for. This article explores human resources (HR) role is promoting branding within the actual organization. Employees who are in consensus with an organization's brand are more likely to act consistently in ways supporting how the organization hopes that external constituencies perceive it and its products/services (Aurand, Gorchels, & Bishop, 2005). Although external branding has been used for many years and serves as the backbone of most marketing programs, U.S. firms are starting to realize the importance of creating brand buy-in among their employees. If the employee is committed to the brand, then they will also be committed to delivering the brand's promise to in their job duties as well as be committed spokespeople to anyone they communicate with in the external environment.

To test these relationships, the researchers created a survey which measured how well their employees "lived the brand" and incorporated the brand in both work and personal activities. The study found that the HR function relative to internal branding was correlated with a positive personal attitude towards the brand image.

Relationship to Text

The article specifically mentions Patagonia which is also the company that is highlighted in leadership discussion in Chapter 1. Patagonia has a progressive corporate culture that has many initiatives that focused on building a sense of community in their human resources and empowering their employees. It is interesting how the internal branding efforts at companies like Patagonia work to foster a culture that blends work, play, and family. It is reasonable to suspect that a strong majority of the employees at Patagonia truly believe in the brand.

Reflection