Report - FinalGood - 11

8/8/2019 Report - FinalGood - 11

1/21

NHH, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration

MBM421

Managing Corporate Reputation

GE Money Bank CaseTerm Paper


2/21

Table des matires

1. Introduction................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 1

1.1 GE Money Bank USA ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 1

2. Identification and Prioritization of the Stakeholders ................................ ................................ .... 2

2.1 GE Money Banks stakeholders in the US................................ ................................ ........... 2

2.2 The three most important stakeholder groups ................................ ................................ ...... 3

a. The Customers................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 3

b. The Retailers ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 4

c. The Employees ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 4

3. Stakeholders needs and perceptions................................ ................................ ........................... 5

3.1 The Customers................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 5

a. The Needs................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 5

b. The Perceptions ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 6

3.2 The Retailers ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 7

a. The Needs................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 7


3.3 The Employees ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 8

a. The Needs................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 8


4. Strategic positioning and associative network................................ ................................ ........... 10

5. Corporate communication campaign................................ ................................ ......................... 12

6. Bibliography ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 16

6.1 Books ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 16

6.2 Articles ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 16

6.3 Websites ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 167. Appendixes ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 17

7.1 Appendix 1: List of GE Money Banks stakeholders ................................ ......................... 17

7.2 Appendix 2: Maslows pyramid of needs ................................ ................................ .......... 18

7 3 Appendix 3: Associative network and brand positioning 19


3/21

1. IntroductionAlthough before the 60s most authors tended to agree with the view defended by Milton

Friedman in his article The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Profits (1970)

saying that the sole purpose of a company was to increase the return on investment for its

shareholders, it seems that nowadays attitudes have somewhat changed. According to Charles

Handy1

for example, the sole purpose of a company should be to achieve sustainability in

order to be able to maintain its contracts with all its stakeholders (and not only its

shareholders).

The main question that arises from such a new approach is the following: Who is a

stakeholder?

In the first part of this report, we will try to answer this question in the specific case of GE

Money Bank USA and then select what we believe are the three most important stakeholder

groups for this company. Then, we will investigate the needs and perceptions of these three

groups and use this information to build a strategic positioning that is relevant for all three of

them. Finally, in the last part, we will develop a plan for a corporate communication

campaign intended to improve GE Money Banks reputation in one of our groups.

1.1GE Money BankUSA2Founded more than 75 years ago, in the United States, during the Great Depression, GEMoney Bank USA is a company that provides a broad range of financial services going from

private loans and installment lending to private label credit cards to a variety of customers

including individual consumers, businesses and merchants. The company is part of GE

Capital, one of the five main branches of General Electric (GE Infrastructure Technology, GE

Energy Infrastructure, GE Consumer and Industrial, NBC universal, and GE Capital) and is a

branch of GE Money Bank that is nowadays present in more than 55 countries around the

world. In total, more than 130 million customers rely on the company for everyday financial

solutions. In the following report we will refer to GE Money Bank USA by the acronym

GEMB.


4/21

2. Identification and Prioritizationofthe Stakeholders2.1 GE Money Banksstakeholdersinthe US

According to R. E. Freeman, a stakeholder could be defined as Any group or individual who

can affect or is affected by the achievement of the firms objectives3.

Using this definition as a starting point, we have discovered that a large number of

stakeholders could be identified for a company such as GEMB (see Appendix 1: List of

GEMBs stakeholders).

According to what Dowling presented in his bookCreatingCorporate Reputations Identity,

Image and Performance (2002), all these stakeholders can be divided into four major groups

namely normative, functional, diffuse, and customer groups.

Normative groups conduct and/or determine the companys areas of operation. The

stakeholders we have identified in this case are the following:

- The government that can affect GEMB by imposing favorable or unfavorable

regulations.

- GEgroupthatcanaffecttheglobalstrategyoftheGEMBthroughGECapitalandcan

bedirectlyaffectedbyGEMBsreputation.

- The shareholdersthatcanaffectthecompanythroughtheirexpectationsforreturnon

investmentandbeaffectedbyGEMBsfinancialperformance.

- The creditors that can affect the company through financialpressure and couldbe

affectedbyGEMBsinabilitytorepayitsdebts.

- The regulatory agencies (FDIC)thatcanaffectthecompanysactivitiesbyenforcing

standardswithintheindustryandmonitoringstandardscompliance.

Functional groups facilitateoperationsandservethecustomersofcompany.Theseare:

- The employees thatcanaffectGEMBthroughthe labortheyprovide itwithandcan

beaffectedbythegeneralworkingconditionsthecompanyoffersthem.

- The retailers (Wall-Mart, Ikea) thatcanaffectthecompanythroughtheintermediary


5/21

- The mediathatcanaffectthecompanythroughthegoodorbadpublicitytheymake

forit.

-

The labor unions thatcanaffectthecompanythroughstrikes,workstoppages,etc.

- The consumer unionsthatcanaffectthecompanythoughthecreationofgoodorbad

reputationinthecustomergroup.

Customer groups withdifferentneedsthatthecompanyintendstofulfill.

- The customersthatcanaffectthecompanysincetheyare inmanywaysthebasisof

thefirmsprofitandcanbeaffectedbythequalityoftheservicesofferedbyGEMB.

Inaddition tocategorizing thedifferent stakeholdersofacompany,Dowlingalso insistson

the fact that theneeds,perceptions,anddriversofchoice foreachstakeholdergroupsvary.

Consequently, it is the companys task tobalance these when deciding on a strategic

positioning.

Moreover, in thecaseofGEMB,just like any othercompany, some stakeholdersmightbe

more important than others. In this termpaper we claim that the three most important

stakeholdersforGEMBarethe retailers,customersandemployees.

2.2 Thethree mostimportantstakeholder groupsa. The Customers

ThefirstgroupwehaveidentifiedasbeingimportantforGEMBareitscustomers.

Indeed,Berman et al.s empirical study in 1999, suggests that caring about customers has

directeffectsonthecompanysfinancialperformance.Astheyarethebasisforprofits,taking

their needsandperceptions intoaccount is likely tohelp a company improve its salesand

profits.

Not only are they thebasis forprofitsbut in addition they serve as abasis for the whole

business idea. Peter Drucker and hisbook The Practice of Management (1954) are still

relevant tounderstand the relationshipsbetweenGEMBand itscustomers.He exposed that

thepurposeofabusinessistocreateandkeepcustomers.


6/21

b.The RetailersAs an intermediately group, the retailers help GEMB reach customers, and access new

markets. Moreover,GEMB can use the retailers as a communication channel towards the

public.

Financially, the retailers are a very important stakeholder group forGEMBbecause they

representadirectlinkbetweenthefirmandtheconsumerswhoneedcreditfinancing.Abad

relationshipbetweenGEMBand the retailerscould lead toadecreasingcustomerbaseand

lessrevenuefortheprivatelabelcreditcardprovider. IntheUSmarketthereareanumberof

specializedbanks who offer consumer lending. Consequently, if the company does not

maintaina good relationshipwith its retailers the retailer can easily findanother consumer

financingbank.

From a reputational point of view, the company can use the retailers as a powerful

communication tool. Dowlings (2002p. 34) theory on functional stakeholders shows thatthere is a clear link of collaborationbetween the company and its functional stakeholder

groups. Hence, through the link that appears whenGEMB engages with the retailers, the

reputationof theretailerscanaffect theorganizationsreputation.Firstly,youwillhave the

affectofGEMBbeingdirectlyassociatedwiththeretailer.Hence,aretailerbecomesapartof

GEMBscommunicationwhich,inturn,willaffectGEMBsreputationandimage.Moreover,

concerning the reputational importance of retailers,the choice of the retailers towhichthe

companydecidestooffercreditagreementsdetermineswhattypeofcustomersthecompany

wantstobeassociatedwith.Forexample,byengagingapartnershipwithWal-Mart,GEMB

sendsasignalaboutwhattypeofconsumerstheywanttoofferlending.

c. The EmployeesThe last group we consider tobe ofprime importance when looking atGEMB different

stakeholdersareitsemployees.

Firstofall,itistheemployeesthatprovidethehumanresourcesthatpowertheenginesof

the company. Without them, thebusiness is unlikely to function even if there are some


7/21

to-day activities of the organization (GEMB)4andGrunigandHunt thatacknowledge that

functional groupsare essential to the function of the organizationbecause they provide

labor and resources to create products and services (such as employees and suppliers) 5.

Secondly, it hasbeen shownby Berman (1999) that the way a company manages its

relationshipwith its employees can have a significant impact on its financialperformance.

Yet,asweknow,themaximizationofprofitisoneofthemainobjectivesofanybusinessin

theworld.

Finally, theemployeesalsoplayamajor role regardingcorporate reputation.AsThompson

(2005)said:Internal people (includingemployees) make the brand, sell the brand, service

the brand and live the brand in the community6.Thedangerofoverlookingsucharoleisthat

employeesunsatisfiedwiththewaytheircompanybehavesinitsbusinesscouldstartmaking

badpublicityfortheiremployer.

From then on, because of these strong functional, financial and reputational

dependencesofthecompanyonitsemployees,itseemsessentialforittopaycarefulattention

tothesespecificstakeholdersandmanagetherelationshipithaswiththem.

3. Stakeholdersneeds and perceptionsInthissegmentwedefinethestakeholdersneedsandpositiveperceptionsastheirdriversof

choiceofGEMB,andtheirnegativeperceptionsastheirbarriersofchoice.

3.1 The Customersa. The Needs

ConsideringGEMB as abankproviding loans to consumers, its customers needs are the

following:

High quality service and cheap loans

Customers usually want high quality product at a cheap price. As GEMB is offering

purchasingpower,customersaredemandinghighqualityservicessurroundingtheloan.

P id h t ti ti


8/21

salesoncar,youwillhavetobesuretohavethemoneyonshort-notice.

Transparency on the fees

One of thekey issues for customerswhen talkingabout loans is transparency.A customer

needstobewellinformedonmonthlypaymentsbutalsoinsuranceagainstdefault,delayfees

etc.These feescanbehidden insmall linesat the endof thecontract.Butcustomersneed

honestyfromitsloanprovider.

Good handling of relations when a borrower cannot pay

Themainriskwhenyouborrowmoneyisthatyouarenotabletopayitback.Customershope

that if they happen tobe in this situation, theirbanker would care about their case, show

understanding,andgivethemanoffertorestructurethedeal.Usually,itisthemomentwhen

banksmake themoremoneyoncustomers.But iftheychargetoomuchontheircustomers,

theywouldnotbeabletopayanythingandwilldeclarehimselfbankrupt,muchsimilartothe

subprimelending.

b.The PerceptionsReliable

GEMB isperceivedby itscustomersasasolid loanprovider.Indeed,GEMBbenefits from

thegood imageand reputationofGeneralElectric. It isoneof theoldestcompanies in the

UnitedStatesandtheonlyonewhichwasthereatthefoundationofNYStockExchangeandwhichisstillthere.Moreover,theirexpertisedatesbackmorethan75yearsagowhentheGE

CreditCorporationwasformedtofinancethepurchaseofhomeappliancesintheU.S.during

theGreatDepression.

Worldwide presence

With apresence in 55 countries and 130 million customers, GEMB isperceived as an

internationalcompany.Ifacustomerdecidestogoandliveabroad,hewillbesuretofindthe

same service in its host country.GEbeing anAmerican company, this might evoke some

patrioticspiritsamongtheAmericancustomers.

S b i id


9/21

seenasoneofthecausesofrecenteconomiccrisisbygivingmoneytopeoplewhocouldnot

affordit.Thiseffectmighthavebeenincreasedbythediffusestakeholdergroups.

3.2 The Retailersa. The Needs

Sales and profits

Retailers,andespecially in timesofeconomicand financialhardships suchas the financial

crisisintheUS,needtomaintain/increasetheirsales/profitstobeabletosurvive.

Consumer loyalty

A consumer credit card can improve customer loyalty, increase sales, and increase the

probability for repeatedpurchases.The ability to lock-in a customerbase with a retailers

credit card can give customers an incentive to use a retailer as aprimary source for those

products.

Consumer Satisfaction

One could also argue thatby offering a consumer credit card, a retailer could increase

consumessatisfactionbecauseitisgivingthecustomeranopportunitytobuywhattheyneed

when they need it, even though the customer does not have the money at the time of the

purchase.According to Keller(1993) increasedconsumersatisfactionmay lead to increased

consumerloyalty.

Solid collaborative partner

Firstly,GEMB isapartofGEwhich isabig corporation.Hence, the consumer financing

comes from a solidprovider which also haveprevious experience withbanking and loan

activities.Havingareliablecreditproviderisimportantinanycaseoffinancingdifficulties.

Increased visibility

GEMBoffersasolutioncalledBusinessLocatorontheirweb-pages.Itgivesthecustomeran

opportunitytouseGEMBshomepagetoasasearchenginetofindretailerswithinacertain

radiusthatoffersGEMBcreditcards.Thus,theircollaborationwithGEMBhelpstoincrease

the visibility of the retailers and make them more accessible for customers


10/21

SolidCorporation

GEMB,beingabranch of theGE enterprise, comes froma solid corporationwitha sound

financialbackingasshownbyits $157bnrevenuesin20098.

Subprime provider

Aswiththecustomersperceptions,theresultof thehistoryofGEMBasasubprime lender

might indicate that thebank is stillperceived as suchby its retailers. Consequently, the

retailersprobablydonotwanttobeassociatedwithasubprimelender.

Flexibility

GEMBarguesthattheytailor/structuretheirsolutionspecificallytotheneedsoftheirclients

(sourcewebpage).

3.3 The Employeesa. The Needs

Inordertoremedyagenerallackofinformation,wehavedecidedtocallupontheMaslows

hierarchy of needs developed by Abraham Maslow in his paper A Theory ofHuman

Motivation(1993)inordertoexploremoreindepththepotentialneedsofGEMBemployees.

The main ideabehind Maslows theory is that unsatisfied needs are the main source of

motivation for humanbeings (Appendix 2: Maslowspyramid of needs). According to

Maslow,therearefivefundamentalneedsthatdrivehumanbeingsactions:thephysiological

needs, the safety needs, thebelonging needs, the esteem needs and the self-actualization

needs.

Physiological needs

As far as employeesphysiological needs are concerned, it is essential to understand that

nowadays,inourmodernsocieties,everythinghasaprice.Fromthenon,theonlywayforan

individualtoprovidehimselforhisfamilywiththesufficientfinancialresourcestobuysuch

thingsasfood,aplacewheretosleeporevenmedicinesistofindajob.

Safety needs

Once the physiological needs are fulfilled the next thing an employee will start to look for is


11/21

Belonging needs

Maslow thenstates that thenext thingpeoplestart to look for is toovercome the feelingof

alienationand loneliness.Inthespecificcaseofemployees,this istranslated inthefactthat

the majority of them need to feel theybelong to the company they work in. They will

thereforelookforcompaniesthatputtheemphasisoncollaboration,shareofinformation

Esteem needs

Moreover,formostpeople,workingshouldalsoenablethemtogetrecognitionforwhatthey

doforthecompanyandrespectaswell.

Self-actualization needs

Finally,onceanemployeehasmanaged tomeetall theneedswehavementionedabove,he

caneventuallystart tofeelproductiveanduseful,andfindsmeaning inhiswork.Given the

amountof timepeoplespendworking, theemployeeself-conceptand identity isverymuch

linkedtothe

work

they

do.

b.The PerceptionsAs far as employeesperceptions of GEMB are concerned, we have decided to usejob

reviewswidelyavailableontheinternettoinvestigatethem9.

Benefits, Stock options and Incentives vs Low average pay

GEMB isseenby itsemployeesasacompany thatoffersexcellentBenefits,Stockoptions

and Incentives.However, italsoappearsoutofouranalysis thatbecauseworking forGE is

consideredassomesortofprivilege intheUnitedStates,thesalary isperceivedas loweron

averagethaninothercompanies.

The Back-up of a big company vs A Huge and Industrial company

GEisalsoperceivedasbenefitingoftheback-upofasolidgroupthathasbeenpresentintheAmerican landscapeformanyyears,namelyGeneralElectric.However,becauseof thesize

ofthecompany,someoftheemployeesfeelasiftheywerejustnumbers.

Opportunities to Learn and Grow, Competent Teams and People andFlexible Schedules


12/21

PoorHuman Resources, Bureaucracy and Advancement

On the negative side, GEMB employees claim that the company is somewhat too

bureaucratic,thattheHR ismorefocusedoncostreductionthanhelpinginternalpeopleand

finallythatitisrelativelydifficulttoachieveadvancementwithinthecompany.

4. Strategic positioning and associativenetworkInthispartwehavetodefineastrategicpositioningforourthreemostimportantstakeholder

groups.Concretely,wehavetobuildtheintendedimagewewantthesethreegroupstoshare

aboutGEMB,basedontheircommonneedsanddriversofchoice.

In thispurpose we will use the associative network model. It willbe composed of core

associationsthatwedefineastheassociationswhicharemostcentralinbuildingaconsistent

brandpositioning.Ourcoreassociationsaresplitbetweenprimaryassociations,whicharethe

mostimportantdriversforchoiceforourthreegroups,andsecondaryassociations,whichare

howGEMBexploitsthesedriversdistinctivelycomparedtootherbanks.

Tobuildournetworkmodel,westartedfrom theneedsandperceptionswe identified in the

previouspart.Wesearchedforcommonorclosestatementsthatcouldbechosenasprimary

associations.Indeedwethinkthatitwouldbeeasiertostartfromkeydriverforchoicesinthe

bankingsector.Asaresult,wehavedecidedtobasethestrategicpositioningofGEMBinthe

USonthethreefollowingprimaryassociations;Solidity,Expertise,andRespect.Inessence,we want the different stakeholders to think about these associations first when they think

aboutGEMB.

Solidity: It is an important driver for choice for our three stakeholder groupsbecause it is

criticaliftheywanttoengageinalongtermrelationshipwithabank.

Expertise: Anotherimportantdriverforchoice,becauseallourrelevantstakeholderswantto

dealwiththebankwiththebestknowledgeandexperience.

Respect: Lastbut not least,we think that respect is a driver for choice,because the three

stakeholdersneedtobelievethatabankcareaboutthemandarenotonlytryingtofoolthem.


13/21

not necessarily sufficient as the stakeholders needpoints of differentiation (PODs) to help

themchoosingbetweenthedifferentbanks.

Therefore,weselectedsecondaryassociations,sothattheyshowhowGEMBUSisexploiting

theseprimary associations differently from its competitors. In other words, they act as

differentiation factors for GEMB US and represent the way we want consumers to link

GEMB to theprimaryassociationswithin our strategicpositioning. In order to explain our

choice of secondaryassociations,we haveput in some stakeholder specificassociations to

explicitthelinks.

Concerningsolidity,GEMBalreadydifferentiates itself thanks to itshistory (the fact that it

wasanearlyplayerintheGreatDepression),itsworldwidepresenceandmostlyitsbelonging

totheGEgroup(cf.perceptionsofthethreegroups).Wealsowouldliketomakeitviewedas

areliablecompany.Thislastassociationneedstobeexplained,asallthestakeholdersneedto

relyonGEMBbutonveryspecificways:indeedretailersneedasound,continuousandzero

default financial service tobuild long-term relationships, while employees are looking for

securejobsthatwillensurethemtokeepasustainablelivingstandardandthatcustomersneed

transparency in thecontracts theysign toavoidsurprisewhen the timecomes toreimburse.

These secondary aspects that differentiate GEMB from its competitors make the solidity

aspectverybelievable.

The expertiseaspect isalso supportedbyGEMBsworldwidepresence, its imageof early

player,thefactthatitcreatesspecificopportunitiesforeachstakeholdergroupsandthatithas

thereputationtobeflexible(thatistoadapttochange ineachstakeholderneeds).Then,we

would liketobuildanothersecondaryrelatedassociation:apeople-orientedaspect,meaning

thatGEMB offers good service to customers, a supportive management to employees and

win-winpartnerships to itspartners.Unfortunately, this isanaspectGEMBwould have toworkonastherelatedperceptionsofemployeesandcustomersarequitenegative.

At last,GEMB should express respect to its stakeholders through different ways. It could

count on its very high flexibility to adapt to change in needs.Then it should improveits


14/21

5. Corporatecommunicationcampaign Wehavechosentodevelopaplanaddressingcustomersbecause,aswehavesaidbefore,they

serveas thebasis for thewholebusinessactivity,playamajorrole in theprofitof the firm

andcanhaveastrong impactonthefirmsglobalreputation.Moreover,webelievethat itis

all themore important tocommunicate to them nowas thecrisishasseverelydamaged the

image theyhave of thebanking system in theUSAandparticularlyof thebanks thatused

subprimes.GEMBhasbeenparticularlyfacingthisissueintheUSAasitwasaccusedtobe

thecauseofthecrisis.

Thereforeweproposeacampaignwhosepurpose is topromoteGEMBsrespect towards

customers. The intended image we want to build is composed of respect as primary

associationand ofall the secondaryassociations linked to it (reliability, flexibility,people-

orientedandsociallyresponsible).Inthecurrentcontext,thiscoreassociationhasindeedbeen

damaged and customers have tobe reassuredabout thisaspect.We couldonly restore this

aspectasapointofparityassociation,whichisanecessaryconditionforbankchoicebutnot

a necessarily sufficient one. However we want to go further and make respect apoint of

differentiationcomparedtootherbanks.Indeed,becausethecrisisputmoreemphasisonthis

aspect,itisnowanimportantcriterionofchoiceforcustomersandwethinkthatitwouldbe

allthemoreprofitabletomakerespectoneofGEMBspointsofdifferentiation.Webelieveit

ispossible ifwecandifferentiateenoughfromwhat thecompetitorspropose,given the fact

thatnearlyallthebankingsystemhasseenitsreputationfallingandthatalotofbanksdidnt

succeedtomodifythisimageyet.ThereforethetimingiscriticalasGEMBhastobethefirst

moverinrestoringrespectasaprimaryassociation.

Inthispurpose,wewillimplementa360plan.Ourfirstmeasurewillbetoworkonprimary

communication, which is defined as the communication effects ofproducts and corporatebehavior (BalmerandGray,1999).AsstressedbyDowling (2001), ifyouwant to improve

the intended imageofacompany,youfirsthave to implementchanges inside thecompany:

Thetimetochangethecorporateidentityisaftertherehavebeensignificantchangesinthe

ti k t ff i10

Th f GEMB h ld i th d t


15/21

restructuretheirloansincaseofpaymentdifficulties.Then,wewanttoimprovethereliability

ofGEMBproductsbycheckingthatloancontractsarenotmisleadingandbyselectingsafer

customers toavoidpaymentdefault.At lastwe think itwouldbe important to improve the

quality of GEMB customer service by making employees follow skill seminars with

highlightsonhowtoanswercustomerneedsbetterorbyimprovingtheaftersaleservice(e.g.

giving customers apersonal follow-up...). Through customers direct experience of new

financialproducts and services, webelieve that these measures will reinforce the second

associations (flexibility, reliability andpeople-focus) linked to the respect that is due to

GEMBscustomers.

The secondary communication, which is GEMBs controlled form of communication

(Balmer and Gray, 1999), willbe addressed through several communicationchannels. To

meetourgoal,weadvisetousecorporateimageadvertising.Indeed,Dowling(2001)claims

that it is relevant inactivitywhere the customersbuy the companyaswellas theproduct,

whichisthecasewiththebankingsector.

y WehavechosentobeginourcampaignonInternet,becauseinthecaseofGEMBitis

the most relevant communication channel. Indeed as a considerablepart of the loans are

contractedoninternet,itiseasiertoattractcustomerdirectlythere.

First,wepropose tocommunicateonother internetsites (asonlineshops)withpurchaseof

banners.Wewill use them topromoteashockmessage: firstwewill communicate ona

newloanaccessibletoanyonewithoutconditions,butinrealityitwouldbeafakeadwhich

goalwillbe toarousecustomers interestbeforeGEMBdelivers its truemessage,which is

thatitrefusessuchmethodsbecauseitisnotrespectfultowardscustomers.Forinstance,when

customersclickon thewindow, theywillbe redirected toGEMBwebsiteonapagesaying

Did you reallybelieve thatwewould lendmoneywithoutanyguaranties? InGEMB, our

policyistomakesurethatyouwillhavealoanwhichcorrespondstoyourfinancialsituation

and doesntput you in financial difficulties. Respect of our customers is ourprimary

concern.


16/21

(tangiblebenefits). As most literature documented it the higher theperceived congruence

between the cause and the firm activity, the more positive customer evaluations the

sponsorshipgenerates.Wepropose thatGEMBengages in thesponsoringofanassociation

thathelpspeople infinancialdifficultiesbecauseofthecrisis(forexample,peoplewho lost

theirhomebecausetheycouldntpaymortgages).ThiscauseishighlycongruentwithGEMB

activity,andalsowiththeparticularissueofsubprime.GEMBwillthenappeartorepairits

faults.Wethinkthatsocialresponsibilitycouldbeasecondaryassociationnourishingthecore

valueofrespectandmore importantlymake itapointofdifferentiation. Indeed thiskindof

policywouldbecredibleas it iscongruentwithGEMBactivityanduniquesothat itmakes

GEMBdistinctfromtheotherbanks.

y AdvertisingonTVwillbeoursecondcommunicationchannel.Itisalsointerestingas

itenablestotouchalargecustomeraudience.

We will use this channel in different ways. First, we will communicate on our shock

campaignbymakingashortadclaimingthenewloan(forexamplewithasentencesuchas

Would you like money without conditions? The answer is coming soon). This will

increaseawarenessandgivemorepowertotherealmessageafterwards.Indeedasecondadd

willbebroadcastafterafewdays,claiming thatGEMBrefuses tousesuchpracticeswhich

misleadcustomersandareusedbysomedisrespectfulbanksandreaffirmingitscommitment

towardscustomersrespect.

Secondly,wewould like to useTV topromoteGEMB corporate social responsibility and

make itapointofdifferentiation.BycommunicatingonGEMBengagementtowardspeople

in very difficult financial situation, the value of respect will get abroader meaning and

differentiates itself from what the otherbanks could communicate.Toprove efficient, the

messagewillhavetoappearnon-commerciallyoriented,becauseasshowedbyWeeksandal

in2008,itgeneratesmorepositiveattitudes.Inthesamelogic,thefitarticulationshouldstay

implicitsothattheeffectonattitudeishigher(Skard,2010).

At last,we think itwouldbe interesting to useGEads,with for example tags, topromote


17/21

partnershipsofGEMBwithother retailers,meaning that retailers trustGEMB.Moreover if

customers trust their retailers,GEMBpromotion doneby them will have abigger impact.

Concretely,wecouldtrytomakepartnersparticipatinginourcommunicationbygivingeach

customera leafletpromotingGEMBsproducts(creditcardand loanservice)-highlighting

theflexibilityoftheseproducts,thehighqualityoffinancialservicesandthereliabilityofthe

wholeprocess - and assuring GEMBs respect towards customers. We alsobelieve that

associating credit cardbusiness and loan service willbeprofitable for the loan activity

becausethecreditcardbusinesshasastrongerimageofreliability.

y The last channel we will use is employees through internal communication.

Employeesmightalsobecustomersandcanbeanefficientsourceofword-of-mouth.Aswe

alreadyexplained,theywillreceivenewinstructionsthroughseminarssothattheyunderstand

that customer respect is now a centralpart ofGEMB activity.Moreover theywill alsobe

exposed to the shock campaign throughposters inside the companypremises, computer

screen,etc.AtlastwewillcommunicateonthenewCSRpolicythroughinternalconferences

andevents,tomakeemployeesawareofGEMBengagement.Wehopethattheywillbeproud

ofGEMBsactionandbethereforemorewillingtopromoteitoutsidetheorganization.

WehopethatthisintegratedcommunicationplanwillhaveanoptimaltotaleffectonGEMB

reputation among customers. Indeed we concentrate on one main choc message stressing

GEMB respectandwetry tomake itapointofdifferentiationwitha focusonacongruent

CSR engagement. This powerful and unique message is broadcast through different

communication channels, all relevant for GEMB and maximizing the total impact on

customers. At last, the communication is supportedby a concrete change in GEMBs

practices,whichwillincreasethecredibilityofthemessage.


18/21

6. Bibliography6.1 Books

DOWLING, G., 2001. Creating Corporate Reputations: Identity, Image, and Performance.

NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.

DRUCKER,P.,1954.The Practice of Management.NewYork:Harper& Row.

FREEMAN,R.E.,1984.Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach.NewYork:Pitman.

KELLER, K. L., 2008. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing

Brand Equity,New Jersey:Pearson/PrenticeHall.

6.2 ArticlesBALMER, J.R.T.,GRAYE.R,1999.CorporateIdentity,CorporateCommunications:Creating

ACompetitiveAdvantage,Corporate Communications: An International Journal,4(4),pp.

171-176.

FRIEDMAN,M.,1970.TheSocialResponsibilityofBusinessistoIncreaseitsProfits,The New

York Times Magazine,13Sept.

HANDY, C., 1993. What Is a Company For?, Corporate Governance: An International

Review,1(1),pp.14-17.

KELLER, K. L., 1993. Conceptualizing, Measuring and Managing Customer Based Brand

Equity,Journal of Marketing,57(1),pp.1-22.

MASLOW,A.H.,1943. ATheoryofHumanMotivation.Psychological Review,50,pp.370-

396.

RAWLINGS,B.L.,2005.Prioritizing Stakeholders for Public Relations. Institute forPublic

Relations,BrighamYoungUniversity.

WEEKSetal.,2008.LeveragingSponsorshipson the Internet:Activation,Congruenceand

Articulation,Psychology and Marketing,25(7).pp.637-654.

6.3WebsitesFAIRFINANCEWATCH.SubprimeRacialDisparitiesGrewWorsein2006atCitigroup,HSBC,

Chase,WellsFargo & OtherBanks. [Accessed18September2010]

Availableat:http://www.fairfinancewatch.org/2006hmda1.html

GENERAL ELECTRICS Financial Report 2009 [Accessed 20 September 2010]


19/21

7. Appendixes7.1Appendix 1: List GE M neyB nksstakeholders

GEMoney

Bank

Ct

R t il

l

l!

"

#

$%

& ' ( ) & ( t

R& 0 1

l2

t$ ' 3

4

5 6 7 i C

8

it

#9

#

' $1

@

A

2

B

$ '

C 6 i 6

C D

E

D i D

M8

i


20/21

7.2Appendix 2: Maslowspyramidofneeds

F

G

H I P Q R

:S

ttT

://R U

V

W

iX

iT R

Y

i

V

H P a

/W

iX

i/b

ilR

:M

c lH W

' c de

iR P ` P Q

S

f

d

H

g

d

h

R R

Y

c V c

i a

p


21/21

19

7.3Appendix 3:Associati e networkand brandpositioning

SECONDARY

PRIMARY

EXPERTISE RESPECTSOLIDITY

GE Group

Early

Playq

r

Worldwidq

Prq

sq

ncq

Crq

atq

Opportunitiq

s

Rq

liablq

Pq

oplq

Focus

Socially

Rq

sponsiblq

Flq

xiblq

Transparr

ncy

Employr

mr

nt

Safr

ty

Zr

ro dr

fault

s

r

rvic

r

Incrr

asr

d

Rr

vr

nur

s

Lr

arnins

Environmr

nt

Purchasins

Powr

r

Win-Win

Partnr

rships

Supportivr

Manas r

mr

ntCustom

r

r

Sr

rvicr

Consumq

rs

Rq

tailq

rs

Employq q

s

Common

Date post:	10-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	hagen02
View:	216 times
Download:	0 times

Report - FinalGood - 11

Documents