Abstract:Purpose: This study describes the overall branding logic of an international industrial company operating in the renewable energy industry and responds to calls for empirical research on 1) how to build a B2B brand in the digital age, and 2) how digital media can be used for branding. A digital branding model is also developed.Design: A single case study of a company at the forefront of digital media usage is used to develop the model. The main data comes from semi-structured theme interviews and on content analysis of the channels used to create a brand on the Internet. Findings:In the digital age, firms seem to benefit from having a strong market orientation and a holistic branding approach with robust integration of their different functions. Branding in the digital age requires strong internal communication as well as consistent external communication, but also positioning of the brand in topical conversations. For an industrial organization, becoming an opinion leader is a strategy well suited to branding and can be supported by creating relevant content subsequently delivered through various social media channels. Research limitations:The results of this study are based on a single case study and hence are not generalizable.Originality: This study is among the first to respond to the calls for empirical research on industrial brand management in the digital age and contributes to the emerging B2B branding and branding on digital age literature.Keywords: Industrial brand, industrial branding, i-branding, digital media, social media Article Classification: Research paper Industrial branding in the digital age Introduction Digitization, globalization and so forth has increased competition, which in turn has forced B2B companies to find new ways to distinguish themselves in the market. Increasingly companies are focusing their efforts on specialized activities like manufacturing and branding to stay competitive (Hsiao and Chen, 2013). It has been suggested that B2B branding and brand management are now even more critical success factors for organizations than they were before (Helm and Jones, 2010;Kotler and Pfoertsch, 2007).A majority of the available B2B branding studies have focused on testing causal links between brand-related variables and their outcomes while several studies have emphasized the importance of B2B branding (see e.g. Aspara and Tikkanen 2008;Balmer and Greyser, 2006;Baumgarth, 2010;Kotler and Pfoertsch, 2007;Leek and Christodoulides, 2011). Despite the increased understanding about the importance of B2B branding, B2B branding literature has been described as embryonic (Roberts and Merrilees, 2007 p. 140). A recent literature review on B2B branding reveals the topic is still nascent and fragmented (Keränen et al., 2012). Specifically, firms seem to be neglecting key strategic and tactical issues in relation to building, managing and refreshing B2B brands (Lindgreen et al., 2010).The social revolution brought by digitization and its influence on the interaction between people and th...

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to contribute to the current discussion on digitization in companies’ marketing from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective by examining the role and objectives of CRM and the exploitation of social media to serve the objectives of CRM in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) companies. Design/methodology/approach – The data are collected through semi-structured themed interviews with key marketing/sales managers from three B2B firms. Findings – CRM seems to be moving closer to the company’s core activity and becoming everybody’s business to a greater extent than ever before, but its main goal, to enhance customer relationships, will not necessarily change. Understanding the customer is vital and requires different functions to cooperate closely to ensure the firm has the best possible understanding of its customers. Public social media tools played almost no part in CRM, but closed social media systems might have potential in the future. Research limitations/implications – The chosen research approach limits the generalization of the results. Practical implications – It seems likely that firms will benefit from a collaborative working style over the traditional silo approaches. For B2B firms, public social media does not seems to be the most suitable source to serve CRM but private social media channels might have potential in the future. Originality/value – The lack of empirical examination of the change from company ecosystem to customer ecosystem from a CRM perspective, and the lack of research on social media for CRM in the B2B context, determines the purpose of this study. Furthermore, digitization is a rather new and unstructured phenomenon and many companies are still considering how to reconcile to it.

Purpose: To examine how digital communication tools are used for internal communication (IC) in multinational corporations (MNCs). Specifically, the study illustrates the role of digital channels in IC, the benefits they bring and the difficulties involved in using them.Design/methodology/approach: This research features a single-case study focusing on a listed Finnish multinational industrial corporation with a long history. Data for the study come from semi-structured theme interviews and a workshop in which the results were discussed.Findings: Digital IC tools are able to facilitate IC in MNCs, although some challenges may arise in relation to planning their utilization. Related to the role of digital channels in IC, these findings highlight the importance of face-to-face channels in everyday internal communication and the role of digital channels as more formal communication channels. Research limitations:This paper focuses on a single organization. Additional research would be required to attain generalizable results. Practical implications:The effective use of new digital communication tools requires common guidelines across all areas of an MNC. Despite the great potential of new tools, the importance of face-to-face communication should not be ignored.Originality/value: Most of the research on IC in MNCs was conducted before the digital communications era. Recent advances in information technology have created new challenges and opportunities for IC.