Retaining existing brand equity when refreshing global corporate brands : Case Nokia

Abstract

Global corporate brands and the research on them has increased recently, as a growing number of companies are eager to differentiate themselves in the increasingly competitive markets. Through strategic brand management, corporations can grow brand equity and make their global corporate brand a valuable asset for the business.

As brands and their context are constantly evolving, brand management strategies must adjust accordingly. Research has proven, that brand refresh is an effective way to respond to the dynamism of the brand and its environment by retaining existing brand equity while simultaneously bringing in new sources of value for the brand. However, there is a lack of knowledge on what kind of tactics go into brand refresh projects to retain existing equity while also building new sources of it. Therefore, this thesis investigates how global corporate brands can retain existing brand equity in a brand refresh.

This study was conducted as a qualitative case study through an interpretive approach. Already existing knowledge revealed through an extensive literature review was consolidated with evidence from the case of brand refresh of a global corporate brand, Nokia, in 2023. For data triangulation, data from semi-structured expert interviews was combined with secondary data gathered from documents. The empirical data from the interviews was analysed through thematic analysis, whereas content analysis was the method of choice for the data collected from the documents. Empirical findings were combined with the theoretical framework to provide both, theoretical and practical implications on the research subject.

This study has confirmed that global corporate brands are dynamic and evolve over time, and that their equity is built through two components – brand image and brand awareness. This study has demonstrated, that to retain existing brand equity and to reposition itself simultaneously, a global corporate brand should be tuned up with new sources of value while concurrently demonstrating also the already existing sources of equity in the brand experience. The selected launch strategy and the scope of change in the brand refresh have proven to impact the perceived magnitude of change in both the brand and the organization behind it. Additionally, this study has confirmed the interrelatedness of brand refresh projects to wider corporate strategies.