Towards an identity-based branding

While it is recognized that brands can play a pivotal role in a company's value generation, the levers which determine success have been far more difficult to identify. One of the reasons for this is that a large body of research still focuses on establishing a rather narrow definition of the brand as being only a communication vehicle. In this paper we develop a two dimensional approach towards brands: first, the brand as perceived by actual and potential buyers, i.e. the 'outside-in perspective' based on the image of a brand; second, the brand as constructed and managed by the owner/manager of the brand, i.e. 'the inside-out perspective' based on the identity of a brand.