B2B brand management: Brian Sweeney reveals some exclusive research from the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Canon of Knowledge team which suggests B2B brands should deliver a clearer brand message. (Brand Papers)

Brand Strategy, September, 2002 by Brian Sweeney

Branding is so well established in consumer marketing that we know instinctively what a consumer brand is and does. In B2B marketing the importance of branding is much less obvious. The CIM `Marketing to Business' team carried out both desk research and an interview programme of senior practitioners. The desk research gave some insights into branding in the B2B field but in the interview programme, the insight was mixed with some surprises. The desk research identified that brands build trust, value and loyalty. The research programme emphasised the increasing importance of branding to industrial marketers and their customers. But it also identified the lack of any framework of best practice in industry and the lack of explicit brand management.

Originally a brand was...