Brand and reputation management in South Africa and Africa have recevied a boost with the announcement this week of a strategic partnership between Vuma Reputation Management and the Swiss-based Branding-Institute CMR AG.
The partnership means that South African companies as well as companies on the African continent are able to benefit from Vuma’s access to best-practice knowledge from some of the world’s most respected brand management practitioners in the fields of business, governance, research, and education.
Vuma Reputation Management founder and CEO, Janine Hills, says the reputation of a company is key to its success, and strong company reputations ultimately build a country’s reputation.
“Our strategic partnership with the Branding-Institute, a global think-tank that has significantly advanced professionalism in the brand management space worldwide, affords us a great opportunity to learn from our peers, and contribute to our understanding of how brand and reputation impact a company’s bottom line,” says Hills.
The Branding-Institute CMR AG has extensive experience in brand and reputation management, and consults multinational corporations and organizations in a broad range of disciplines, spanning the private and public sectors.
“We adopt an integrated approach which aims to set the highest standards in stakeholder-guided brand and reputation management,” says Dr. Markus Renner, co-owner and managing partner of Branding-Institute CMR AG in Basel.
“Our key focus area is to build or strengthen the client’s brands and their reputations among key stakeholders. This includes measuring the current status of their brands and reputation, including a risk analysis."
Renner says Vuma Reputation Management is a perfect strategic partner for the Branding-Institute CMG AG, as its goals and services dovetail very well with Vuma's.
Hills says there are many South African and African businesses that are not familiar with the components of reputation management, thus don’t see the value in it, until they experience a crisis.
“Here is where the skills to navigate out of the crisis to calmer seas are essential, and the ability to recognize where the loopholes are and how to close them. Every crisis is also an opportunity for improvement and growth,” she says.
“Through this important alliance with Branding-Institute CMR AG, Vuma Reputation Management is able to bolster its own knowledge base, to the ultimate benefit of its clients. There is huge value in being able to tap the resources and comparative case studies of such an esteemed body."