John Foley & Julie Kendrick 
Balanced Brand 
How to Balance the Stakeholder Forces That Can Make Or Break Your Business

Companies usually assume if their sales are good, then their brand and reputation must be strong. But all too often, they don’t have a clear understanding of the values that drive brand and reputation and actually sustain long-term profitability and growth. This leaves companies vulnerable to dangerous backlash between corporate values, and those of their stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, media, government, and community. Even well-known and seemingly successful brands and reputations have suffered from this backlash (e.g. Nike and overseas sweatshops, Wal-Mart and unfair employment practices, Mc Donald’s and obesity issues.) Every stakeholder applies their personal and professional values to judge the performance of a company. Branding expert John Foley has developed the Balanced Brand System, which helps companies assess corporate values, identify potential flashpoints, and align values to build a stronger brand and reputation. Balanced Brand identifies and helps manage the forces that will change the way business does business. Foley and co-author Julie Kendrick have created new tools that build and protect brands and reputations.

Table of Content

Preface.

1. Strong Brand, Strong Reputation.

2. Measuring Brand and Reputation.

3. The Balanced Brand System.

Part One: Assessment of Organization and Stakeholder
Values.

4. Brand Assessment.

5. Stakeholder Assessment.

6. Stakeholder Return on Investment.

Part Two: Alignment of Organization and Stakeholder
Values.

7. Balanced Culture.

8. Balanced Conversation.

9. Creating and Maintaining Balance.

Notes.

Glossary.

Acknowledgments.

About the Authors.

Index.

About the author

John Foley is the founder of the brand agency The Foley
Group. His agency has been providing strategic brand planning,
advertising, and public relations since 1986 for organizations
including Ameriprise Financial, Cargill, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola
USA, Hazelden, Lawson, 3M, Tiffany & Co., United Healthcare,
and the University of Minnesota.

In addition, he is Chief Executive Officer of BALANCEDBRAND LLC,
which provides values-based brand and reputation consultation in
the United States and the United Kingdom. Foley is currently on the
boards of the Carlson Brand Enterprise at the University of
Minnesota, the Minnesota chapter of American Association of
Advertising Agencies, the Design Institute, and the Reputation
Institute.

Julie Kendrick is a business writer with expertise in the
area of motivation and performance improvement. Her client list
includes Fortune 100 companies in the areas of automotive
manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, and
telecommunications.