2.

Understanding corporate heritage identity management

The existence of the five elements in a brand does not necessarily results in the brand being a
heritage brand they merely indicate the presence of heritage in a brand. Having a heritage
does not in itself create value, only the opportunity to do so (Urde et al., 2007, p. 11). In order
to leverage on this heritage i.e. to turn the heritage into an asset and thus turning the brand
into a heritage brand, the heritage must be managed. Managing heritage consists of three
main processes as follows:
1.

Uncovering the heritage i.e. uncovering what inherent quality or qualities of the
company that the brand owner wants its brands stakeholders (customers and non
customers) to associate the brand with. These qualities may be uncovered by
reflecting internally and externally on the key elements of the brands HQ. For
example, the uncovering process may start by reflecting on the key elements of the
companys track record (the first elements of HQ). Reflection internal to the
companys track record refers to looking at what the company itself believes as its
inherent qualities and core values as contained in its articulated statement. External
reflection on the other hand refers to looking at the companys customer-based belief
about the company performance and core values. To be useful however, results of
both the reflections must be qualities that are known to contribute towards the
marketplace success of the company.