Having a clear and defined purpose for your brand is key to ensure it will stick in people’s minds. But making a choice about that one key point your brand is aligned behind can be difficult – which is where developing a strong brand strategy is essential.

In a webinar on 8 June, Cranfield alumnus Bruce McKinnon (MBA 2000) discussed the key elements of a brand strategy, how it delivers financial value to an organisation and how it fits into the broader business planning process.

If you’re interested in learning more about brand strategy, there are a number of free resources you can access through your Alumni Library Online (ALO). Check out our summary below for just a few examples of the articles you can read in some of the ALO databases.

In ABI-Inform

Yang-Im, L., & Trim Peter, R. J. (2019). Refining brand strategy: insights into how the ‘informed poseur’ legitimizes purchasing counterfeits. Journal of Brand Management, 26(5), 595-613. 

Yakimova, R., Mavondo, F., Freeman, S., & Stuart, H. (2017). Brand champion behaviour: Its role in corporate branding. Journal of Brand Management, 24(6), 575-591. 

Silvio, C., Meri, T., & Giovannetti, M. (2019). Increasing Brand Orientation and Brand Capabilities Using Licensing: an Opportunity for SMEs in International Markets. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 10(4), 1808-1830.

A Typology of Winery SME Brand Strategies with Implications for Sustainability Communication and Co-Creation. (2021). Sustainability, 13(2), 805.

Grubor, A., & Milovanov, O. (2017). Brand Strategies in the Era of Sustainability. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 15(1), 78-88.


In EBSCO Business Source Alumni

Uggla, H. (2017). Post-Structural Luxury Brand Strategy: Implicit Luxury Brands. IUP Journal of Brand Management, 14(3), 22–29.

Chang, D. R., & Park, S. (2013). The Effects of Brand Strategy and Technological Uncertainty on Pioneering Advantage in the Multigenerational Product Market. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(1), 82–95. 

Zhao, Y., Calantone, R. J., & Voorhees, C. M. (2018). Identity change vs. strategy change: the effects of rebranding announcements on stock returns. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(5), 795–812. 

In Emerald Journals

Lin, F., Ansell, J., Marshall, A. and Ojiako, U. (2019). Managing and building B2B SME brands: an emerging market perspective. PSU Research Review, 3(3), 191-214.

Hassan, S. and Mahrous, A.A. (2019). Nation branding: the strategic imperative for sustainable market competitiveness. Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, 1(2), 146-158.

Osuna Ramírez, S.A., Veloutsou, C. and Morgan-Thomas, A. (2019). I hate what you love: brand polarization and negativity towards brands as an opportunity for brand management. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 28(5), 614-632.

Xara-Brasil, D., Miadaira Hamza, K. and Marquina, P. (2018). The meaning of a brand? An archetypal approach. Revista de Gestão, 25(2), 142-159.

In Sage Journals

Vallaster, C., & von Wallpach, S. (2018). Brand Strategy Co-Creation in a Nonprofit Context: A Strategy-as-Practice Approach. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 47(5), 984–1006.

Sellers-Rubio, R., & Calderón-Martínez, A. (2021). Brand strategy scope and advertising spending: The more the better? Tourism Economics, 27(1), 70–85.

Steenkamp, J.-B. E. M. (2020). Global Brand Building and Management in the Digital Age. Journal of International Marketing, 28(1), 13–27.

Hegner, S. M., Lotze, C., & Beldad, A. D. (2021). Emoticons are not for everyone: The role of congruence between hotel brand positioning strategies and communication style in enhancing customers’ brand attitude and booking intention. Tourism and Hospitality Research. [Early Online article]

Panwar, T., & Khan, K. (2020). Ingredient Branding: A Differentiation Strategy for the Commoditized World. Paradigm, 24(2), 149–163.

Open Access articles in ScienceDirect from Elsevier
Although Elsevier do not generally permit alumni access to ScienceDirect material, don’t forget there are many articles available via open access (the author has paid to allow their article to be publicly available without subscription).

Here are some examples of open access articles in this subject area with direct links to the full text:

Aspasia Vlachvei, Ourania Notta, Tsakirianidou Efterpi. (2012). Branding Strategies in Greek Wine Firms. Procedia Economics and Finance, 1, 421-430.

Yang Chunping, Li Xi. (2011). The Study on Employer Brand Strategy in Private Enterprises from the Perspective of Human Resource Management. Energy Procedia, 5, 2087-2091.

Zulkifli Abd. Latiff, Nur Ayuni Safira Safiee. (2015). New Business Set Up for Branding Strategies on Social Media – Instagram. Procedia Computer Science, 72, 13-23.

Tanses Gülsoy, Özlem Özkanlı, Richard Lynch. (2011). International branding strategies of developing countries: The case of Arçelik. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, 1201-1217.

Katherine VanHoose, Myrte Hoekstra, Marco Bontje. (2021). Marketing the unmarketable: Place branding in a postindustrial medium-sized town. Cities, 114(103216).

About the presenter Bruce McKinnon:

Bruce McKinnon is a Cranfield MBA alumnus and has worked in brand marketing for 30 years. In 2019 Bruce published the brand strategy book, What’s Your Point? containing the proprietary Brand Arrow® framework, winning silver at the US Business Book Awards (Axiom). You can also read Bruce’s blog for more information on brand strategy.

How to access your ALO service:

  • Log in to your alumni portal
  • Scroll down the page and click on Alumni Library Online
  • Click on Databases to find the databases listed above.

Forgotten your portal login?
Please email the Alumni team.

Any other questions?
Contact your ALO team.