MASTERS SERIES: Identity Loyalty: Unlocking the Key to Creating Productive, Hardworking and Appreciative Employees

2014 Annual Conference

A person’s sense of who they are affects what they do. If I believe I am a certain type of person, I will actively engage in behaviors that are relevant to “being” that kind of person, commiserate with others who share those characteristics, and throughout life, look for ways to reinforce that part of who I am. When brands connect with people in this way, it can create the curious situation where the person and the brand become one. That is, the person internalizes the brand as part of who they are. Identity loyalty is the result of this. Since organizations are brands, what are the HR implications of creating Identity Loyalty for companies? Wharton Professor and co-founder of Persona Partners Dr. Americus Reed, II describes how you can unlock your employees’ potential, commitment, productivity and loyalty—by strategically connecting your company’s values and identity to your employees—and creating a proud community of brand advocates who promote, praise and defend the brand. Many organizations have successfully created an employee culture that drives/reinforces the brand externally (e.g., NIKE, Zappos, Apple, Google, Ben & Jerry’s, & Starbucks), but there is a strategy behind, why, when and how this can be maximized. Learn how to:

  • Diagnose your organization’s organizational identity
  • Articulate it to your employees
  • Identify those employees whose values best match your company values; and
  • Nurture the relationship between your organization and the employee identity over time
Date(s) & Time(s): 
Monday, June 23, 2014 - 10:30am to 12:15pm
Presenter: 

Americus Reed, II

Americus
Reed, II

Americus Reed, II is the Whitney M. Young Jr., Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he has served on faculty since 2000. He received a Ph.D. (Consumer Behavior and Social Psychology) from the University of Florid a’s Warrington College of Business after receiving two master’s degrees (Organizational Behavior and Market Research Methods) and a B.B.A (Strategy) from Georgia State University. Professor Reed’s primary research and consulting areas are in brand equity and specifically identity driven marketing – the study of creating and fostering “brand communities” that transcend the utilitarian aspects of products; connect to deep levels of emotional and social affiliation, and cultivate lifelong loyalty with consumers (http://americusreed.com/). 

In 2005, his academic work in this area received honorable mention for the prestigious Robert Ferber Award for academic impact in the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) and in 2009 he received JCR’s Best Paper Award. Professor Reed has authored more than 40 articles and book chapters on the topic. He teaches courses in customer analysis, branding and consumer psychology to undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and executive students.

Location: 
W320 Chapin Theater
Amount of Credit: 
2.00
Credit Type: 
HR Credit
Competency: 
HR Expertise
Communication
Intended Audience: 
Senior-Level
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