In the age of social media, brand authenticity is everything. Consumers are savvier than ever and want meaningful and predictable interactions with brands they trust. Companies that can deliver (The Container Store, Chik-fil-A, Dunkin’ Donuts) win loyal followers for decades. Companies that slip — a Starbucks employee throwing out two patrons who were waiting for a third — suffer mightily.

Jeff Bezos has been quoted as saying, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” I believe the same is true of a company’s unique culture. A description of culture can not simply be hung on a wall plaque or appear in a statement on a website in hopes that employees (and customers) will understand. Culture is experiential and emotional.

With that as my reference point, brands must meld with culture. The same emotional devotion should exude from the brand and all it stands for. Incongruence may lead to brand mistrust, identity crisis and waning loyalty.

A company’s sense of purpose as well as their culture has to be intrinsically and seamlessly blended in with how they conduct their business day to day. The lines between a company’s culture and overall purpose should be at the forefront of their go-to-market strategies and social media outreach, as well as how they differentiate themselves against the competition.

Consumers are seeking long-term relationships with their favorite brands, and have a connection with the company well beyond the products themselves. We associate certain emotions and nostalgic feelings with certain brands not because of the products, but because of what the brand seemingly stands for. All of the magic we see with Coke’s iconic ad conveys a sense of culture and a sense of “why” that still resonates today. So yes, your culture is your brand.

The core assumption of Denise’s work is spot on and her current contribution of this instructional framework will be referenced for years to come.

Silos were once considered a natural design outcome of specialization inside of companies. Optimize each work domain and the company will be further ahead at the end. Technological advances and rising consumer and employee expectations have forced traditional boundaries to tumble. Separating the external brand image from how the firm conducts itself and deals with employees is not only a modern-day artifice, it adds insurmountable complexity to decisions and the ability to sustain a sound brand narrative. The brand story is fueled by the company’s internal resources as culture while its trajectory is guided by its ability — and success — in richly enhancing the lives of its customers.

It’s actually a little surprising that there is enough disconnect between culture and brand that it warrants a book about it. However, the point around marketing and HR does make sense. This, to me, points to the fact that (for retailers), they are not recognizing that the image they are trying to portray to their customers should be the same one that they portray to their employees — as in all likelihood, most of their employees are also customers.

Years ago, I heard the brilliant Adrianne Weiss say, “A brand is like a country with it’s own unique language, customs and rituals.”

Adrianne also pointed out that branding has to be the same in the front of the house and the back of the house to work. She has branded some of the most iconic companies – her words stuck with me.

Whether they want to admit it or not, a company’s culture is its brand. It’s impossible to separate the two.

I think there’s a lot of synergy between culture and brand. It’s not a new example but Lush is a brand whose values are part of its culture. Many of its staff share the same values and beliefs as the company and this makes them more passionate as a result. They care about what they’re doing because what they’re doing resonates with who they are. It also makes them better at their jobs. Employees who connect with a company’s culture are also more likely to stick around at a company. Some companies have even employed staff from their biggest fans because if they love the company as a consumer they’re probably a good fit for the culture. I think these days if your company doesn’t have a defined culture then it doesn’t have a USP or a story to tell customers. And that doesn’t come from foosball tables.

If “culture is what happens when no one is looking” it’s impossible for those norms to not bleed from internal manifestations into the customer’s multi-channel experience of a brand. Anecdotally, I think an easy stress test is online customer service. How quickly do you receive a response from a tweet, Instagram DM, Facebook message or email when needing support?

Some things need to “happen” — not be manufactured. An intentional, bureaucratic, corporate-led project to create “authentic” culture fused to brand is a train wreck. Sure, it sells nicely to the board — but customers will know it’s not the least bit authentic.

What leads to this answer are executives who set the company focus on what matters (service, quality, responsiveness) and management practices that don’t impede people’s natural impulses to deliver these things.

Sadly, it’s rare to find a company focused on doing the work — which is what motivates employees most. Instead, politics, quick successes, etc… tend to win the day.

Whether this research is accurate or not, a direct attempt to fuse brand and culture is not a good idea. Instead, focus on delivering something exceptional to customers. The result will be a great brand and culture.

Although brand loyalty is at an all-time low when looking at the current, value-driven consumers’ marketplace, I also believe that those relatively few companies that drive real, measurable brand value are succeeding because of living their culture via social channels, external campaigns and other activities. Those companies have achieved awareness in the consumers’ minds such that their brand means something beyond their products. If your company doesn’t “live” the intended culture internally, then the external perception will not be what marketing intended.

Wharton is right on with this. A brand that’s not grounded in culture is inauthentic and that comes through (especially these days) in the marketplace. A brand (done right) is really an extension of culture that is bigger than any product or service that might be offered.

The brand is the culture of the company. There are many different definitions of a brand, but in my mind the brand is a promise. It’s what a company wants to be known for and works hard to deliver on. Yet, it is only the customer who can decide if the brand kept its promise. Furthermore, the promise must be real. In other words, congruent with the values, mission, etc. The brand is the culture. The culture is the brand.

I agree with the general direction of Ms. Lee Yohn’s list but find it puzzling that she chose “Use your organizational design and your operational processes to cultivate your cultural priorities” as the leadoff item. What is organizational design? Sounds much too generic and open to interpretation. Operational processes are generally absent human emotion or other elements that contribute to building culture.

I notice that “sweat the small stuff” was the top vote-getter in the poll. It was my choice too. The reason this is important is that there must be consistency in what is said at the top of the organization and what actually takes place in daily work life. Leadership from the top sets the tone and it is the behavior of top executives that is carefully observed by employees.

The consistency of behavior of our leaders generates more alliance and support of the culture being nurtured.