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This paper examines the processes used to create and communicate the public identities of New Zealand women politicians. Interviews conducted with women politicians and their public relations practitioners are drawn upon in order to develop a public relations framework for working with individuals. The framework is developed from Foucault’s work on technologies of the self and comprises six technologies of the self: historical narration, positioning, commodification, mediatisation, aestheticisation, and moral career.

This paper examines a New Zealand website, nzgirl.co.nz, in order to theorise the Internet as a communication tool, the Internet as a marketplace and the Internet as a public sphere. As a communication tool, the Internet serves to foster electronic relationships. A key concept discussed in the context of electronic relationships is interactivity. Within the second section of the paper, the role of public relations practitioners in identity and brand building form the discussion of the electronic marketplace. In particular, the importance of an integrated marketing communications approach to Internet branding is examined. One of the central issues of electronic public relations is the potential role of the Internet as a public arena of the public sphere. In this paper, the role of websites in discursive development, social and political identity formation and the evolution of a sense of community is considered.

The challenges of attracting positive media attention are likened to a contest in which various organisations attempt to promote and circulate their version of events; however, this is particularly difficult when attempting to circulate less established, unpopular or critical knowledge. Although complying with, and managing, news values is an important starting point, the need to move beyond news values to consider the commercial values and realities of media organisations is highlighted. In this paper, a case study is undertaken of the Greenpeace media relations in New Zealand when a proposed controversial expiry of a moratorium to release genetically modified organisms into the environment. The predicament for Greenpeace is that in attracting media attention through dramatic protests it risks jeopardising its reputation as a credible news source that can influence the framing of news stories. Insights are offered into the need for organisations to understand and manage the story or knowledge to be circulated and comply with contradictory news values.

Corporate co‐branding is analysed within the context of a case study of the sponsorship relationship between adidas and the New Zealand Rugby Union. The study indicates that corporate brands may develop co‐branding relationships in order to redefine brand identity, discursively reposition the brand and build brand equity. Corporate co‐branding is established at a fundamental brand values level that, in turn, influences the type of marketing communication campaign that may be undertaken. Discourse theory provides insights into the importance of an articulation campaign in order to increase the equity of corporate brands. Co‐branding offers corporate brands access to the brand strategy of the co‐brand partner, the alignment of brand values, the marketing communication association and brand reach and network of relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how manufacturers' brands benefit retailers and how these benefits affect retailer evaluations of the brand.

The researchers develop a conceptual framework, from a literature review and qualitative interviews, which outlines the benefits of manufacturers' brands for retailers. A series of hypotheses tests the effects of these brand benefits on retailer brand attitudes. Data are collected using a survey of supermarket category buyers and analysed with structural equation modelling in order to validate this framework.

Manufacturers' brands deliver four benefits to retailers: financial, manufacturer support, meeting customers' expectations and brand equity. Financial benefits and customer expectations have a stronger effect on retailer satisfaction with the brand compared to manufacturer support and brand equity. Retailer satisfaction with the brand is an antecedent to the retailer assessment of brand performance as well as trust and commitment of the brand. An alternative model shows that brand equity influences retailer commitment to the brand and that financial benefits affect retailer performance assessment of the brand.

Manufacturers should think of their brands as channel resources when dealing with retail buyers, and need to consider how to best utilise these four brand benefits to encourage channel support.

This study proposes a conceptual model and measures the influence of manufacturer brand benefits on longer term retailer attitudes towards the brand, which research has not previously addressed.

The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework that explores the sources of manufacturer brand benefits for resellers.

The paper reports a qualitative investigation where packaged goods resellers were interviewed about the benefits of manufacturer brands for their businesses. The qualitative data is analysed to develop several research propositions about the role of brands in reseller B2B relationships.

A conceptual framework is developed that shows that manufacturers' brands provide financial, customer and managerial benefits for resellers. These benefits have an impact on reseller relationship outcomes with the manufacturer's brand, which include satisfaction, dependence, cooperation, commitment and trust.

The conceptual framework provides a model that manufacturers of both major and minor brands can use to understand and manage these brand benefits in order to enhance the relationship outcomes with resellers.

The paper responds to a need for empirical research to understand the role that brands play in channel relationships. It presents a conceptual framework that links manufacturer brand benefits to reseller relationship outcomes. The framework also includes major and minor brands as moderating variables and thus provides a basis for further quantitative research.

In this article, van Riel’s theory of common starting points is applied to an organisation in order to further our understanding of the way in which multiplicity may be managed within the corporate identity mix. The article begins by outlining the challenges that postmodern theory has posed for corporate identity theory and the contribution that van Riel’s theory can make to addressing these challenges. The theory of common starting points is then applied to the corporate identity of the Mainfreight corporation.

Research is recognised as an essential part of planning and evaluation in most areas of marketing and corporate communication, including advertising, direct marketing and, increasingly, public relations and corporate communication disciplines such as employee communication and community relations. Understanding of audience interests, awareness, perceptions and information needs is critical to strategic planning of communication campaigns. Secondly, identification and quantification of changes in awareness, perception and, ultimately, behaviour is necessary to evaluate objectively the effectiveness of communication (ie the outcomes or results). Nowhere is research more important than in multicultural and cross‐cultural communication. International relations began with human migrations and trade and reach new levels today with globalisation, corporations, organisations and governments increasingly seeking to create consistencies and shared values across divergent cultural groups. They seek to create consistencies and shared values in relation to products (eg Coca‐Cola, IBM, McDonalds), policies (eg trade agreements) and in popular culture such as films, television programmes and news media. Social rules and shared values, ie the culture of communities, affect organisations seeking to communicate multiculturally and cross‐culturally at two levels. First, the “home” culture of the organisation wishing to communicate shapes policies, plans and products that are produced. Secondly, the cultures of audiences inform and substantially shape their interpretation and use of information. Often, multicultural and cross‐cultural communication is a case of “Chinese whispers” on an international scale. What one says or shows is frequently not what others hear or see. Studies cited in this paper show that culture is a vitally important factor in communication. Yet, companies and even governments attempt communication with little understanding of audiences which they wish to reach and with which they wish to build relationships and understanding. This paper examines cultural considerations specifically in the field of public relations and corporate communication in the Asia Pacific region which is comprised of a diverse range of cultures and has been identified as the largest market in the world. Thus, it is increasingly a focal point of global communication campaigns.

According to the age‐old proverb, two heads are better than one. This is surely the case with a co‐branded partnership between two or more different corporations. And when the brands concerned are closely matched to begin with, the resulting co‐brand is likely to make an even greater impact.