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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
Standards: Who Needs Them?
by - Edwin Colyer
13-Mar-2006
It is amazing how much three letters can convey. Most people may have never heard of the International Organization for Standardization, but when they see ISO attached to a product or company, they feel more confident. They expect things to be up to standard—nothing shoddy and no cowboy service.
Marketers can only marvel at such “brand” penetration. Without any specific logo, colors or typeface, these three letters consistently give customers a feeling of confidence, even though most of them have no idea about the actual contents of any given standard. But standards are good, and that's all they need to know.
So how has ISO managed to achieve this remarkable penetration? Firstly, there is its heritage. ISO, as we know it today, was founded in 1947. However, although ISO has been around for more than half a century, it was the launching of the ISO 9000 series of standards in 1987 that heralded the evolution of ISO into a household name (or at least a “boardroom name”). Prior to ISO 9000, standards tended to be perceived as highly technical documents, the domain of engineers. ISO 9000 was the first standard of interest to all organizations, everywhere, from small companies to whole government departments.
So despite the 60-year history, it is really the organizations that have been “ISO 9000 certified” that are ISO's most effective marketing tool. Companies, keen to highlight their conformity to the latest version, ISO 9001:2000 (and more recently ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management), spread the word. You can see it on literature, websites, even letterheads. Indeed, the ISO 9000 series is now so well recognized it has become like a passport, the minimum a company must show before clients will even consider buying its products or services.
At the end of 2004, the worldwide total of certificates to the ISO 9001:2000 quality management systems standard was more than 670,000 in 154 countries, while over 90,000 ISO 14001 certificates had been issued in 127 countries.
Yet ISO's logo does not (or certainly should not) appear on any of these certificates; ISO guards its brand assets zealously. Indeed, the trademarked logo of the organization is rarely seen outside of the organization's own activities. Although you can find a plethora of logos on company websites that tell you they are certified to ISO 9001:2000 (or that their products are certified to other ISO standards), these logos should not resemble the ISO trademark. The certificates merely state that the company complies with ISO standards, and bears no seal from ISO itself. The organization's own brand identity is reserved for use by ISO and its members.
José Checa, legal adviser at the ISO Central Secretariat, comments, “ISO actively defends its logo and registered name. For example, we recently scored new successes, preventing the ISO name being misused on the Internet to mislead people into buying products or services that they believe are endorsed by ISO. Numerous actions are also being undertaken at a national level by ISO members, as they have realized the commercial value of the ISO brand and the fact that it is a powerful, additional asset that they can use to the full.”
ISO is keen to outline the role it plays: It is “a network of the national standards bodies of 156 countries” that develops and publishes international standards. It does not audit organizations or products for compliance, nor does it issue certificates. This is the work of certification bodies, which can issue their own marks of approval independently of ISO for companies to use.
There are six major certification bodies with an international presence, which compete at a global level, along with hundreds of smaller organizations that tend to work more nationally.
Nicki Hirst, global marketing manager at certification body BSI Management Systems, says, “The BSI brand differentiates us from our competitors because we are synonymous with quality and expertise of service and with pioneering the certification of management systems standards. Even while our brand identity has evolved and been refreshed, our brand is always based on our heritage of independence, integrity, and innovation.”
The experience of the European Union's Eco-label also demonstrates the importance of heritage. Created in 1992, this certification scheme aims to help European consumers distinguish greener, more environmentally friendly products and services. But the “Flower”—the symbol of the Eco-label—hasn't yet reached its full potential.
The aim of the EU Eco-label is to reduce environmental impacts of products and increase the environmental awareness of consumers. The scheme covers 23 product groups, and around 290 companies have obtained the label, providing more than 2000 products and services. The label currently represents some 400 million articles sold, worth around €700 million (almost US$ 834 million) of sales per year.
Athina Koutroumani, desk officer for the European Eco-label in the European Commission, says that the idea was to develop a voluntary, European-wide scheme that consumers would recognize, and understand that it meant a product or service had met rigorous environmental criteria.
“An in-depth study on the revision of the Eco-label scheme has recently been completed,” says Koutroumani. “Most companies and organizations which have joined the scheme are happy with the European-wide scheme, and almost all of the companies participating in the scheme use the Eco-label in their marketing campaigns.”
“The Flower especially helps companies to access markets in other Member States, especially in the area of public procurement where green procurement policies are gaining ground,” Koutroumani continues. “However, it is true that the penetration of the scheme in the European market could be further enhanced. Among consumers, awareness of this label greatly varies in the 25 Member States, largely because the number of categories of products that can get the label is still small. The evaluation study showed that participating and non-participating companies highly rate the competitive rewards associated with raising consumer awareness of the Flower.”
Koutroumani concedes that national eco-labels have a longer history than the Flower, and therefore often have greater awareness among consumers. The Eco-label's marketing and branding work therefore is largely about consumer awareness and demand.
Retailers, especially, have an important part to play in promoting the Flower. After the success of the First European Flower Week in 2004, another one is scheduled for October 2006 to continue to increase awareness of the EU Eco-label. Each participating Member State will target the most promising product groups and will organize campaigns to reach out to consumers, while involving retailers and manufacturers. Ten countries are already planning to participate, half of which are new Member States and who did not have the chance to participate in 2004.
But while heritage helps, it is not the only factor that influences the success of brands in the complicated world of certificates and standards. The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) only began in 1989, yet its brand and the EFQM Excellence Award is fast becoming an international mark for excellence in business. The EFQM Excellence Model is now being implemented in over 30,000 companies and/or departments worldwide.
“ISO sets standards on how companies should do things—we look at how a company can surpass expectations,” says Melissa Rancourt, head of operations at EFQM. “The EFQM complements ISO standards like ISO 9000.” Indeed a special issue on EFQM was distributed with ISO's magazine in 2001, highlighting the complementarities of the two.
But unlike ISO, EFQM is a little more generous with its brand identity. “Members of EFQM can use the EFQM logo,” says Rancourt. “It acts as a stamp of approval, saying that the company is in the pursuit of excellence. One company even put the logo on its Christmas cards, and you often walk into the lobby of a member organization and see its EFQM membership certificate highly visible on the wall.”
Rancourt is little concerned that this liberal use of the EFQM could dilute or confuse its message. “We use a trusting approach. After all, we are dealing with excellent companies. If something is odd or they are not sure about how to use our brand then they will usually contact us and ask.”
Rancourt also believes that EFQM's success is largely down to the passion of its members. “We have a brand strategy and critical success factors. Indeed, we are undergoing a rejuvenation strategy, which we believe will drive the brand stronger and further into the marketplace. But for the 30,000 companies following the EFQM model we try to encourage them to spread the message. I follow EFQM, what about you?”
Standards only work if enough organizations adopt them. The best branding strategy is to ensure that adopters become ambassadors.
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Edwin Colyer is a science and technology writer based in Manchester, UK. He has his own high working standards.
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