Corporate branding strategies in shaping the identity of Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO)

Resumo

Corporate branding is fundamental in shaping the identity and public image of organizations dealing with regulatory institutions like the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO). KECOBO is still struggling to create a well-defined identity despite several initiatives as a result of limited knowledge, restricted resources, and the ever-evolving digital copyright environment. This study examined how corporate branding strategies affect the organizational identity of KECOBO. The study aimed at identifying the extent to which marketing initiatives influence the organizational identity of KECOBO, the extent to which brand awareness has an effect on KECOBO’s corporate identity, the extent to which public perception influences KECOBO’s branding, and finally, the extent to which brand extension strategies affect KECOBO’s corporate identity. The study, using organizational identity theory and corporate reputation theory, adopted a descriptive research design to study the internal and external perspectives of branding. The targeted population included the head of communication at KECOBO and 10,000 registered copyright holders like authors, artists, publishers, and performers.By using Yamane’s formula, a sample of 385 was taken, out of which one was purposively sampled and the rest were sampled by the stratified random sampling method from the National Rights Registry. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data in the study. Reliability was tested. Cronbach’s alpha value for all the key constructs was above 0.75, showing high reliability. Expert review and pilot testing confirmed the validity. The similarity test ensured construct validity. The survey results found that KECOBO marketing was effective according to 72.4% of the respondents, while the other 27.6% found it ineffective. Thus, there is a need for more targeted and digitally adaptive strategies. Overall brand awareness was moderate but uneven—13% of respondents said they were not very familiar with KECOBO, indicating communication gaps with emerging stakeholders. KECOBO received a positive rating from the public survey. The respondents showed that they trust KECOBO at 72.1% but do not view it as different from the government at 58.7%. Interestingly, 65% of the respondents supported KECOBO’s brand extension initiatives, while only 48.5% of them were aware of KECOBO’s brand extension initiative. The findings indicate that although KECOBO’s branding has a functional base, more attention must be paid to segmented marketing, experience-driven trust building, and planned brand-extension roll-out. This study also includes recommendations about how to improve clarity, stakeholder engagement, and organizational identity of a brand.