Some may think branding is only for trendy companies, but firms in many industries can and should brand themselves.  

The investment bank Goldman Sachs is an example of a strong corporate brand. Since its pioneer days in the 1800s, Goldman Sachs has been a top international investment bank. Its brand value over the few past years has been estimated over $10,000 million and the company was ranked as one of the Top 100 Global Brands of the year by Business Week magazine in September 2008. Goldman Sachs announced on May 7th, 2009 that it will not require further capital from the Federal Reserve. Although the recent financial crisis was difficult for firms in investment banking, it seems Goldman Sachs is back on their feet.

The success of the Goldman Sachs’ brand could be a result of its well-established corporate philosophy. Since the 1970’s, Goldman Sachs has built its business on strong principles including excellence, diversity, integrity, philanthropy and more. In addition, the company has implemented a strict policy of employee excellence, which consists of recruiting each year the best and the brightest people –MBAs from top business schools like Harvard and Columbia – while firing 5% of its underperforming employees. This human resource policy aims at ensuring outstanding performance to help build a strong reputation and therefore a strong brand.

The managers of the investment bank may not attribute their company’s success to branding efforts, as the term “branding’ is not commonly applied to companies in the finance industry; however, it is safe to say that Goldman Sachs has indeed built a strong corporate brand over the course of its long history.