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Also, referring to the previous quotation, Orozco-Toro (2014) considers the identity as the materialization of aspects that characterize the company in attributes worthy of being communicated to the stakeholders. Whereas for Semprini (1995), identity is the way in which a brand becomes visible and takes on form in the discourses that the social actors cross between each other, in this way, giving weight to the message perceiver and its constructions concerning these attributes.

Other studies go even further and emphasize that brand identity, from a strategic perspective, is the representation of the company and its unique and distinctive characteristics achieved from the product, signs, symbols, designs or differentiation strategies (Buil, Catalán & Martínez, 2016). Identity is even described as a barrier, since “Corporate brands can block the trespass of a rival with their distinctiveness” (Gehani, 2016: 11).

The creation of a proper brand identity will allow the company to construct an accurate image before its different stakeholders. This is in accordance with Sanz de la Tajada (1996), who assures that in order to achieve a controlled image, the company must project its own personality and identity. The importance of the communicative strategy and identity lies in the fact that they will be responsible for shaping the brand image. More specifically, Slade (2016) shows the relevance of identity building, claiming that a correct creation of intangible values enables the representation of a desirable brand image in the stakeholders’ minds.

Lastly, and to reaffirm this strong linkage between corporate identity and image, it can be stated that “marketers are trying, in effect, to ‘paint a picture’ of their brands in the minds and hearts of consumers” (Keller, 2016: 291).

1.2. Brand image

Brand image is the result of a broad process that starts with the behaviour of the company and the communicative-strategic management of its identity and ends with the elaboration of the stakeholders’ attitudes (Millares-Marcelo, Millares-Quirós & Daza-Izquierdo, 2014).

Brand image is considered a complex process since “the successful building of a brand image is never accidental” (Chao-Sen, 2015: 234). According to this author, one can have a good brand, a correct identity, a product with great functionality as long as these factors result in a desirable and proper brand image; since it is there where the satisfaction of consumers is reassured. Thus, brand image is conceived as an elaborated and multidimensional concept of reception, resulting from the mental constructs of stakeholders (Gázquez & Sánchez, 2004), based on the perceptions and the associations that they keep in their memory (Keller, 2008).

Some authors define brand image as the mental representations consumers have regarding the offer, where meanings symbolically constructed are associated with the specific characteristics of a product or service (Manhas, Manrai & Manrai, 2016; Turan, 2017). They emphasize on the obligation of having a clear image that will aim to satisfy consumer needs. Whereas Che-Hui, Miin-Jye, Li-Ching & Kuo-Lung (2015) uphold that these mental associations with brands have intensity levels, where a connection with a brand is based on the consumer´s experience and their exposure to communications.