How important is branding to the management of your company?
Branding is extremely important and is essentially the heart of Niederstätter. It embodies the company's core values, such as determination, curiosity, down-to-earthness, respect, and a strong sense of unity. This is evident, for example, in our consistent focus on quality for our customers: everything Niederstätter does is about quality and 100% commitment. Customers recognize this and give us feedback accordingly. The brand not only has an impact on customer contact, but also on our relationship with suppliers and on employer branding.
How does the brand specifically help you run your company? How do you do that?
The brand is less helpful when it comes to individual operational decisions. The goals and focus areas of the three-year plan are much more helpful in this regard. The brand is less of a direct management tool and more the result of vision and values. It serves as a guide to check whether forms of communication, strategic priorities, or growth targets are in line with the long-term direction of the company.
How relevant is the brand in the various corporate functions? How well is it positioned in each case? Is it clear to everyone how they should contribute to this?
The brand is relevant to all corporate functions. The management and executives have a special responsibility to get employees on board and create a positive working environment for them. The aim is for them to be happy to promote the brand externally. Many identify strongly with the company, wear their work clothes with pride, and speak positively about Niederstätter. In addition, great importance is attached to training and professional competence, so that each person is an expert in their own field and represents this expertise to the outside world as part of the brand.
How do you ensure that your brand can be experienced through the corporate culture?
The brand can be experienced through an actively lived corporate culture. Since the generational change, common values have been defined and managers have been specifically developed. Team and departmental workshops are held regularly to discuss corporate culture, values, and how we interact with each other. Corporate culture means, above all, appreciative communication, mutual respect, and recognition of each other's expertise. Personal exchange on site is deliberately encouraged, as corporate culture can only be lived and developed together.
In your opinion, what are the major challenges for brand management in the future?
One of the biggest challenges is to remain true to yourself—especially in phases of growth. For Niederstätter, this means continuing to focus consistently on values and quality rather than purely quantitative growth. It is also important to closely involve managers so that they can credibly live the brand message and pass it on to their teams. In this way, the company's USPs, such as its collaboration with art, do not remain isolated activities, but become integral parts of everyday work. Openness to discussion and different perspectives remains a central component of the brand and corporate culture.
