Auditoría de la identidad e imagen de UPA comunicaciones S.A.

Abstract

In the current context of organizations and the dynamics of an increasingly competitive market, intangible assets (reputation, trust, organizational culture, image, etc.) constitute 84% of the total value of the company (Costa, 2018), that is, the differentiating value is not in the idea of the service or product, but in the attributes and organizational characteristics of the brand (Pérez, 2010). In this sense, it is increasingly necessary to analyze the aspects of the company's communication that are contributing to the perceived global image, as an opportunity to identify strengths and weaknesses to act from the strategic vision. Given that everything that happens in the company communicates, being aware of these communication flows will result in a long-term competitive advantage compared to companies that do not evaluate themselves. Organizational communication focuses its interest on designing message flows that favor the performance of relationships and the company as such. The two big mistakes, and the most common ones in business management, are, in the first place, not considering the competition and, from the opposite side, not evaluating oneself. Because of this, the concept of auditing communication and image proposed by Costa (2012) and Cerezo (2013) arises, which, as detailed in the development of the text, is not a new issue; on the contrary, it is one of the ways of analyzing the concept of the company and the components of the image and communication that impregnate it. This vision is contrasted with the contributions of professionals in the area of communication management in the city to execute an effective diagnosis of the case presented in the document. The theoretical references and observations are put into practice in the study of the Upa Comunicaciones S.A. case, a brand with around ten years in the market. A company that has been developing advisory and communication services to entrepreneurs and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) both locally and nationally. Therefore, this research sought to determine the status of the image of the branding agency Upa Comunicaciones S.A. from a mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative), with a theoretical review on communication, image, brand, and auditing, among other concepts, that frame the researcher in the communication-company system. For this diagnosis, we proceeded with the application of surveys, interviews and field observation. Two of these (interviews and surveys) are governed by the structure of a technical-methodological framework that guides the researcher to the effective diagnosis of all the variables and development units proposed in the research design. As a result, a series of conclusions are drawn that help to understand the attributes of the Upa brand from its different particularities (identity, communication, and culture), which are influencing the construction and management of the agency's image. In addition to the propositive approach of possible lines of action, as well as the recommendations that suggest lines of research related to the study of brand communication in the local economy.