LEO BURNETT MODEL OF BRAND IDNETITY – GOLDMAN SACHS

FUNCTIONS

Goldman Sachs commits people, capital and ideas to help our clients, shareholders and the communities we serve to grow.

Provides advice and services to help organizations with mergers and acquisitions, financing and other transactions.

Structures and executes a variety of transactions, including equity offerings, debt issuances, and derivative transactions.

Provides mergers and acquisitions advice and services to our clients on some of their most complex strategic decisions and transactions.

Servicing clients in the emerging clean technology market covering a wide range of subsectors.

Serves companies in a wide range of consumer retail industries as well as healthcare-related industries.

Provides financing and advisory services to institutions worldwide, including banks, insurance companies, asset management firms, financial technology companies and specialty finance institutions.

Provides advisory and investment banking services to a broad range of institutions, from the world's largest private equity firms to some of the leading mid-sized investors.

Provides investment banking services and in-depth transaction expertise to a wide range of industries globally.

Serving municipal and nonprofit issuers and clients through our Public Sector and Infrastructure (PSI) group.

Providing financing and advisory services to a range of organizations that buy, sell and develop land.

Providing insights and services covering a wide range of industries—from electronics to software to Internet to wireless and cable companies.

Giving our clients multiple ways to strategize, track and execute securities transactions in exchanges around the world.

Providing services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor their portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses.

Helping clients execute and settle transactions on over 97% of the world's equities and derivatives exchanges.

Providing institutional clients with a wide range of products and services, giving them access to financial instruments and worldwide exchanges.

Helping our firm and our clients find opportunities for growth.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA ("GS Bank") is a New York State-chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System.

Investing in equity and credit across corporate, real estate and infrastructure strategies.

Revitalizing communities through strategic partnerships with nonprofits, developers and other organizations.

Global investing business, specializing in proprietary lending and investing on all levels of capital structures.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management applies insights and risk management expertise to help institutional and individual investors with their financial goals, now and in the future.

We help high-net-worth individuals and families along with select foundations and endowments pursue their wealth management goals.

SOURCE

SOURCES

Goldman Sachs professionals across the firm regularly produce content related to markets, securities, structured products, rates, currencies and economies around the world.

These insights originate from individuals in different divisions, including Global Investment Research, Goldman Sachs

LEO BURNETT MODEL OF BRAND IDNETITY – GOLDMAN SACHS

Asset Management, Private Wealth Management, the Securities Division and the Investment Banking Division.

Given the different areas of focus of each of our businesses, and the varied goals, time horizons, investing styles and risk appetites of our clients, it is not unusual for individuals to have different views on similar topics.

Global Investment Research (GIR). The Global Investment Research division produces Research, primarily for an institutional investing client base. Analysts cover more than 3,300 credit and equity securities. Economists write on 48 national economies. Our Economic, Commodities and Strategy department also cover markets, credit and equity strategy and commodities worldwide.

Global Markets Institute (GMI). The Global Markets Institute is the public policy research unit of Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research. Its mission is to provide research and high-level advisory services to policymakers, regulators and investors around the world.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). Investment professionals within GSAM create and disseminate commentary on markets, economies and investment products. These materials are intended for institutional clients and high-net-worth individual investors.

Private Wealth Management (PWM). The Private Wealth Management division produces and disseminates insights about markets as well as portfolio strategies and asset allocation. These materials are intended for the division’s clients and are often custom tailored for individuals.

Securities Division. Professionals in the Securities division produce a variety of trading ideas and strategies for their professional investor clients.

Investment Banking Division (IBD). The Investment Banking Division produces presentations and insights for corporate clients that address changes in the regulatory environment and capital markets that could affect them by enabling or restricting their ability to engage in certain types of transactions. These reports are usually highly customized for clients and situations.

Environmental Markets Group (EMG). The Environmental Markets Group, which resides within the Executive Office, is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Environmental Policy Framework as well as furthering, coordinating and communicating the firm’s global environmental initiatives. As part of this mandate, EMG provides guidance on environmental issues and works closely with the business areas to further ideas and opportunities related to environmental markets. EMG also manages the Center

for Environmental Markets, which partners with corporations, non-government organizations, and academic institutions to examine and promote market-based solutions to environmental challenges.

Goldman Sachs Thought Leadership Forum: Goldman Sachs regularly invites leading thinkers from a broad range of backgrounds to share their views and expertise with our people. This internal program, called the “Thought Leadership Forum”, offers Goldman Sachs people an opportunity to learn more about some of the major issues that are shaping the world today.

DIFFERS

Goldman has taken steps to heal itself from self-inflicted wounds. In the uproar after the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs formed a business standards committee to examine practices and recommend change. The committee put forth 39 recommendations to improve governance and client relations. In response, the firm has fundamentally realigned its business segments. Goldman has also overhauled its board, revised its public relations strategy and put in place stronger clawback policies.

The firm has also made every effort to move past financial crisis allegations. It paid $550 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission accusations that it misled investors in a mortgage-related security. Recently the Justice Department announced that it would not pursue charges related to accusations that Goldman shorted the housing market while selling products to clients betting the opposite.

The financial crisis has also forced Morgan Stanley — long Goldman’s main rival in investment banking — to change its business model substantially. Morgan Stanley has struggled with its smaller capital base and an undiversified business. To solve this problem, it recently reached an agreement to acquire the entire Smith Barney brokerage operations. But that means that Morgan Stanley may become more of an asset manager than an investment bank. And the controversy over the Facebook initial public offering is not likely to have helped Morgan Stanley, which led the offering and has been vying with Goldman to underwrite other hot technology I.P.O.’s.

LEO BURNETT MODEL OF BRAND IDNETITY – GOLDMAN SACHS

As a result, Goldman is becoming the last pure-play, big investment bank. In a world where business consultants preach that a focus on your best business lines is necessary to success, Goldman is likely to have an advantage over the banking conglomerates.

And instead of diversifying, Goldman is taking steps to retain its focus. Goldman did not spin off its private equity arm, GS Capital Partners, to comply with the Volcker Rule. Instead, it kept the operation in-house by financing it through outside money rather than Goldman’s. Other banks have also retained their private equity arms, but Goldman’s was always the biggest and it faced the most pressure to divest. Keeping GS Capital Partners will maintain the firms’ edge in playing a part in takeover deals.

Still, it’s not going to be an easy ride for the bank. Goldman will continue to be a flash point and a target as a symbol for the financial crisis and greed in general. Moreover, Greg Smith, the former Goldman employee who publicly resigned through an opinion article in The New York Times, has a memoir coming out this fall called “Why I Left Goldman Sachs.”

It may again send Goldman into damage control mode. But if the firm’s clients haven’t left already, why would they now? Goldman is more regulated now than before the financial crisis, but it seems as if it will not face prosecution for any of its activities, and its competitors are having more problems with regulators. Mr. Smith’s book is unlikely to change anything.

The stock market agrees. Goldman’s stock price is up about 25 percent this year, beating out JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup.

Investment banking may be down, but it will eventually return. And the remarkable story will be that Goldman, despite the controversies it has faced, has put itself in a position to not only profit but continue its dominance. It’s a case study in business survival and reputational repair. The protesters at Occupy Wall Street will not be happy. But neither will Goldman’s competitors.

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Goldman Sachs continues to rise to the top of league tables in a variety of areas and to show Year Over Year (YOY) growth in revenue and stock price. While Goldman Sachs remains highly relevant in the financial community, trust remains an issue in the post-crisis world. Continuing to wrestle with negative public sentiment, the brand has been criticized for leveraging tax policy loopholes in The Volker Rule, which was designed to prevent

proprietary trading at large federally insured banks, and has come under fire with some financial law experts for relying too much on banks’ own self-reporting and self-regulation. In 2011, the brand became synonymous with Occupy Wall Street and is still a specific target for public frustration. While Goldman Sachs’business appears strong, the brand continues on its downward trend with a decrease in brand strength with some analysts contending the brand has made business decisions in conflict with its brand values of integrity, fair dealing, transparency, professional excellence, confidentiality, clarity, and respect. The brand will need to manage its reputation carefully to avoid further damage. Public perception poses a particular risk as policy makers become more in tune with constituents’ perceptions. Poor public perception has also impacted the once golden image the Goldman Sachs brand carries as an employer, potentially creating problems in recruiting future top talent, particularly Millennials, something the brand currently uses as a differentiating point.

SANTHAN RMBA IB 2013-15

PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY