Identification

In an age when people frequently communicate with a variety of organizations in their daily lives, the theory of identification offers public relations practitioners a strategy that companies and other organizations employ to influence audiences and build relationships with them.

Organizations engage in identification when they demonstrate how they share identities, values, and norms with audiences and publics. As so many organizations try to capture and keep the audience's attention, this strategic process of creating and communicating common ground is crucial. First articulated by Kenneth Burke, identification is a rhetorical concept that has become increasingly important in public relations as more organizations compete to garner the audience support needed for survival. Identifying with an audience consists of persuading them how an organization and they are similar. As Burke described it, “A is not identical with his colleague, B. But insofar as their interests are joined, A is identified with B” (1969, p. 20). Less overt than some persuasive strategies, without the ability to convince audiences of shared interests an organization's message is likely to fail. On the other hand, if people believe their views and beliefs overlap with an organization's, it is much easier to persuade them to approve an organizational message as that is akin to self-approval.

Identification is an ongoing process; indeed, public relations must help organizations continually show internal and external audiences their similarities and shared interests. Companies that cannot maintain identification with audiences are in danger of failing. For example, without the specific connection created by identification the fur industry in the United States is struggling. It is having difficulty convincing people who value animals for more than their aesthetics that fur clothing is desirable. For some audiences today, then, creating identification on the basis of the values of status and prestige is no longer persuasive. The fur industry faces the danger that “if people find that old identifications are unacceptable, they can be persuaded, and even persuade themselves, to abandon them and adopt new ones” (Heath, 2001, p. 377). Savvy public relations practitioners must therefore monitor changing societal values, trends, and norms.

Understanding societal preferences is necessary, inasmuch as Burke saw identification as “compensatory to division” (1969, p. 22). That is, creating rapport between organizations and audiences necessarily involves showing the audiences how they are like the organization in question but different from other companies also seeking to establish common identity. Identification thus requires differentiation, where organizations must distinguish themselves from comparable organizations, arguing that their particular attributes and qualities are unique. Rachael Bright and Alison Henderson (2008) studied the identification strategy in the product and brand identity of a New Zealand-based vodka called 42 Below and noted that its use of “Kiwi” rule-breaking, humorous, and story-telling identifications helped it differentiate its upmarket vodka from its competitors (Absolut, Grey Goose, and [Page 430]Skyy). 42 Below's choice of identification/differentiation strategies were central in persuading consumers its product was distinct and desirable.

There are a number of ways public relations can attempt to induce identification. George Cheney (1983) devised three prominent strategies that flow from Burke's (1969) original formulation of identification theory. These strategies include (1) the common ground technique, (2) identification through antithesis, and (3) the assumed or transcendent “we.” Each works to persuade audience members that they share similar interests. In the common ground technique, an organization links itself to stakeholders in an overt manner. Audiences are told explicitly that they share organizational values—for example, when a company says it has a “commitment to fairness.” Identification through antithesis works by demonstrating and uniting against a common enemy. This strategy functions by an “us versus them” mentality, where organizations point out the differences between themselves and a competitor. Finally, identification is created through use of the assumed or transcendent “we.” The use of this pronoun and its derivatives calls audiences to see themselves as part of the organization or institution. When we are called to act as Americans, for example, we unite on the basis of this particular strategy's evocation of our national identity. Differing slightly from Burke, M. Cardador and Michael Pratt (2006) looked at identification in terms of bases rather than strategies, arguing that people identify on the basis of relationships, behaviors, or symbols. Their categorization is helpful in understanding how consumers use an organization's products as symbols of self and social identity.

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