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Borrowing impressions before creating them. The first move called "Brand Rental"

永井満｜製造業専門マーケター



Introduction

The reality that small and medium-sized enterprises face when told to "start branding" is that they lack the raw materials. They don't have famous products. They don't have abundant advertising budgets. Building a company's impression from scratch on one's own requires frequency of contact, and frequency of contact costs money and time.

However, impressions are not just something you create yourself. They can be borrowed.

In the BBBAM branding model, we call this brand rental. It is defined as "a method of adding impressions by creating associations with other brands (third parties)." When your own company's impressions are still few or insufficient, you connect the impressions that a third party already possesses to your own company. Track records, business partners, history, banks, group companies, and facilities. These are those modest items listed at the back of a company brochure.

From the term brand rental, many people think of hiring celebrities or collaborating with famous brands. That is included, too. But the original meaning is to borrow the essential impressions of a third party. It does not refer to temporarily pasting on a celebrity's likability, but rather to connecting impressions backed by facts, such as "we have had 10 years of continuous business with that company" or "that manufacturer's equipment is lined up here," to your own company.

In fact, Japanese companies have been doing this for a long time. Writing the name of the bank in the company profile. Listing major business partners. Displaying the founding year. That is not just a custom, but a rational brand rental. However, most companies are just "listing" them, not "designing" them. What kind of impression, from whom, and for what situation are you borrowing? Depending on whether or not you design this, the effect obtained from the same material will change completely.

I will also organize the division of roles within the BBBAM branding model in advance. If a hub brand is a device to increase the "probability of being remembered," then brand rental is a device to reinforce "whether there is enough of an impression to be chosen when remembered." In the previous column (the discussion on the first recall group), I touched on the method of borrowing third-party impressions as a means to reinforce favorability in just one paragraph. This time is a deep dive into that. Why does borrowing work, what can be borrowed, how to borrow, and what kind of interest is attached to borrowed goods? We will look at them in order.

1. Why does a "borrowed impression" work?

Buyers cannot verify quality in advance

BtoB purchasing has a fundamental inconvenience. You don't know the true capability until you try placing an order. Processing precision, delivery deadline compliance, and response during trouble cannot be observed before the contract.

In economics, this is called information asymmetry. The seller knows their own capability, but the buyer does not. In the "market for lemons" argument presented by George Akerlof in 1970, in a market where quality cannot be verified, buyers begin to doubt everything, and even decent sellers are discounted. It is famous as a story about the used car market, but BtoB purchasing, where one is looking for a first-time supplier, is exactly this situation.

In this situation, saying "our company is high quality" by yourself does not work. Because a company with low quality can say exactly the same thing. Self-declaration is information that costs nothing to emit, and since buyers know that, they correctly discount it.

What works is information that costs money to lie about. As Michael Spence's signaling theory organized, only signals that the low-quality side cannot imitate function as proof of quality. A 10-year track record of transactions with a major company cannot be prepared by a company with low quality. Because it is a fact that they have continued to pass inspections for 10 years. A long relationship with a main bank cannot be maintained by a company with broken finances. This "inimitability" turns information into trust.

The logic of why brand rental works is this. Borrowing a third party's impression is not about lining up famous names, but showing the buyer the history of judgments that the third party has made regarding your company. The more the subject of the judgment is someone else who does not share interests with the seller, and the more the judgment involves costs, the more strongly the borrowed impression works.

Credibility cannot be structurally self-proclaimed

In the BBBAM branding model, it is stated that there are only two impressions necessary for a BtoB technical company brand. Credibility and feasibility (what is necessary for a technology brand is realizability). Among these, which is the main target of brand rental is credibility.

The reason is simple: credibility has the property of being damaged the moment it is self-proclaimed. We do not trust people who introduce themselves by saying, "I am a trustworthy person." Realizability can be shown to some extent on one's own through processing samples and technical documents. Feasibility can also be supplemented by disclosing equipment and systems. But credibility alone can only arise through the judgment of a third party.

In other words, it can be organized like this: **Realizability is shown through in-house content. Credibility is borrowed.** One of the two pillars of a corporate brand is a pillar that cannot be built in-house in the first place. This is the reason why brand rental is not a "measure to be done if there is spare capacity" but a "structurally essential measure."

Even in the mainstream of brand theory, "borrowing" is systematized

This is not an original idea unique to BBBAM. In his book Strategic Brand Management, Kevin Lane Keller dedicates a chapter to "Leveraging Secondary Brand Associations," systematizing sources to borrow from, such as companies, countries/regions of origin, distribution channels, co-branding, ingredient branding, licensing, celebrity endorsements, events, and third-party evaluations. The premise is that brands can be built not only through their own associations but also by connecting with associations already held by other entities.

Empirical evidence is also accumulating. Rao et al. demonstrated in the Journal of Marketing Research that for products where quality cannot be observed before purchase, the presence of a "brand ally" functions as a quality signal. Research by Simonin and Ruth confirms that evaluations of brand alliances spill over into subsequent evaluations of each partner brand (the spillover effect), and that the impact varies depending on brand awareness. Generally, the lower the brand awareness, the greater the impact received from the alliance—in other words, the smaller the company, the greater the shift when borrowing—is the consensus.

McCracken's "Meaning Transfer Model," a classic in celebrity advertising, has the same structure. Cultural meaning moves from the talent to the product, and from the product to the consumer. Brand rental can be said to perform this meaning transfer not through talent, but through "third-party facts" such as track records and business partners.

2. How effective are borrowed items, really?

Since theory alone does not make for practical business, let's look at the data.

Case studies and track records are effective not just as "bonus points" but as "filters"

The large-scale purchasing survey by IDEATECH that I cited last time (conducted in March 2026, published in April, n=307, B2B purchasing stakeholders for products over 3 million yen) contains figures directly related to this topic. 44.3% of respondents cited "having case studies of companies similar to our own" as a deciding factor for including a vendor in their final shortlist, and 29.5% cited "having a track record of implementation in our industry." And on the flip side, 26.4% of people excluded a vendor from their shortlist because "there were no companies similar to ours in the implementation case studies."

What we should look at is the flip side. Case studies are information that, if present, earns bonus points, but at the same time, they have become information that leads to rejection if absent. Roughly one in four companies is excluded from consideration based solely on the absence of borrowed credibility, before their actual capabilities are even examined. Displaying a track record is not "PR to do if you have the spare time," but is closer to an admission ticket required to remain a candidate.

Overseas data points in the same direction. In a 2024 survey by Demand Gen Report, 78% of B2B buyers cited case studies as the content they value most in the final stages of purchasing. In a survey conducted by TrustRadius in January 2026 (n=1,862, buyers of technology products), 74% answered that they use reviews as a reference for purchasing decisions. On the other hand, buyers who refer to analyst reports, which were once authoritative, have dropped to 13%, a 63% decrease compared to 2022. Rather than evaluations from authoritative institutions, buyers prefer the voices of third parties in positions similar to their own. The center of gravity for impressions that should be borrowed has shifted from "authority" to "peers" over the last decade.

This structure is becoming even stronger in the era of AI search. The same TrustRadius survey points out that the recommendations provided by AI tools are heavily dependent on third-party content such as customer reviews, independent media, and third-party usage experiences. Even if the buyer's consultant changes from a human to an AI, the AI refers to the voices of third parties. Companies that have no trace of themselves among third parties will also be left out of AI recommendations.

(Two notes: The Demand Gen Report is a survey by a marketing media outlet, and the sample size is not disclosed. TrustRadius targets buyers of IT products. While this cannot be directly extrapolated to manufacturing industry purchasing, the structure itself—that "third-party voices are prioritized over the seller's self-declaration"—should be considered applicable regardless of the product.)

References are already a subject of "design"

In academia as well, B2B customer references (implementation track records, customer recommendations) have become a research field. Jalkala and Salminen organized the practices of B2B companies utilizing customer references as marketing assets. A 2023 paper by Boyd et al. (Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science) demonstrates within the framework of signaling theory that design variables such as the "breadth" of references (how many companies are listed) and the "depth" (how detailed the information is per company) influence evaluations by both buyers and investors.

It is not a matter of whether to list them or not, but how many companies, at what depth, and how to arrange them. This means that track records are already being treated as design variables.

An extreme success story: Intel Inside

An example that pushed the scale of brand rental to the maximum is "Intel Inside," which began in 1991. Intel, a component manufacturer that was inside computers and invisible to consumers, invested $250 million in a joint advertising program to have its logo included in advertisements by various OEMs. Within about a year of its launch, over 500 OEMs participated, and it is said that the logo was actually included in 70% of the advertisements where it could be placed.

What is interesting about this case is that the rental was bidirectional. Intel borrowed the impression of "a computer that works properly" and the retail space that the OEM's finished product possessed, while the OEM borrowed Intel's impression of "the contents are reliable" and advertising subsidies. A component manufacturer borrows the credibility of the final product, and the final product manufacturer borrows the credibility of the component. This clearly shows that brand rental is not a one-way measure, but a loan/borrowing relationship that stands on both parties' balance sheets.

In the context of B2B technology, this can be applied as a method of "showing the customer's customer." The single line, "Our components are adopted in XX's final products," is a rental from the final product brand.

3. What can be borrowed? — An inventory list

In the BBBAM branding model diagram, six items are listed as examples of brand rental: track records, business partners, history, main banks, group companies, and facility information. Including these, I will list the sources that small and medium-sized B2B companies can use, along with the "borrowed impressions" they provide.

  • Transaction track record and case studies: Borrow the history of credit judgments and acceptance inspections from client companies. What you are conveying is credibility and feasibility. As mentioned above, cases from similar scales and the same industry are the most effective.

  • Major clients: The fact of continuity, that "that company keeps using them." Stronger than a one-time achievement. Credibility.

  • History (founding year, company history): While it may look like your own attribute at first glance, what you are actually borrowing is "the judgment of countless business partners who have continued to place orders over those years." The fact that you have survived without going under is itself a history of passing market evaluations. Credibility.

  • Banks used: The eyes of a third party with a serious interest, namely the credit judgment of a financial institution. This is the reason why there is a section for banks used in a company profile. Credibility.

  • Group companies, parent companies, and capital partners: Capital relationships, which are the hardest to sever. Credibility and feasibility.

  • Equipment information: A two-pronged approach consisting of the quality impression of the equipment manufacturer and proof that you have the financial strength to invest in that equipment. "Possessing a XX-made 5-axis machining center" is a rental from the equipment manufacturer. Realizability and feasibility.

  • Certifications, standards, and awards (ISO, JIS, industry certifications, various awards, subsidy selections): Borrow the judgment of an examining body. Credibility.

  • Exhibitions and industry associations: The impression of the organizer and the exhibition screening. "Exhibiting at that exhibition every year" itself becomes a small piece of credit information.

  • Media coverage and trade journals: The editorial department's judgment as a third party to conduct an interview.

  • Industry-academia collaboration and joint research: The neutrality and expertise of universities and research institutions. Realizability.

  • People: Employee qualifications, backgrounds, and previous companies. "Founded by an engineer from XX" is brand rental on an individual level.

  • Location and production area: "Metal processing in Tsubame-Sanjo," "Small factories in Ota Ward." Borrowing the impression that a region has accumulated over many years. A domestic version of the country-of-origin effect in branding theory.

  • Customer's Customer (End Product): "This part is used in that product." A reverse application of Intel Inside.

Most of the items on this list do not require new spending. They are things you already have but are not showing, or for which you have not designed a way to show. Before you go out to pay rent like you would for celebrity endorsements, the logical order is to start by taking inventory of what you have on hand.

4. Designing How to Borrow: Arranging Is Not the Same as Designing

When taking inventory, many companies want to line up their logos and certification marks. However, that is a sloppy way to borrow. I will narrow the points of design down to four.

4-1. Reverse-engineer from the missing impression

First, identify which impression your company is currently lacking. Is it credibility, feasibility, or viability? What a 60-year-old company usually lacks is not credibility, but feasibility—the question of "can they also handle new technology?" In that case, the borrowed items you should bring to the forefront are not banks or history, but industry-academia collaborations, new equipment, or case studies from new industries. Conversely, what a 3-year-old company should borrow first is credibility.

The impression you convey differs depending on who you borrow from. Choose who to borrow from only after deciding on the target impression. The order is that simple, yet in reality, most websites are built in reverse order by "lining up everything they have."

4-2. Link to recall scenes

In the previous column, I wrote that you should have 5 to 8 entry points (triggers) for recall. Case studies and track records are most effective when organized by these entry points. Instead of listing 50 items on a single "Track Record" page, place case studies involving "hard-to-cut materials" at the "hard-to-cut materials" entry point, and case studies involving "short lead times" at the "short lead time" entry point. A borrowed impression only connects to recall when placed next to the trigger you want to ignite. If you are creating an SVC (Sales Value Communication), embed equipment or adoption records within those images. Borrowed items should be placed on the flow line of recall, not on an independent page.

4-3. Borrow with specifics and numbers

"Numerous track records" and "many transactions with major companies" convey almost nothing. This is because vague borrowing only conveys vague impressions. Borrow with specifics and numbers, such as "240 projects in the automotive parts industry" or "92% repeat rate." Also, have a few examples (depth) where you write out a single company's case from challenge to constraints, solution, and results, rather than just a list of numbers (breadth). As Boyd and others have shown, breadth and depth are different variables, and there are times when one deep case study works more powerfully than 50 logos.

4-4. Overcome the wall of confidentiality with blurring and prior consent

When I talk about this in the B2B manufacturing industry, I always hit the wall of "we cannot disclose customer names." That is true. However, not being able to disclose a name is different from not being able to borrow. Even if you blur the details by industry and scale, such as "major automotive parts manufacturer (with sales in the hundreds of billions of yen)" or "top domestic market share measuring instrument manufacturer," a significant portion of the rental effect remains. Remember that what was effective in the IDEATECH survey was not the company name itself, but the "similar scale" and "same industry." What the buyer wants to know is not the proper noun, but whether a company similar to them has used it.

Another practically effective method is to incorporate consent for case study creation into the order process. If you ask after delivery, you will be refused, but if you agree to include "case study publication with anonymity/blurring" at the start of the transaction, the probability of success increases significantly. It is better to think of case studies not as a byproduct of sales activities, but as another deliverable of the project.

5. Interest on Borrowed Goods: The Risks of Rental

Regarding brand rental, the BBBAM Branding Model states, "If it improves the impression, do it as much as possible." That is a fine basic stance, but there are three hidden sides to this conditional clause.

5-1. Negative impressions also flow in through the same path

The path of impressions is bidirectional. If the party you borrow from causes a scandal, a negative impression will flow in through the same path. Till and Shimp's experiments showed that negative information about a celebrity damages brand evaluation, and that the stronger the association, the greater the damage. Votolato and Unnava confirmed that the same structure works in brand partnerships.

Here, the reason why the BBBAM Branding Model emphasizes that "the original meaning is to borrow the essential impression of a third party" becomes clear. A celebrity's favorability fluctuates wildly and always carries the risk of a backlash. On the other hand, transaction records, equipment, and banks have much smaller fluctuations in impression.Borrowing an essential impression is a matter of risk management, not ethics. The cheaper and flashier the rent seems (buzz-worthy collaborations, trendy influencers), the more hidden costs of volatility are attached.

5-2. If you borrow too much, your own company becomes diluted

The BBBAM branding model includes the concept of impression dilution. If there are too many impressions, they disperse within the memory, and each one becomes faint. Brand rental is a tactic that easily causes this. A company profile that lists 50 logos, 12 certifications, and 20 lines of awards may seem to increase the total amount of credibility, but it washes away the central impression of "what this company actually does."

The countermeasure is selection. Bring only the borrowed items that carry the "target impression" identified in 4-1 to the forefront, and move the rest to the back pages. Do not borrow everything that can be borrowed; borrow only what carries the missing impression.

5-3. If you keep borrowing, your own company's impression will not grow

The final risk is dependency. As long as orders are coming in solely based on the borrowed impression of being a "cooperating company for Company XX," there is no motivation to create an impression unique to your own company. That state ends the moment the lender's procurement policy changes. Also, as the aftermath of Intel Inside shows, if a rental relationship becomes too strong, the power dynamic shifts to the lender. OEM companies gave up the leading role in advertising to component manufacturers in exchange for advertising subsidies.

Brand rental is merely a scaffold until your own company's impression grows. Use the borrowed impression to get to the negotiation table, and then carve the order you receive there into the other party's memory as a strong experience (an experience after paying the cost). Only the accumulation of these strong experiences becomes your own company's impression that does not need to be repaid. Borrow to create an entrance, and replace it with your own through experience. If you forget this order and only increase borrowed items, you will end up with an empty house that looks impressive only from the outside.

And as a major premise, borrowed impressions create expectations. Expectations turn into disgust if they are not accompanied by the real thing. As disgust is placed in the negative term in the 4F model, if you create expectations with an impressive list of achievements but do sloppy work, rental will work in the opposite direction. The act of borrowing includes the obligation to prepare the content for what you have borrowed.

6. Summary


Let's organize the main points.

Because B2B buyers cannot observe quality in advance, they discount the seller's self-claims. What works is information that costs money if you lie, which is the history of judgments made about your company by third parties. Of the two impressions necessary for a corporate brand, credibility cannot be claimed structurally. Therefore, brand rental is not an optional tactic, but an essential one.

Data also supports this. 44.3% of buyers cited the existence of a similar-scale case study as the deciding factor for inclusion in the candidate list. At the same time, the lack of similar cases was a reason for disqualification for 26.4% (IDEATECH 2026). 78% of B2B buyers prioritize case studies at the end of the purchasing process (Demand Gen Report 2024), 74% refer to reviews, and even AI recommendations rely on third-party content (TrustRadius 2026).

Lenders range widely, including achievements, business partners, history, correspondent banks, group companies, facilities, as well as certifications, exhibitions, media, industry-academia collaboration, people, location, and even customers' customers, and most of these do not require new expenditures. There are four points for design. Calculate backward from the missing impression. Place them for each recall scene. Borrow with specifics and numbers. Overcome confidentiality obligations with blurring and prior consent.

And risk management. Since negative impressions flow in through the same path, prioritize essential impressions with small fluctuations. Borrowing too much leads to dilution, so narrow it down to only those that carry the target impression. Borrowed items are just a scaffold, and impressions that do not need to be repaid can only be born from the accumulation of strong experiences.

Finally, I will summarize it in one line.

Credibility cannot be claimed by yourself. However, you can borrow it. And what turns borrowed credibility into your own is the work you do after borrowing it.

Building up from a state of zero impressions on your own is the most roundabout way of branding. First, take inventory of the borrowed items you have on hand, design them, and show them.

Credibility cannot be claimed. However, it can be borrowed.

References/Sources

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