Breaking barriers in branding
MARKETING guru Hermawan Kartajaya who is also the founder of MarkPlus&Co, will present a paper on branding strategies at a conference themed 'Beyond Competition' organised by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants on May 9-10 in Kuala Lumpur. In an e-mail interview, he offers suggestions on branding in Malaysia .
As the “marketing guru of Asia ”, how do you rate the branding of products in Malaysia ?
I always see the development of branding in a country from the 3Cs perspective: commitment, consistency, and character. I can see that branding is one of the hot business issues in Malaysia besides leadership and innovation.
So in terms of commitment, there is no doubt that companies in Malaysia are aware of the importance of branding and want to build strong brands. Some brands such as Malaysia Airlines have shown great consistency by continuously building their brand, even in difficult times.
What I don't see much from the products in Malaysia is the brand character. For instance, at shopping malls in Malaysia the local brands seem to be overshadowed by global brands. I cannot see the reason why I should switch to local brands from the global names that I'm familiar with. I think this is the area that needs improvement.
What are the common barriers to branding strategies and how do you break the traditional barriers in branding?
There are so many barriers in branding, the most common being budget constraint. Every time I give a talk in Singapore , Malaysia , Vietnam , Thailand , the Philippines , and even in China , local entrepreneurs, especially from SMEs, ask the same question: “How can I do branding with limited budget?” This is a wrong paradigm. Branding is not always expensive. On the contrary, branding should be creative without having to spend much money.
Yes, it can be expensive if you consider branding as advertising. To me, branding is not advertising. In extreme, I can say that branding does not necessarily mean spending US$2.5mil for a 30-second spot on Super Bowl in the US .
To break this barrier, you have to think out of the box, be unique, and create word of mouth, which is not expensive if you know what you are doing. Advertising is useless if in the end nobody talks about it.
Besides budget, I see that internal branding is also an issue. From many years of experience as practitioner and consultant, I have found that many branding initiatives fail simply because the employees are not reflecting the brand values when serving customers.
It is another wrong paradigm to think that branding is only for customers. Remember that internal branding has equal importance. Let your employees know what your brand stands for, so that they can communicate it to the customers.
What can companies do to have better branding strategies?
First, position your products and services uniquely. The positioning can vary. For example, if you are one of Malaysia 's biggest brands, you can position yourself as the leader of the industry. If you are small, don't go head to head with the big players. Position yourself just like a diamond, small but precious.
After positioning your product and services uniquely, support it with concrete differentiation. Avoid the commodity trap. Don't put your product as a commodity.
At least, give value-added service to it. Your product should create memorable experience for your customers and, at the highest level, provide solution to each customer's specific need.
What can Malaysia do to build global brands?
Building global brands cannot be done overnight. First, you have to market your product regionally. You can start from South-East Asia and then to Asia . From there, you can spread your wings to the world.
Remember that your brand value should be global, but your branding tactics should be localised. In addition, your strategy should be coordinated at the regional level.
Utilising “ Malaysia ” as national brand can also help. Remember “Taiwan Innovalue” that is used by the country to be the umbrella for “Made in Taiwan ” products? The products from Taiwan used to be known as imitation. Now, “Made in Taiwan ” can reflect quality at a fair price.
What do you think is the percentage of the role of branding in the competitiveness of a product?
The percentage of the role of branding depends on the industry the product is in. The more cluttered the industry, where differentiation is hard to find, the more important branding is.
For example, in the luxury car industry, the role of branding can easily reach 30%. It is because the intellectual “content differentiation” of the product is not too significant. The quality is high and functional benefit is sophisticated by default.
Of course, the players have different branding approaches that can be seen from their positioning. Mercedes-Benz is branded as a classic symbol of prestige and status while Audi is branded as gold standard among entry luxury vehicles. But most of the players in the industry use more emotional “context differentiation” such as after sales service and community clubs.
Can mediocre products survive with good branding strategies?
Branding is not a mind game alone. What my friends Jack Trout and Al Ries mentioned more than 20 years ago – that the battle for customers is the battle for their mind – should be updated. It is no longer the era of intellectual competition. Instead, it is the era of emotional and even spiritual competition.
You cannot cheat your customer by giving only a sweet positioning. It is not all about perception.
Your positioning should be supported by a solid differentiation. Be credible to your positioning or else the customer will be angry. And remember that Earth is becoming Venus and more customers have become emotional like women. Of course, you will never want to make a woman angry.
To me, branding is a value indicator of a product. It is the indicator of what the customer expects to get from paying the price of the product, in terms of functional and emotional benefit. If your product is mediocre, it cannot survive. Branding should be coupled with innovation.
The Beyond Competition conference is supported by the Global Malaysians Network. Register by downloading a registration form from www.cimaglobal.com/malaysia , e-mail cmac@cimaglobal.com or call 03-7803 8153/ 5171/ 5432. ***
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