BrandPact Starting Your Brand Journey Guide

8/2/2019 BrandPact Starting Your Brand Journey Guide

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Successful organisations create value by building

strong brands. Behind every successful brand

lies a clearly defined corporate vision that is

consistently expressed through the company’s

external communications, as well as through

its internal business processes. A strong brand

is crucial for improving sales, strengthening the

customer base and loyalty, and enhancing

business performance. And in today’s world of

endless choices, Singapore companies have tooffer distinct value propositions to convince

sophisticated brand-savvy consumers.

What can Singapore companies do to ensure

that their brands are able to grow within andbeyond Singapore? There are four critical areas

in building strong brands:

1 Understanding the tangible and intangible

aspects of a strong brand

2 Having a long-term mindset behind a clear

brand vision and strategy

3 Ensuring a deep company-wide brand belief

and commitment

4 Measuring brand-building efforts for better

management



Understanding the tangible and intangible

aspects of a strong brand

On a simplistic level, your company’s brand refers to its logo, name, tag line, and

“look”. But the true power and meaning behind great brands lie more in their

intangible values than in their tangible features. Intangible values refer to things

such as customer preferences, bonding and loyalty, your brand’s credibility and

reputation, the associations and imagery of your brand, the core values behind your

brand, and even in employees’ loyalty and belief in your brand. These intangible

values form an invisible, but potent support network behind your business offerings.

They add to your product’s perceived value and as a result, they act to both establish

and differentiate the brand from rivals.

Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in a commodity market. When one product

is more or less the same as the others, how can brands differentiate themselves from

the others? Here, physical attributes can only play a superficial part – the bigger roleis played by the intangible values of the brand.

One of the best examples of this is in the alcoholic beverages industry. Without a

brand, Tiger Beer would be just a beer – a commodity that is difficult to differentiate

based on product attributes and functionality. With branding, an emotional and

psychological bond with customers can be established. This is crucial in maintaining

market share in a highly fragmented beer market characterised by weak brand

loyalty, heavy brand promotions and shifting consumption preferences. Due to the

company’s long-term marketing efforts, enhancement and nurturing of the brandname Tiger Beer, it is one of the most recognisable brands in the world today.

The important point here is that companies need to focus on building up their

brand’s intangible offering – as much as its tangible, physical offering – in order to

create strong brands that can sustain long-term impact in the market. However, a

majority of the Singapore companies today still fall short in realising the potential

of the intangible value. Does your company understand what your brand’s intangible

values are and how to build them? Does your company have a brand strategy that

is able to efficiently and effectively build both the tangible and intangible aspects

of the brand?

Action Step:

Create a brand platform that takes into account your brand’s tangible

and intangible values. This process should involve senior management

and employees from across different disciplines and levels of the

company.

Having a long-term mindset behind a clear brand

vision and strategy

To create strong brands, Singapore companies need to begin thinking, planning and

investing on a long-term basis in areas such as customer service, company expertise,

its employees, its values and guiding principles. Over time, they will begin to see

benefits from their brand investments. There will be enhanced employee commitment,

greater customer loyalty as well as improved investor sentiment.

Rather than focusing squarely on short-term activities such as advertising and

promotion, it is essential that companies channel their efforts and finances on areas

that build the long-term strength of both the tangible and intangible aspects of their

brand. That way, results generated would be more sustainable after the effects of

the “big bang” approach common in short-term approaches. Brands with a long-

term strategy are usually stronger and more resilient in challenging economic times.

Action Step:

Design a communications and activities plan that sets short-term and long-

term goals for your brand, and builds both its tangible and intangible

aspects. Expenditure needs to be apportioned to take into account both

sets of goals.



Ensuring a deep company-wide brand belief and

commitment

Successful brands have the backing of a company-wide belief and commitment

to branding. Studies have also confirmed that it is the depth and strength of

company-wide commitment to the brand that is the crucial factor in determining

brand success. For example, at the Raffles International Hotel and Resorts, the

company is filled with passionate brand champions who walk the talk in delivering

the brand promise. A sense of personal pride can be clearly seen in all employees

at all customers touch points.

Aligning your employees behind your brand purpose and values can create far

greater internal energy, motivation, drive, partnerships and teamwork. However,

while the positive returns from investing and ensuring brand commitment and

belief is clear, the brand strategy remains very much confined within the senior

management in most cases. It is vital that companies start to employ strategiesthat encourage all employees to embrace and feel responsible for their brand.

Measuring brand-building efforts for better

management

Brand measurement is a vital component of the process of building a strong brand.

After all, you cannot effectively manage what you do not measure. Think of

measurement as the compass that every brand relies on to verify that they are going

in the right direction. If companies are to make the right strategic decisions about

their brand, they need to do so with qualified feedback.

Measurement of your brand goes beyond measuring the sales returns from investing

in your brand. It is also a gauge to know where your brand equity or the intangible

value of your brand, the reputation and goodwill that your brand has built-up over

time for the quality and value it signifies. Equally important to measuring your brand

efforts consistently is knowing what to measure. Only then can you further enhance

your brand programme.

Action Step:

Put in place regular and robust measurement procedures that track your

brand’s progress in key areas – these should include not just awareness,

but also factors such as esteem, loyalty, and key personality drivers.

Action Step:

Create an internal communications campaign that enhances interest and

involvement in your company’s brand, and put in place regular activities

that periodically reinforce the importance and resonance of the brand

with your employees.



Getting Started

When a company is proactive about branding,

its actions can bring about extraordinary

accomplishments over the course of its brand’s

life cycle. A brand is a company asset that must

be creatively sustained by constant investment,

protection and nurturing in order to maximise

its long-term value to your company. It has many

of the same implications on a company’s bottom

line as capital assets like equipment and plant

purchases, including the ability to be bought

and sold, and to provide strategic advantages.



• A great name

In the short run, you can depend on a unique idea or concept to establish your

brand in the prospect’s mind. That is how all great brands get started – Xerox,

Intel, Starbucks, Zara, The Body Shop, etc. But in the long run, that unique

idea will disappear as your competitors copy it. So, what remains to differentiate

your brand is the name. A good name should be short, unique, easy-to-

pronounce and memorable. Generic words and acronyms do not make for

good names so avoid them.

• A high degree of differentiation

Make sure your brand project helps you to create a highly differentiated brand.

If you are a me-too brand, you will find it hard to achieve success. If customers

cannot tell your brand from your competitors’ brands, then the only strategy

you can employ is to sell cheap. You do not want to be caught in that price

trap because someone else will be able to do it cheaper. So, that means

whatever your competitors are already doing, you have to avoid.

• A focused brand

At the end of the branding project, you should end up with a focused brand.

That means the brand stands for one thing and one thing only. Very often,

companies try to stretch the brand by getting into too many categories, related

or otherwise. This is a recipe for disaster. Only focused brands can own a

position in the customer’s mind and only if you have a position in the customers’mind can you be successful. For example, Volvo is focused on safety, Zara is

focused on just-in-time fashion, Intel is focused on microprocessors, etc.

• Proper brand alignment

Finally, a brand cannot be successful if the people responsible for that brand

do not know what it stands for and what to do. So, a proper brand alignment

is necessary. Brand alignment is an exercise to ensure that all your key brand

ambassadors – management, employees and distributors – know what the

brand is and how to deliver on the brand promise consistently to build that

brand.

What should you get out of a branding project?

• A perceptual map of your brand

Branding is all about perception and perception is reality. Your brand is whatever

your customers perceive it to be. So, you have to do an in-depth brand audit

to find out what people actually think of your brand. More often than not,

there is a gap between what you think of your brand and how it is perceived

by customers, distributors, suppliers and even your employees. If you do not

know how your brand is perceived by others, whatever strategy you put in

place will be flawed.

• A clear positioning strategy

Once you know how your brand is perceived, then you can position your brand

better. The branding project you undertake should explore several possible

positioning strategies and the pros and cons of each one. Once a positioning

strategy has been chosen, it needs to be clearly articulated and understood.

You should stick to this positioning strategy for the rest of your brand’s life cycle

as you need consistency to build a strong brand. So make sure you get it right.

• The correct brand architecture

Brand architecture is simply the attributes (or nuts-and-bolts) of a brand. It is

what defines the brand. In order to properly support your positioning strategy,

your brand needs to deliver what it promises. Therefore, the right brand

architecture is critical. When doing the brand architecture, you will need to

consider whether your brand, as it is now, has what it takes to successfullyoccupy the position that you desire in the market. If not, you need to know

what you need to change and improve to do that.



How do you select a brand consultant?

• Track record

It is not necessary to get a brand consultant who has undertaken branding

projects in your industry as the fundamental principles of branding are universal

and can be applied across industries and regardless of whether yours is a B2C

or B2B product or service. However, it is important to ensure that the consultant

has a good track record in the branding business. Who has the consultant done

work for? What is the scope of work actually done? How extensive is it? Do

you perceive the work to be good?

• The people

Are the people who talked to you the same people who will be doing the work?

It is important that you are introduced to the team that will actually be doing

the work. What are their qualifications and experience? Who else does the

consulting firm have in the company? It is important to know the actual people

who will be doing the work to ensure that they understand your needs and

concerns, and also to make sure that you are comfortable working with them.

• The clients

It would be a good idea if the consultant can provide a list of clients that they

have worked for and also testimonials from clients. At the very least, the

consultant should have some case studies of work that has been done for

clients. The case studies need not be very long, but certain basic elements like

the challenges facing the client and what the consultants have done to helpthe client overcome these challenges should be present. You might even want

to call some of the clients up and ask them for their views.

• The methodology

Ask the consultant to explain clearly to you their methodology. What are the

various stages involved? What does each stage entail? What are the resources

that need to be committed (from both the consultants as well as yourself) at

each stage? How long will each stage take? What are the deliverables at the

completion of each stage of work? What kind of results can you expect to see?Make sure that you and your colleagues who are involved fully understand the

methodology before you proceed.

• Make sure the work is strategic

This is very, very important. You need to make a clear distinction between the

strategic and tactical components of your branding project. What your brand

consultant proposes to do should be strategic in nature. Strategic componentsare things like the essence of the brand, its attributes, how it is positioned in

the market, is it properly understood internally, how it should be communicated

to customers, etc. Only then can you proceed to the more operational aspects

such as packaging design, etc.

• The price

Although price is a consideration, do not choose consultants based on price

alone. The price should be commensurate with the consultant’s experience,

expertise, track record, etc. You also have to compare the scope of work. Does

the scope of work justify the price? A 150-page proposal is no guarantee that

the work is very comprehensive. Probe deeper. And finally, do not treat the

fee you are paying as a marketing expense. Treat it as an investment in your

brand’s future.

• Ask for recommendations

You may have business associates, friends or even clients who have engaged

the services of branding consultants before. Talk to them. Ask them for their

views and recommendations and they should be able to recommend a firm

that suits your needs.



International Enterprise Singapore

230 Victoria Street #09-00

Bugis Junction Office Tower

Singapore 188024

+65 6337 6628 tel

+65 6337 6898 fax

[email protected]

www.iesingapore.com

SPRING Singapore

2 Bukit Merah Central

Singapore 159835

+65 6898 1800 tel

+65 6276 9606 fax

[email protected]

www.spring.gov.sg

International Enterprise Singapore

Formerly known as the Singapore Trade Development Board (TDB), International

Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) is the lead agency spearheading Singapore’s

efforts to develop its external economic wing.

Our mission is to help Singapore-based companies grow and internationalisesuccessfully. We offer a wide range of services in 35 locations worldwide by using

a 3C framework of assistance – Competency, Connections and Capital. We provide

market information, assist enterprises to develop their business capabilities and find

overseas partners. At the same time, IE Singapore works to position Singapore as a

base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-

based companies.

For more information, please visit www.iesingapore.com

SPRING Singapore

SPRING (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) Singapore’s mission is to

enhance the competitiveness of enterprises for a vibrant Singapore economy. We

work to nurture a pro-business environment that encourages enterprise formation

and growth; facilitate the growth of industries; enhance productivity and innovation

and capabilities of enterprises; and help increase access to markets and businessopportunities.

For more information, please visit www.spring.gov.sg

About BrandPact

BrandPact is a multi-agency initiative to better meet the varied brand development needs of local enterprises

as they grow and expand within Singapore and into the global marketplace. BrandPact will support bothfirm-level branding capability development as well as industry-wide branding efforts. This holistic initiative

will raise awareness and understanding of branding, develop brand savvy executives and catalyse the adoption

of branding as a strategy for business competitiveness.

“Starting Your Brand Journey” was adapted from ”Singapore’s Brand Journey” published by IE Singapore

(2003).

BrandPact Starting Your Brand Journey Guide

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