Strong Asian Brands: A New Global Growth Strategy

The primary objective of the board of directors is to create and maintain shareholder value and maximize shareholder value. One of the most effective ways to achieve this goal is to build a brand with strong brand equity. Brand equity refers to the reputational assets a successful business has built in the minds of consumers and other stakeholders. Often, strong brand equity is also one of the important reasons why a business' market value exceeds its book value. Therefore, the strength of the brand equity can predict the future financial performance of the enterprise.

Traditionally, many Asian companies have concentrated in capital-intensive industries. However, the most profitable of them all focus on industries that rely on brand or reputation-based intangible assets, such as human resources, that exploit network effects and create synergies, rather than those that invest in tangible assets.

More than today, intangible assets such as brands have played an important role in the value creation process of many Asian companies and have been an important driver of shareholder value for them. Among companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, intangible assets account for 50% to 75% of their market value, most of which are attributed to their brands. From the market value of strong brands, we can clearly see that the market encourages their growth and development.

Asian business leaders need a brand perspective

However, most Asian businesses still see branding as advertising or logo design. For a business to benefit from branding, it must recognize that branding affects the entire business, including its structure, goals, attitudes, and board members' perspectives. Instead of seeing branding as a mere adjunct to the growing business, managers should see it as a favorable return on investment that is gradually built into the ethos of the organization. In effect, branding requires a shift in priorities and priorities across business functions to align with diverse customer touchpoints.

Asia remains one of the world's largest suppliers of goods. At the same time, most Asian producers are mainly OEM for other companies, and most of these products are unbranded. In other words, they are bulk products without a strong brand identity. The largest commercial profit is obtained by the manufacturer's customer, the next player in the value chain, which is mainly driven by a strong brand strategy and a successfully planned and implemented marketing plan.

Why Asia's Missing Strong Brands

Many surveys of global brands have found that only four of the top brands are from Asia. They are Sony, Honda, Toyota from Japan and Samsung from South Korea. However, given the current number and size of businesses in Asia, it is clear that the land can also build more brand names and make more business profits with better premiums and customer honesty.

There are many reasons why Asian companies haven't produced as many globally recognized brands so far. Branding assessments of strategic concepts are influenced by factors such as business diversification, the structure of Asian businesses and the implications of intellectual property protection.

·The industries across which Asian companies diversify their businesses often overlap, and this overlap is limited and needs to work collaboratively, which is the biggest obstacle for them to build their brands. Also, the prevailing mindset here is that everything is based on trade, not brands, and the pursuit of revenue, not profit. However, when a company wants to enter multiple industries at the same time, it will be much more difficult to establish an all-encompassing corporate brand in order to form a highly relevant, clear and highly personalized brand strategy.

·Another important reason for the lack of big brands in Asia is the prevailing corporate structure here. There are many small-scale, often family-owned, businesses in Asia that pursue different business interests, as mentioned earlier. The management philosophy here promotes the pursuit of short-term interests, rather than building a brand strategy (which requires companies to invest more resources and have a long-term perspective).

·In Asia, the implication of IP protection is another big obstacle to building a brand. Most Asian companies have suffered from backyard fires such as rampant copycats and intellectual property infringement. The current situation is that if Asia does not establish a better legislative and enforcement system, this will become a stumbling block for corporate boards here to not be able to assess and pay attention to intangible asset management in depth.

The role of the board of directors of an Asian company

A strong brand is characterized by a unique brand vision (customer centricity) and excellent brand communication (the performance behind the organizational system and corporate commitment). To build and maintain strong brand equity, brand vision and brand communication must maintain a balanced relationship from start to finish. Brand-driven modern companies have three distinguishing characteristics that distinguish them from other companies that place less emphasis on branding.

·The board of directors has the right attitude and belief in branding

·The company has the right skills to build and manage the brand

·In order to achieve various business goals and build sustainable brand equity, the company can correctly Allocate organizational and financial resources

Businesses must ensure that all employees act in line with brand values and have the right mindset and beliefs. The entire enterprise and all cross-functional behaviors and activities should be oriented in this direction.

Within an organization, the complex task of aligning and managing customer engagement cannot be taken over or even fully controlled by the marketing department alone. Boards of Asian companies should play a more active role in cross-functional marketing positioning.

Outside the organization, leaders of Asian businesses can benefit by endorsing or leading their brands. You can make more public appearances, both internally and externally, as the main voice of the brand's strategy and vision, helping the business build its brand portfolio. This not only greatly increases the success rate of your own brand, but can also be cost-effective in many cases.

Importantly, businesses need to be aware of the growing pressure on marketing departments when it comes to delivering financial results. Boards must recognize this momentum and act accordingly.

The first change is related to marketing roles. With the increasing frequency of marketing throughout the value chain, marketing is not just a matter of the marketing department. Instead, everyone in the business will be involved in the marketing campaign. This requires marketing to move in a more cross-functional direction and to have a comprehensive understanding of all skill elements along the value chain including engineering, procurement, production, logistics, finance and accounting. This requires companies to upgrade the skills of marketers and provide them with ongoing relevant training.

The second change is related to marketing performance. For the affairs of the marketing department to be an important part of the boardroom agenda, it is imperative that directors see marketing expenses reflected in financial performance.

Finally, boards should note the critical role that resource management plays in building a strong brand. Therefore, the success of Asian corporate branding ultimately depends on organizational and financial resources and their allocation and management. The more trained and engaged all people in the organization are in communicating the brand vision, the more effective and competitive the brand strategy will be.

Singapore Airlines' brand path

When we think of one of Asia's strongest brands, the first thing that may come to mind is Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its long-serving stewardesses who have almost become SIA's logo (ie. Singapore girls). Singapore Airlines has historically been one of the most profitable airlines in the world and has always enjoyed a reputation as an industry leader and challenger. Within the framework of a globally diverse organization, the company's brand management strategy is strongly supported by the board of directors and senior management, resulting in a healthy brand equity.

Singapore Airlines was established in 1947. It was originally called Malayan Airlines (later changed to Malaysian Airlines). At that time, it was a joint venture between the Malaysian government and the Singapore government, mainly serving Southeast Asia. In 1965, the two governments ended their cooperation and subsequently established their own airlines. In 1972, SIA came into being.

At the time, Singapore Airlines was in a different position than other airlines. With no domestic demand for service, Singapore Airlines had to quickly compete with international airlines to secure routes, gain access to airports, ensure the right to fly and land safely, while attracting a new customer base.

Unlike most state-owned airlines, Singapore Airlines faced huge competition from the very beginning, and such a bad start has created its competitive spirit, and this experience has played a major role in its branding development.

From the very beginning, Singapore Airlines has decided to provide branded products/services as a unique development strategy of the company. Innovation, the best technology, high quality and excellent customer service level are the main driving forces for the development of its brand.

Throughout its development, Singapore Airlines has maintained its brand identity. They have pioneered innovations in in-flight experience and in-flight entertainment, and strive to be the best. It is the first in the world to provide in-flight hot meals, free drinks and non-alcoholic beverages, hot towels and other highly distinctive and exclusive services, as well as personal entertainment systems and in-flight video-on-demand. Continuous innovation is an important driving force for the development of the Singapore Airlines brand, and the atmosphere in the cabin and the comprehensive passenger experience are the key factors of its brand success.

In terms of technology, Singapore Airlines has always ensured that all important flights are operated by the youngest flight echelon, and adheres to the strictest policy for aircraft replacement, using newer and better aircraft. From the Boeing 747 jumbo jet to the Boeing 777 and the latest A-380, they are always at the forefront of the industry in adopting new models.

SIA finds that each innovation has a relatively limited life cycle. Once other airlines adopt the same innovative technology, then "innovation" will lose its original meaning. Therefore, in order to further demonstrate its strength, SIA has always regarded investment in R&D, innovation and technology as an important part of its development.

The humanization of the Singapore Airlines brand is reflected in the fact that the crew is composed of male and female flight attendants, especially the flight attendants known as Singapore Girls. In 1972, at the company's inauguration ceremony, Singapore Airlines hired French haute couture designer Pierre Balmain to design uniforms for flight attendants. He specially designed a sarong kobaya (traditional clothing in Indonesia, Malaysia and other places), and this uniform has since become one of the most recognizable characteristics of the Singapore Airlines brand. This is a one-of-a-kind brand visual experience.

The Singapore Girls Strategy that turned out was a very powerful concept that has become a successful brand identity with mythical status and aura. Singapore girls embody Asian values and qualities of hospitality and can be interpreted as symbols of care, warmth, tenderness, elegance and serenity.

SIA has also conducted one of the most comprehensive and rigorous trainings in the industry for cabin crew and cabin crew to ensure continuous and complete communication of the SIA brand experience.

While other airlines have pursued a high service/high quality brand strategy, they can only compare to SIA for its coherence in all aspects, its commitment to its promises, and its true adherence to the brand. Now, SIA can maintain its brand advantage as long as it sticks to its brand strategy and does not waver. In such a highly cyclical industry, the daily competition between industries rises and falls with the changes in strength caused by performance fluctuations. How difficult it is to maintain this position in such a situation!

This persistence requires the combined efforts of the board, CEO, and C-suite, as well as a strong belief that the brand will get through the tough times. Management and shareholders must maintain a long-term view and avoid making short-sighted adverse decisions that dilute the identity of the brand.

SIA has achieved a lot by avoiding such adverse behavior. The company has become one of the world's top companies that truly have the power to control their brands through every interaction and experience. It is a powerful innovator and industry leader known inside and outside the world: leaping thousands of miles and surpassing everything.

Conclusion

Branding is a directive from the board of directors, and successful brands are achieved only when the board of directors (led by the chairman and CEO) understands, values, and commits to branding as a strategic discipline, and will continually invest resources to support it Only when the brand develops can it be established. In the future, Asian companies will have the opportunity to build and maintain strong global brands.

Martin Roll, founder and CEO of VentureRepublic, visiting scholar at China Europe International Business School, senior international consultant to many boards of directors and management, has more than 15 years of management experience in the international advertising brand industry, and a reputable brand strategy communicator and brand strategy communicator High-level forum moderator. Author of "Asian Brand" (Asian Brand), "Brand Strategy" (Brand Strategy), and "Asian Brand Strategy" (Asian Brand Strategy) and other monographs.