Joseph Baladi, brand guru and author of the best-selling book, “The Brutal Truth about Asian Branding: and How to Break the Vicious Cycle” conducted a morning forum at New World Hotel last August 9, 2011 sponsored by European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
KSearch Asia Consulting, Inc., member of the ECCP, was invited to attend the event. Mr. Manuel R. Guillermo, CEO and Managing Director, and Ms. Verna P. Austria, Communications Consultant, joined the insightful talk together with the other members of the Chamber.
Mr. Baladi said that the development and growth of Asia over the past two decades has been nothing short of spectacular. Yet, there remains a huge void of great brands (Japan aside) emerging from the region—surveys repeatedly confirm that Asian consumers overwhelmingly prefer great Western brands to home-grown ones: given the choice, they will drink Coke, wear Nike shoes, and drive a BMW every time. This begets the question: How effective will be the current transition of the world order from West to East in the absence of great Asian brands? And will that momentous transition remain purely economic, or will it also be cultural?
He explores these pressing issues in a new book entitled, “The Brutal Truth about Asian Branding: and How to Break the Vicious Cycle” – a long-awaited, no-holds-barred account of a present reality.
Mr. Baladi further elaborated that Asian brands must start shifting from being “good” to “great”. Examining five key reasons for the lack of development, he exposes the practices, circumstances, policies, and management attitudes that effectively conspire to hold back Asian brands from becoming great:
- Myopic CEO leadership
- Corporate culture that is by default, rather than by design
- Charlatan brand practitioners
- Government agencies that mean well, but should perform better
- Advertising agencies with little to no branding competencies.
“The single, most profound thing American businessmen figured out a long time ago was that brands fundamentally define people,” said the author. “Unless Asian businesses are able to develop genuine relationships between their brands and consumers – in Asia, as well as around the world – they will fail to move up the value chain."
(Summarized by Verna Austria)