Industry News - Global Reputation and Branding
By Raha Naddaf, Staff Writer
Cult
Brands
The BusinessWeek/Interbrand annual ranking of the world's
most valuable brands shows the power of passionate consumers. Increasingly,
consumers are customizing products and services that are a form
of self expression—whether it's tailoring colors on a pair
of sneakers from Nike Inc. or adding items to their personal to-watch
list on eBay. This seismic shift in clout from companies to their
customers is creating opportunities, especially for younger brands
that grew up with the Internet and have become adept at building
user communities. Meanwhile, some traditional brands, such as Coca-Cola
and Microsoft, are struggling to retain their mammoth leads in a
market where consumers increasingly resist what they see as bland
ubiquity.
Source: Business Week
Top
Search Engine Matches Equal Top Brand Status
Thirty three percent of Internet users believe companies found in
top search results must be a major brand, indicating that top rankings
transmit brand equity, according to a survey by iProspect. Results
show that major brands of leading companies that do not use search
engine positioning to propel their sites to the top search engine
results fail to meet the expectations of a majority of America's
175 million Internet users. The majority (56 percent) of consumers
surveyed expect leading brands to hold top search listings. When
web marketers do not make search engines the primary focus of their
online marketing initiatives, they are forfeiting "top-of-mind"
brand position to lesser-known organizations on the medium most
frequently utilized by consumers for finding web sites.
Source: iProspect
Only
One-Third of Employers in China Effectively Communicate Brand Values
to Employees
Although the vast majority of companies that responded to Watson
Wyatt’s Greater China Branding survey have a well-established
brand, only one out of three effectively communicate brand values
to employees. The survey found that more than 70 percent of employers
recognize the value of their brand and more than 80 percent have
more than four programs focused on communicating their corporate
brand with employees. However, 36 percent said their organization
does not formally assess communication effectiveness. The survey
also found that only 45 percent have a close relationship between
their internal and external branding departments. Even fewer—40
percent—reflect their brand in their HR policies and programs.
Likewise, only 36 percent of respondents feel their employees convey
a consistent corporate brand to external customers.
Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide
Branding? It's the Product That Really Matters
Action, not advertising, is at the heart of branding, according
to Motorola chief brand officer Geoffrey Frost. A mere statement
about cutting-edge design and new consumer experiences must be backed
up with real products that manifest what a company says it wants
to be. “Branding is more what you do and not what you say.…
The product itself is the most important in branding,” said
Frost, who headed Nike's advertising and brand communications before
joining Motorola in 1999. And it is this strategy that has helped
put new life into the world's No. 2 mobile phone-maker.
Source: The Straits Times (subscribers only)
|
