Welcome to my monthly column and the first issue. The focus of this column will be on creating, developing and managing Asian brands, but it will also look at foreign brands that are entering, or have entered, Asian markets. In the column I will discuss various topics related to brand building and management, and the case study section of this site will illustrate how some Asian and Western companies are doing well in their branding efforts.

The need for strong Asian Brands

"Buildings age and become dilapidated. Machines wear out. People die. But what live on are the brands."

This message is relevant for turbulent times as well. Periods of profound and rapid change, like what we are experiencing now as the 20th century draws to a close, put a premium on the ability to survive. Unfortunately, many companies go under. A surprising number of corporations that were on the Fortune 500 list a decade ago are no longer on it, while the current economic crisis has eliminated others entirely.

But Coca-Cola is still on the prestigious list. At over 100 years old, it is probably the world's most successful brand, and is likely to be around for the whole of the next century. The top brands of the 1920s - Colgate, Kellogg's, Kodak, and others-have maintained their lead to this day in many disparate and changing markets. They are still leading brands despite the many worldwide changes that have affected every business, and being managed by various people over the years. Strong brands are amazingly durable, enduring many challenges. They are the real McCoys.

Brand longevity is becoming increasingly relevant, more than it has ever been, as the world approaches the new millennium, entering a new era of unprecedented change, upheaval, and uncertainty. This change is strategic, unlike the incremental change of more predictable times, and therefore requires a strategic response. Brand building is exactly such a response. If successful, it can be the strongest weapon in a company's armory and the best guarantee of corporate survival. The challenge that lies ahead is that of change management.

Can Asian Companies Develop International Brands?

There are some that would say that Asian companies would find it incredibly difficult to build international and global brands. Their reason is that most of the world markets and the product categories in those markets are already dominated by powerful global brands. They say that Asian companies lag so far behind these megabrands that they will never catch up. Furthermore, they claim that Asian companies have to overcome significant global consumer perceptions of sub-par quality and other concerns relating country of origin of the brand. There is a lot of truth in these comments, and it will be no easy task for Asian companies to develop strong brands of their own, but it is the very nature of the fast-changing business world that can help them. There are no hard and fast rules anymore, and innovation no longer belongs to the privileged few.

There are many Asian corporate leaders with the vision necessary to harness technology and ideas, both of which are freely available. And global niche markets are available to those who can move in quickly, as speed is not a strength of many existing global giants. There is more than just hope despite the sub-par quality perceptions associated with Asian-made products. Japanese companies have managed to overcome the initial negative perceptions of sub-par quality. Similarly, other Asian companies can do the same. However, there are many aspects of branding that Asian companies have to improve upon in order to achieve international recognition. In particular, corporate thinking has to stop focusing on short-term profits and concentrate on long-term brand building, which is a strategic discipline in its own right. So, there is confidence that Asian companies can develop international brands, and that they would be ill-advised not to do so.

There is a need for Asian companies to work hard on the branding issue. Brand development is a realistic opportunity. The book Branding in Asia (Wiley, October 1999)- has been written as a tribute to the few Asian companies - the trailblazers - that are attempting to develop strong international brands, and as a guide for those that wish to do so. It expands on methodology, and makes use of role models. Good examples of strong branding from around the world and from Asia abound. International brands are a dime a dozen, and successful Asian brands are rare, especially if Japan is excluded, but this book highlights the lessons to be learned from both.

Excerpted from Branding in Asia by Paul Temporal. Click on the book title to order from Amazon.

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