It's time for Asia to realize the importance of 'ad value'

Lie Hua, Contributor, Jakarta

Asian Branding -- A Great Way to Fly; By Ian Batey; Prentice Hall, Singapore, 2002; X + 413 pp; S$43.50

Ian Batey, who has over three decades of advertising and marketing experience in Asia, begins this book by outlining his three strong beliefs.

The first is that this century is Asia's century, but it is also the consumers' century, with branding playing a pivotal role in marketing. The third point is that in this century there is little difference in the pattern of behavior between Asian and western consumers, and any remaining distinctions between the two will disappear by 2020.

Interestingly, Batey notes that if a marketer comes to Asia today, he will find more or less the same phenomena as in the West. The communication gap between East and West has shrunk so considerably that not only business methods and structure but also tastes and education have become globalized. People in East and West think and act homogeneously.

What does this all mean to Asian branding that is striving to gain international recognition?

First, it must be realized that there is a marketing field out there in the West that needs conquering. Then, thought must be given to how an Asian brand has a peculiar value that appeals not only to Asians but also to Westerners. Here lies the challenge.

Asian brands do not usually have such a long, established pedigree as western ones, so they must go through an uphill struggle to prove to global consumers that their products are worth buying.

An important question to ask is: Who wants to buy me? Once this is clear, the branding can be suited to its segment of the market. Then, firms must know their competitors, and make sure they know exactly what they are doing so that they can devise their own marketing method to beat them.

Finally, they must make sure that the branding has a vision so buyers know why they should buy the products. Flesh out the soul of the brand, says Batey, who also warns that firms should not sell mere attributes.

Batey believes that an easy way to look at a brand is to consider it as a person. One must know exactly who this person is, their characteristics and mannerism. Then think about how they will be dressed and how, garbed that way, they will be received by outsiders.

Like a person, a brand will be perceived individually by different people depending on their life experience; it is wrong to say that a brand will generally appeal to a group of people. It must always be nurtured and contemporized, and while there must be changes the essence remains. In this way the brand will be an easy reference for buyers.

Batey provides copious examples of how certain Asian brands struggled to gain international recognition, and how some failed while others succeeded. He also dwells on his unforgettable creation of the internationally famous Singapore girl in SIA advertising, which made its debut in 1972 (and whose signature ad line provides part of the book's title).

It's a deeply rooted brand but, with the passage of years, the girl has also undergone changes although the fundamentals remain.

If one looks at the girl this year and compares her with the young women used for the ad in the last two years, for example, it's apparent that they are different persons but they convey the same feeling, particularly in instilling confidence in the airline. The SIA brand seeps through to the subconscious and as the brand is contemporized, so is the consumer's belief in its virtues.

Batey believes that quite a few Asian brands have the potential of the Singapore girl. They may become global brands with a global appeal and he predicts that will happen by 2020, when the world becomes globalized and national borders are conceptually eliminated.

The years ahead will be a mine field for firms but Batey, with his rich experience of Asian advertising and marketing, patiently does his part to lead Asian brand owners through the difficulties. He focuses in later chapters of the book on individual countries in Asia with great potential to go global with their product brands.

The book is a must-read for every advertising and marketing practitioner in Asia, especially those seeking brand-building internationally.