Brand Audits: Why we should ask ‘why?'

When it comes to branding, the real money lies in tackling an often-neglected question: ‘Why?

Understanding the ‘whys’ is essential if want to listen to your brand and really hear what it is telling you.

Why are people buying your brand and not the other? Why is this brand cooler than the other?  Why are people willing to share and tell others about everyone else’s brand but yours? Why is it that some brands get better quality applicants than yours?

And then we have the the mother of all ‘whys’ – why are people willing to pay three times more for your competitor’s brand when you know your product quality is so much better?

Brand Malaysia: A Little Soul Searching

Are we worth what we have? By artist Ashaari Rahmat
Graphic sourced from www.loyarburuk.com

They arrive on our shores and fall in love. Visitors and expatriates are immediately enchanted with our food and our people.  And for all intents and purposes, the modern metropolis projects a first-world facade.

Yes, Malaysia is modern. We have skyscrapers that are comparable to the best in the world, and we have brandished them with great pride. The Twin Towers, together with our participation in the F1 were both part of a strategic brand plan to put Malaysia on the map. To a large extent we have succeeded.

But like any brand plan, Malaysia, who excels in building and creating icons, seems to have suffered not from a lack of vision but rather from a lack of sustainability.

And sustainability is a word that many in Malaysia seem to have difficulty with.

Branding Inside-Out

There has been much said and published about branding and its importance for growing your bottom line. And due to the economic meltdown, the message is slowly seeping into the consciousness of many corporations in Southeast Asia who now, more than ever, have been force to remove themselves from their comfort zone. Many have jumped on the branding bandwagon with great vigour, forming internal brand teams or appointing brand ambassadors and commissioning rebranding programmes.

Unfortunately, despite the hype and the lip service CEOs give to branding, more often than not, branding – or rebranding – is nothing more than a box that has been ticked off a to-do list, a KPI that has been met in order to signal at best a superficial change within the organisation. This is branding outside-in.

Brand your organisation from the inside out and fly!

Can this approach really make for a leadership brand?

It’s unlikely. The enthusiasm invariably runs out of steam by the time the last signboard has been replaced or the 560th employee has undergone Brand Training. Pretty soon, branding is relegated back to the marketing department, whence it came, or to the corporate programme graveyard along with so many other well-intentioned initiatives. Then it’s business as usual – with the only changes being in the logo and the interior colour scheme.

Against this backdrop, it is heartening to see corporations who understand that brand success relies heavily on an inside-out rather than outside-in approach, coupled with a belief that drives a brand-centric way of operating; long after the ink on the new logo has dried.

Times are changing

It is evident that the competitive landscape is changing. Once upon a time, it was possible to choose between competiting products and services based on its price and quality but today, emotional factors such as being adored or respected - helps an organization set itself apart from the rest. Which is why, many organizations today invest heavily in corporate branding. To be a step ahead, they must extend their reach to a whole and overlapping set of audience - both internal and external.

Brands encapsulate huge swathes of cultural and social behaviour, socio-economic groupings and even religious attitudes. At The Listening Tree, we are familiar with the human complex and the desire to belong to an organization. Using our unique methodology, we will work side-by-side with you on your brand to harness the power of imagination, ideas and insight to inspire a culture that you would want and create sustainable results drive change for your organization. Brands serve as a rallying flag for your employees, suppliers and even customers.

We are here - to enable and empower you to build a great brand.