So said Sir Hector Laing, who as group chief executive officer of United Biscuit plc, ran the United Kingdom-based company with a huge portfolio of brands. It is a wonderful quotation because it is so true. And, if there is one overriding message in this book, this quotation is it.

This message is relevant for turbulent times as well. Periods of profound and rapid change, like what we experienced as the 20th century drew to a close, place 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 now 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 this new 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 despite being managed by various people over the years. Strong brands and 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, an 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 armoury and the best guarantee of corporate survival. The challenge that lies ahead is that of change management.

A Catalog of World Changes
Recalling the past 40 years, we note how much the world has changed. In the late 1960s, man landed on the moon; in the 1990s, he landed technology on Mars. In the 1960s, Communism was a force to be reckoned with; in the 1990s, it disappeared almost totally. From the mass entry of the personal computer in the early 1980s to the power of the Internet today, everything is changing rapidly. In the world of business, some markets are declining, while new ones are being born and growing quickly. It was only in the latter half of the 20th century that DNA was recognised as life’s building block, giving birth to a new industry – genetic engineering. Progress in the industry has been flourishing so rapidly, with many new products promising new prevention techniques and cures for critical illnesses and cloning of humans now a distinct possibility, having been achieved with animals. Technology drives this fast-changing world, and many observers say we are surely entering a post-industrial era that will transform society more radically, profoundly, and disturbingly than the Industrial Revolution.

Today’s businesses are subjected to a great deal of turbulence and accelerating changes. Unfortunately, change has not benefited everyone. Asian companies feel the impact of this change to a greater degree than others elsewhere in the world as they try to catch up with and overtake the competition. Since 1997, they have also felt the tremendous pressures of the economic roller coaster. Catastrophic currency and foreign debt problems have all but broken many Asian economies and made life a struggle for the majority of Asian businesses. But failure cannot be blamed entirely on external circumstances; companies must accept some responsibility.

To a certain extent, poor management is to blame. Many Asian companies have been diagnosed to be suffering from strategic myopia as some settle for complacency and short-term gains. Others have joined the desperate pursuit of operational efficiency through quality programmes, re-engineering, customer service, and other prevailing management trends that inadvertently failed to deliver high-level performance. An independent study published in 1998 on the impact of the implementation of ISO 9000 procedures in manufacturing companies in an Asian country showed that successful implementation of this type of total quality management programme does not necessarily produce any significant increase in profitability; in some cases, profitability actually declined.

Disillusioned by these once-desirable activities, Asian companies are now adopting a more strategic focus, centred on long-term survival and profitability. Although faced with a dearth of solutions, they still tend to neglect the one solution that can provide the security and profitability they seek – the creation of powerful international brands. Branding helps companies position themselves strategically for the future and compete effectively with the global giants that dominate world markets. Had Asian companies established international brands, many of their problems arising from the economic crisis may not have been so severe. However, developing a successful brand is not an easy task. There is no quick fix, and most companies do not have the relevant experience or knowledge necessary to embark on this route. There is a whole new technology involved, which this book endeavours to expound.

In the 1990s, the media paid an increasing amount of attention to brand power, and this raised the awareness level of many companies of what brands can accomplish. As a result, a growing number of Asian companies are committed to developing strong brands. They are also realising the importance of good image management, having suffered from the adverse economic situation and the residual baggage of damaged national images caused by the recession. So all in all, Asian companies are beginning to realise what branding really means, the benefits it can bring – especially in terms of increased corporate worth – and the consequences or not pursuing it.

As a prelude to the main theme – and to put in perspective the market dynamics that have affected companies in recent times and catalogue the changes that have implications for branding in Asia – seven major world market trends are explained.