Telecom-Branding

The Delta Perspective May 2008

“If this business were split up, I would give you the land and bricks and mortar, and I would take the brands and trade marks, and I would fare better than you.” — John Stuart, Chairman of Quaker (c.a. 1900)

Brands came into existence as early as trade when herd owners used hot irons to mark and identify their cattle. This mark later developed with the industrial revolution where factories used certain elements to distinguish their products from others. As people moved into cities and were no longer exposed to the manufacturing source of the products available, their purchasing decision became influenced by the brands that they knew. Brands have come a long way since, and have become representative of a significant value of their parent companies.

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of origin.” If the above is applicable in a developed market like the UK, the impact of a trusted brand would deliver much higher value in high-growth markets where corporations are less customer oriented. Already from the early start-up stage, setting up a telecom operator is becoming increasingly standardized; the investors choose one of three or four main companies to setup their network, recruit the same regional telecom experts from existing operators, and most likely use the same company to develop their SIM cards and packaging. Then, as the market becomes mature, the main differentiator to attract customers becomes the brand (look & feel, communication, and experience)

Operators in a monopolistic situation

As the second player enters the market,

typically focus on slowly adding incremental

price will increasingly become a competitive

functionality in order to make customers

priority. Improved customer service and some

spend more money, therefore increasing

degree of customized products and services

revenue. Monopolies would regard neither

will push the functionality axis slightly higher.

price nor brand as priorities because

Branding in this case is usually regarded as a

customers have no other alternatives or

mere visual differentiation between operators

benchmark in the market

As the more operators enter the market, pricing will not be a sustainable lever to play in the long term. In order to differentiate, operators will need to look to their brand’s emotional appeal. Since there are caps in the functional axis (limited to network capabilities) and financial axis (restricted by profitability and business sense), a brand’s emotional appeal is always limitless and only capped by the operator and its communication agency’s creativity

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The process of building a global telecom brand “In the deregulated markets of today’s telecom industry, having a distinguishing brand may be more important than ever as telecom providers seek to define their places in a complex web of supply options. Given the myriad of choices, a brand must be substantial, offering more than just a logo and a tag line. The brand must define and deliver differentiators that represent a value proposition to customers.” - “The Value of Branding in Telecom Today” by Tyco Telecom USA

The process of building a global

The role of a project management office

brand can be divided into five key

(PMO) is crucial in a global or regional

stages, from deciding on the branding

(re)branding project to hold the different

approach to sustaining the brand in the

elements together and ensure timeliness

long run.

and consistency of the different

• Deciding on the branding approach

steps across all the functions of the operation. Single operator (re)branding

• Developing a governance model

efforts can be managed through

• Defining the corporate identity

individual functions, provided a specific

• Deploying the new brand

department is assigned to manage the

• Sustaining the brand

initiative across the organization.

Exhibit 2: The best of breed brand examples which show how to create a sustainable difference If we take a look at the main pillars of a telecom value proposition, we notice that it is almost impossible to create sustainable differentiation in any of the elements. This is because there exists an upper limit (or best of breed) for distribution models, products and services, tariffs, handsets, customer service, and coverage; whereas a brand is not limited by any such ceiling. Below are some examples of brand activities that go beyond all foreseeable benchmarks:

• Emirates Airlines signs the biggest club sponsorship deal in English football history with Arsenal FC worth approximately GBP 100 million and gained naming rights to Arsenal’s football arena “Emirates Stadium”

• 52.9% of companies surveyed by the Economist engage in corporate social responsibility activities to have a better brand / reputation

• Nakeel, the Dubai based real estate developer has committed AED 500 million to fund research and development activity, and promote active engagement with international experts on the issues of sustainable development, construction, management and governance of coastal communities around the world.

– Nakheel has developed three palm islands in addition to a set of islands representing the world map, off the coast of Dubai

• AT&T killed off the Cingular brand (worth USD 6.6 billion) in order to strengthen its own name and empower it with a mobile offering

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Deciding on the branding approach Leveraging on a multinational brand

Monolithic brands are necessary for pan-regional operators to develop global brand equity from all communication activities in individual markets An early assessment on the convenience

• Can I leverage my footprint to

to move towards a monolithic or multi-

have positive spillover in terms of

brand approach needs to be conducted

media, products and services, and

prior to commencing any new brand

advertising ideas?

identity development exercise. In order to do this, several key questions need to be thoroughly discussed and answered: • Can I have the same strategy across all operations, or are there

• How big is my existing local brand equity in each market? • Do I have an experienced group branding function capable of succeeding in the endeavor?

significant differences?

Exhibit 3: Brand architecture components

Strategic options

Classification

Service naming

Product lines

Business divisions approach

Brand hierarchy model

Brand architecture

Brand hierarchy model

►► Monolithic ►► Endorsed ►► Multiple

Business divisions approach

►► Product/service divisions ►► Customer usage-driven divisions

Product lines

►► Payment method (prepaid, postpaid) ►► Usage/user type (premium, youth)

Service naming

►► ►► ►► ►►

Classification

Iconic Descriptive names Technology names Suggestive names

►► Color coding ►► Icons and stylization ►► Service images

Source: Delta Partners analysis

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Developing the brand architecture

local markets. Every time a company

Operators should define a clear

purchases a new operator it is faced

brand architecture for customers

with the daunting question: to rebrand

and employees to understand the

or not to rebrand. Below are some

way in which the brands within a

pros and cons of rebranding.

company’s portfolio are referred to and differentiated from one another

Pros: Maintaining several brands can

in terms of both market offering

be very expensive for telecom holding

and management structure. Brand

companies. It denies them economies

architecture includes the brand hierarchy

of scale benefits, as they neither have

model, business division approach,

the advantage of developing one

product line definitions, service names,

regional brand campaign targeting

and a classification method.

all OpCos, nor local campaigns with spill over to other regional

Different brand hierarchy models

operations which would result in

Due to the vast wave of mergers and

higher brand equity. Having multiple

acquisitions in the MENA region,

sub-brands would also result in brand

telecom operators have inherited a

fragmentation losing the focus that

multitude of brands (see Exhibit 4).

can be achieved through strategic

This has resulted in fragmented

investments in maintaining a

identities for holding companies,

single identity.

and the loss of global leverage in

Exhibit 4: Example of multiple branding - Orascom Telecom brand hierarchy (May 2008)

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In order to tackle the above situation,

transition efforts a company will lose

the concept of a monolithic brand is

some of its customer loyalty. The only

gaining popularity among telecom

way to minimize the loss is through

operators in the MENA region. A

extensive research and testing,

monolithic brand is a single brand used

starting from customer satisfaction, to

in all markets and across all product

expectations, perception, and adoption.

lines. This approach was followed by MTC who has developed the new

Another issue to be considered is

Zain brand and is applying it across all

the re-branding history of certain

existing and new operations. In the

operators, because changing brands

same spirit Vodafone decided to drop

frequently would result in a perception

the “live” and “3G” logos from all

of desperation and low credibility. In

their ads to avoid having sub-brands

many cases a single operator would

that dilute the overall Vodafone

have had several different identities

brand image.

within the period of a few years which makes it very difficult for customers

Cons: Re-branding can be a daunting

to relate to the brand and virtually

task especially in cases where existing

impossible for the operator to build

brands have high equity. Brand equity

brand equity. An example of such an

transfer is never comprehensive,

operator is currently known as MTN

and changing a brand has deep

Syria, having changed its identity six

repercussions on company perception

times over a period of seven years (see

across all stakeholders. Despite all

Exhibit 5).

Exhibit 5: Evolution of MTN Syria’s brand identity (2000-2007)

2000

Q1 2001

Q2 2001

Q4 2004

Q3 2005

Q3 2007

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Developing a governance model Brands should be sponsored by the CEO (the ultimate brand champion) to ensure a consistent and powerful image across geographies In order to get the necessary attention,

According to a study by Harvard

the (re)branding project needs to be

Business Review(4), the responsibility for

sponsored by the CEO; not by being

global brand leadership can follow four

involved in every decision, but through

possible configurations:

acting as an endorser and reference

• Business management

point to push the process forward in

teams: Whereby each product

deadlock situations and managing

category is run by a global

high-level subjective differences. Their

category team who work in R&D,

endorsement should be conveyed

manufacturing and marketing

through company-wide events

within their respective regions.

highlighting the benefits to be gained

This team defines the identity

from (re)branding and its implications

and positioning of brands in their

on all areas of the organization. There

categories throughout the world

needs to be an internal structure in place

(i.e. Proctor and Gamble)

(usually set by the Chief Commercial

• Brand champions: Senior

Officer or Marketing Director) to

executives with other

manage the branding process.

responsibilities, possibly CEOs serve as the brand’s primary

Since branding directly or indirectly

advocates and nurturers

impacts all areas across an organization,

(i.e. Sony)

it requires synchronized efforts from each

• Global brand managers:

function within the company. A steering

Branding experts for the company

committee comprised of empowered

who lie just below the top

decision makers from each function

line management, but usually

should be set up to coordinate project

don’t have sign-off authority on

plans and ensure complete internal

marketing programs (i.e. IBM)

alignment and progress on all matters.

• Global brand teams: Teams responsible for managing the

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This structure should be replicated at

global brand consisting of brand

each operating company / country

representatives from different

and coordinated by a global project

parts of the world, different

management office reporting to the

stages of brand development,

group CEO and CCO in the case of a

and different competitive

multinational operator.

contexts (i.e. Lycra)

Defining the corporate identity Brand positioning should come from within

Brand positioning should be specific and meaningful with achievable objectives reflecting the ideology of the operator as a whole Because a brand represents the image

above, the operator should establish

and reputation of a telecom operator,

clear guidelines and foundations for

it should truly reflect its ideals. It

positioning the new brand, which

is therefore necessary to carry out

needs to be translated across all the

research and internal assessments

activities and be reflected in the culture

prior to brand development. Internal

of the organization.

and external research should be done to define the conceptual target and

For example, Vodafone considers

positioning, while incorporating local,

mobility at the heart of its business

regional, and global company strategy

and reflects that through highlighting

in addition to competitive landscape.

the “now” indicating the power of

Other research should be done through

mobility and allowing customers to

workshops to select the brand name

aspire to it; whereas Orange, France

and derive the brand values. This

Telecom’s single brand for internet,

requires final Board approval, which is

television and mobile services

best achieved by involving the Board

highlights the power of being “open”

at early stages. It is also important to

with no restrictions to wires.

check that the name defined does not have negative connotations in any

In mature markets where customers

language and not directly related to

expect coverage, voice, roaming, and

another branded product (poignant

customer service quality by default,

check-points include the availability

brands should have a positioning

of an online domain name and ease

that goes beyond those basic needs.

of pronunciation) Finally, qualitative

There have been mistakes by telecom

research should validate conceptual

companies on both sides of the

target and brand values, and to

spectrum either by being too narrow

profile the segments. By doing the

focusing on connecting people

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(which is the minimum requirement)

can get instant access to whatever

or too broad about enjoying life and

you like anytime, no matter where

the future (which ends up being an

you are or what you are doing. Their

oversell or over promise). A particularly

effectiveness is a result of the promise

effective promise has been developed

being aspirational yet achievable,

focusing on the key benefit of

while related to the industry and

mobility, the “now” whereby you

the offering.

Exhibit 6: Telecom brand promises as portrayed through operator selling lines

Company positioning or promises can be mapped across two axes, specific vs. generic and functional vs. emotional. The general criteria for a company promise is that it needs to be somewhat emotional for customers to aspire to, yet somewhat specific in order to be relevant to the services provided and have an achievable objective (as opposed to over promising). Being in the middle generally results in a bland brand that is neutral to everything. Brands that are very functional usually commoditize their offering and their promise tends to reflect what the service is as opposed to an inspiring call to action that stakeholders can buy into.

Emotional

►► Mobily My world, My choice

►► Vodafone Make the most of now ►► Mobinil Communicate from the heart

►► T-Mobile Stick together

Specific

Generic

►► Orange The future is bright ►► Al Jawal With you

►► du Add life to life

►► Qtel Let’s connect ►► Etisalat Reach

►► O2 See what you can do ►► MTN Everywhere you go

►► Nokia Connecting people

Functional Desirable positioning

Source: Delta Partners analysis

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Developing the brand A brand is more prominent in the feeling customers get after interacting with a company and is best catered to through managing overall communication and experience, as opposed to colors and visuals The target audience of

Once the previous steps are developed

agency has developed such guidelines

the creative part of logo development

for the Vodafone brand explaining the

should commence. This is done through

“make the most of now” positioning.

in the company - namely

a Corporate Identity (CI) agency.

This document clarifies the commercial,

employees, shareholders,

Corporate Identity agencies are usually

brand, consumer and communication

involved at very early stages of the

insights, while elaborating on how to

brand development process, in most

best communicate or advertise

cases starting with the research,

the brand.

a brand must always include all stakeholders

and customers. A common mistake by many companies is not regarding employees and shareholders as target audience when developing and communicating the

creation of values, positioning, and finally the visual identity.

In some cases when the decision is taken to develop these guidelines, a

Once a visual identity is developed, the

tough debate may occur on whether

CI agency would proceed to developing

the CI agency, the ad agency, or both

a comprehensive brand look and

should develop them. This is because

feel guidelines booklet. This includes

the CI agency is viewed to be more

behavior generally results

advertising templates, instructions

focused on design and image as

in a fragmented

on logo usage, placement, colors,

opposed to advertising oriented - yet

photography, tone of voice, literature,

they are the agency responsible for

stationary, giveaways, etc.

the identity under which advertising

brand, presuming that they are the responsibility of HR and investor relations; such

(non-cohesive) brand

falls. It is recommended to have A typical gap found in the Middle East

the advertising agency develop the

and Africa is the lack of advertising

advertising guidelines since they are

and communication guidelines. Such

the party applying them. It is apparent

guidelines are intended to further

that when agencies have ownership

elaborate on the positioning statement,

of a brand project they develop better

and the insights behind it in order

quality work.

to ensure a consistency across the different messages delivered through

The target audience of a brand must

advertising. Vodafone’s communication

always include all stakeholders in 11

Google brand building

the company - namely employees,

on its wet towels, and embedded in

shareholders, and customers. A common

its leather seats. According to Martin

mistake by many companies is not

Lindstrom’s book Brand Sense, research

regarding employees and shareholders

showed that 80% of people recognize

as target audience when developing and

Singapore airlines from its scent alone

Brown Optimor. Google is a brand

communicating the brand, presuming

without having to see the logo. In

that anyone who uses the internet

that they are the responsibility of HR

other examples of sensory branding,

has interacted with and most

and investor relations. Such behavior

Nokia has developed a signature sonic

probably loved. When you take a

generally results in a fragmented

branding that is being adapted to the

(non-cohesive) brand.

cultures of all the markets it operates in; Apple has developed the iPod touch

Google has been ranked as the top global brand of 2008 according to the Brandz ranking by Millward

closer look however, you notice that Google has not developed any traditional advertising campaigns. The Google brand was built on

In order to create a brand experience

and the iPhone in addition to many

that appeals and applies to all of these

other products that appeal to the sense

their philosophy to “push the limits of

audiences, some companies have been

of touch; Coca Cola reverted to the

existing technology to provide a fast,

resorting to sensory branding. Sensory

authentic bottle design to preserve a

accurate and easy-to-use search service

branding is an innovative branding

visual distinction. This approach has

that can be accessed from anywhere.”

methodology that allows the brand

generated very rewarding results across

Despite not having any traditional ads

to appeal to each of the five senses.

a range of different industries but has

In this pursuit Singapore Airlines have

not been fully exploited by telecom

created a proprietary perfume (Stefan

operators to date.

customer experience, and through

and no monolithic brand Google has managed to build the world’s best brand by focusing on the customer and exuding simplicity.

Floridian Waters) used by all its staff,

Exhibit 7: Some examples of brands who use sensory branding

Coke bottle

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Singapore Airlines scent

iPhone touch screen

Nokia tune

Deploying the new brand Deploying brand strategy is a task that requires intricate understanding of the company strategy and therefore should be developed by the strategy department and later handed over to an operator’s MarCom team Most of the work for developing a

for developing all of the brand

brand is done after the development of

communication including: • A strapline (in a few cases this is

the actual logo. A brand is built with

developed by the CI agency)

every piece of communication, which includes the company logo. There are

• A launch campaign and strategy

many other parties involved in deploying

• Corporate stationery

and communicating the brand.

• Products and services communication

After the identity is developed by

• Corporate profiles and annual

the CI agency, it is passed on (along

reports

with the guidelines) to the operator’s

• Any other advertising

advertising agency, which is responsible

requirements

Exhibit 8: Parties involved in the deployment and communication of the new brand CI agency

►► Values and positioning ►► Visual identity ►► Identity application guidelines

New brand

Advertising agency

Media agency

PR agency

Web design agency

►► Strapline ►► Launch campaign ►► Corporate stationary ►► P&S campaigns ►► Corporate profile ►► Annual reports

►► Media bookings ►► Media presence strategy

►► Media communications ►► Press releases ►► Events

►► Corporate website ►► Micro sites ►► Flash animations ►► Intranet

DM agency

►► Direct mail ►► CRM

Retail design

►► Own shops ►► Dealers ►► Office environments

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Even though the advertising agency

separately with all internal

is generally regarded as the brand

departments, the PR agency,

guardian, there are many additional

and the advertising and media

partners and suppliers involved including

agencies as needed

media booking, PR, web design, direct marketing and retail / interior-design

This approach usually results in

agencies – all in addition to third party

un-integrated campaigns because the

suppliers usually responsible for printing

media booking, DM, web content, and

and execution.

PR are done independently from the advertising concept. The management

Operators in the Middle East generally

and coordination process becomes

follow an ad hoc communication

entangled and hard to follow.

management process, which can be summarized into the following: • MarComs manage each of the agencies individually without leveraging on a single integrated communication approach involving all parties • Even though the MarCom department is in charge of managing the brand internally

A best practice to streamline the process would involve: • The MarCom department having more autonomy over the brand • The advertising agency being allowed to manage all forms of advertising by having the authority to manage all third parties • The PR department having a

and with the communication

parallel coordination stream with

agencies, they are superseded by

CxOs and the PR agency – yet

the marketing department and

aligning with MarCom on

C-levels who also occasionally

brand-related PR content.

contact the advertising agency directly or provide direct

Brand strategy governance

comments to them in meeting

The brand is best initially overlooked

• Each agency is responsible for

and managed by either the strategy

directly coordinating with the

department or professional services

advertising agency

teams directly involved in the overall

• The PR department is treated as a separate entity and coordinates

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operator strategy, and later handed over to the operators’ MarCom

teams to manage across different

segmentation (developed by the

communication agencies and disciplines.

strategy team)

The strategy teams in the region are

• Is constantly updated to respond

more dominant in C-level and executive

to detailed penetration figures

management meetings and decisions

(which are closely managed by the

than communication agencies and

strategy team)

the MarCom teams, which gives them a clear bird’s eye view of the overall

Ideally and to help the above process

business as opposed to operating in

work seamlessly a telecom operator

one discipline only. By managing the

should try and assign a regional multi

branding process, the strategy team can

discipline advertising group to manage

develop a brand strategy that:

their brand. Large advertising agencies

• Takes into consideration the

are usually part of a holding company

operator’s requirements in the

that offers advertising, media booking,

short and long term

PR, DM, and online services. Assigning

• Adheres to financial forecasts,

one of these companies could help

and global communication ROI

integrate all branding and

benchmarks

communications across geographies

• Incorporates forecasted service launch schedules • Is consistent with market

under one roof allowing sister companies to work together on all campaigns and communication initiatives.

Exhibit 9: Simplified process structure to ensure alignment, effectiveness and efficiency

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Sustaining the global brand Sustaining a global brand requires strong alignment between messages and media channels to ensure optimal communication, distribution and continuous brand auditing with global consistency Global brand management requires a

maximum effectiveness. This can be

rigid control process involving a single

done through:

brand champion from the holding company to manage the overall brand and approve all applications across the different markets for consistency, short approval times in order not to disrupt the work flow and increase time to market, approval at concept level and artwork stage to avoid rejecting the concept after all the work has been done, and clear guidelines on image and positioning in addition to those of logo application.

• Brand audits that take place regularly for each operation • Quarterly presentations from each operation to the Group Branding function • Putting motivational processes in place, incentivizing brand managers who deliver good results • An online brand management tool that would help different operations have access to and

The approval process needs to be robust

review all the work developed on

and enforced to ensure compliance with

the brand across geographies.

CASE Study: Audi “The Art of the Heist” To launch the Audi A3 in the USA, Audi allowed people to

Last Resort Retrieval was also advertised for months in the

participate in the communication campaign that went as follows:

classifieds section of high end magazine (to show that it’s a

A live theft of the first Audi A3 in the USA from the dealership

legitimate company).

on Park Avenue in New York. Passers-by would see two people

To target video gamers, Audi created a twist whereby a game

break the window and steal the car, security guards running after

developer is trying to find the car, and gives live interviews at E3 the

a suspect, the placement of police tape around the crime area, and

largest video game expo in the world.

the handout of wanted flyers.

To make sure people were able to follow the story, you could visit

The following day at the New York International Auto Show the

the blog of Todd who was intently following the action from day 1

car was replaced with signs indicating that the car was missing,

and posting all the updates and viral films

and the public would not know how the car was stolen.

A few weeks later people would have noticed that the mystery was

The event was covered by bloggers around the world, and

solved, and learn why the car was stolen

supported by newspaper ads, billboards, and TV ads asking people to help find the car and providing response channels.

Campaign results include:

The Audi USA website showed that the company contracted a firm

• 45 million PR impressions

specialized in the retrieval of high end stolen art named Last Resort

• 500,000 story participants

Retrieval.

• Over 10,000 leads to dealers

On the Last Resort Retrieval website, there were thousands of

• Over 2 million unique visits to the Audi USA website

leads including photos, faxes, phone calls, and emails

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Source: Adforum

Common pitfalls observed in ME and Africa In order to reach an internal consensus on brand related matters, regional operators tend to adopt the safe brand option which results in killing creativity In many cases telecom brands are

Another regional issue that limits

perceived and treated as personal

targeted communication is the limited

belongings of the chairman or CEO

availability of data about existing

who is often influenced by revenue

customers and their behaviors. Not

generating potential held in the

having this data is a lost opportunity

marketing department. Therefore

for effective communications,

MarCom, as a pure cost center, have

and generally results in inefficient

little decision making power over

mass communication that in

the brand. Due to this, MarCom

many cases is irrelevant to many

departments usually take a very safe,

customers and eventually weakens

risk averse position that does not

the customer-brand bond. It is

contribute to strongly differentiating

strongly recommended that MarCom

the brand.

departments engage in more research activities for defining target audience

The advertising approach in the region

behavior and testing concepts prior to

has two extremes: brand and tactical.

going on air.

Ads are either too tactical with strong predominant calls to action along

MEA telecom operators usually lack

the lines of “buy now” (to satisfy

a strong local flavor in their brand

the marketing teams); or brand ads

identity. This is mainly due to the

which are very vague and provide

lack of trust in regional corporate

over promising messages (these are

identity agencies and resorting to

usually accompanied with expensive TV

UK companies for developing local

productions intended to be a show off

identities for geographies they are

statement as opposed to getting closer

not very familiar with. Another lack

to the customer).

of flavor is generally a result of media

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utilization, whereby all campaigns

across different brand campaigns,

are developed for mass media and

product launches, and in different

very little effort is placed on targeting

subsidiaries across geographies.

specific audiences that the service is

Regional players should put more

developed for.

effort in communication consolidation by developing a central branding

Fragmentation remains a key

department, a clear consistent

characteristic of telecom branding and

strategy, and local brand guardians in

communications in the Middle East

each country.

and Africa. Fragmentation is observed

Key take-aways

• Brands are the only effective and sustainable differentiators for telecom operators in the long run • Telecom branding is still in its infancy compared to other industries • The benefits of having a monolithic brand outweigh those of maintaining a multi-brand approach • It is essential to give autonomy to brand managers, and make them the final decision makers for all brand related matters • A CEO should be involved in branding at its early stages to ensure a smooth roll-out across the organization • Brand promises should be customer centric, aspirational yet down to earth, and achievable • All brand related communication should be consistent and integrated across as many media as possible • There should be open channels between MarCom and customers as opposed to having all messages filtered through customer service or marketing • The MarCom function needs to have authority over marketing to ensure that the brand transcends products, services, and technical features

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Conclusion Similar to salad dressing, a strong

stakeholders minds and create a form

brand penetrates all the conventional

of addiction that gets reinforced at

ingredients of a telecom operator and

every touch point.

gives it a distinct flavor differentiated from other operators offering the same

A salad dressing is always developed by

products and services. The brand

the chef: (in this case MarCom) never

dressing should have a strong prominent

the restaurant manager or any other

flavor that becomes prevalent in all

staff working at the restaurant.

aspects of an operator from the sign

The salad dressing should fit with the

at the door to the customer care

salad context, which is why you do not

welcoming statement, HR strategy,

find ranch dressing on a Chinese salad;

corporate culture, advertising, products

and hence brands and promises need to

and services, and investor relations.

be tailored to suit the local market and

Only a bold distinct flavor can

the telecom context.

make the brand promise “stick” in

Footnotes

1. Source: MillwardBrown Optimor, the full document is available on http://www.brandz.com/BrandZ_2007_Ranking_ Report.pdf 2. According to Reuters, Preschoolers preferred the taste of burgers and fries when they came in McDonald’s wrappers over the same food in plain wrapping, U.S. researchers said, suggesting fast-food marketing reaches the very young. “Overwhelmingly, kids chose the one that they perceived was from McDonald’s,” said obesity prevention expert Dr. Thomas Robinson of the Stanford University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Full article available on: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN06428781 3. The full research by conway.smith.rose is available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/Oftel/publications/ research/2001/bran1101.pdf 4. From “The Lure of Global Branding” article in Harvard Business Review (November – December 1999) in which executives from 35 companies in the US, Europe and Japan that have successfully developed strong brands across countries were interviewed

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