| MUMBAI:
With the world eye on India, more and more global companies are setting foot here
in order to flourish in a nascent but booming market. In a scenario like this,
it is imperative for companies to localize and manage their brands according to
Indian sensibilities. The session titled 'Managing
an International Icon Brand' had speakers from Walt Disney and Cartoon Network
throwing light on the strengths and weaknesses of international icon brands and
personalities in local Asian markets. The Walt Disney Company vice
president retail sales and marketing and emerging markets Asia Pacific Ken Chaplin
listed the four Bs of branding as badges, bonus, beacon and best bet. "The
missing ingredient here is that of love. The reason why brands won't cut it anymore
is because they are worn out from overuse, no-longer mysterious, they don't understand
consumers anymore, they have been captured by formula and they are smothered by
conservatism," he said. Chaplin explained the meaning
of a 'Lovemark' saying it is "when a brand experiences loyalty beyond reason
from consumers, is owned by the consumers who love them, moves beyond irresistible
to irreplaceable and moves from most respected brand to most loved."
He pointed out that a company will only make money when loyal, heavy users
use their products all the time. "Having a long term love affair is better
than having a short term relationship," he said. Chaplin pointed
out Disney's nine priorities for managing an international icon brand. They are
as follows: - Get people to experience our best entertainment
products
- Do a good job branding
- Make local content live
up to the brand
- Keep the brand fresh and broadly relevant
- Make
the brand's commercial exploitation positive for consumers
- Keep the right
company
- Evangelize the brand, inside and outside the company
- Take
the floor with the press
Cartoon Network Enterprises Asia Pacific executive
director Sashim Parmanand said, "Brands are not names, symbols or designs
but rather they are personality of the product. All brands have specific values
and it is these values that make up the different facets of a brand."
The key thing, she pointed out, was to know your product and target market.
"Once that is clear, research and market testing is important. A brand should
gain local insights through researching target demographics and then develop a
positioning statement for the brand," she said. Another important
thing to keep in mind is that the brand positioning and creative process around
the same is consistent. "One should localize but at the same time creative
consistency is imperative," Parmanand added. | 
