“A brand’s value is merely the sum total of how much extra people will pay, or how often they choose, the expectations, memories, stories and relationships of one brand over the alternatives”-Seth Godin, American author, entrepreneur, public speaker and influential marketing blogger.The title of most valuable brand, especially in one’s industry, is coveted by many, though most will struggle to achieve this, and few companies will ever attain it. Brand value is an important topic discussed extensively amongst marketers, executives and entrepreneurs; everyone wants to know how they can secure their place at the forefront of consumers’ minds, ensuring that continued loyalty to their brand keeps them ahead of the competition.But this is all easier said than done. Today’s consumer is picky, and faced with so much variety, requires a wide mix of factors including technical innovation, customer support, corporate identity, online presence, pricing, quality, staff attitude, core values, and design, all of which are not achieved overnight but must be built up over time.Yet, the world’s leading brands seem to keep getting it right. Interbrand’s 2015 Best Global Brands ranked Apple, Google and Coca-Cola respectively as the world’s top 3 valuable brands. The brand consultancy identified the 100 most valuable global brands by analysing the many ways a brand benefits an organisation- from delivering on customer expectations to driving economic value. Interbrand’s methodology gives us some insight into what makes a brand valuable. The ranking is based on a combination of attributes that contribute to a brand’s cumulative value, which, according to the consultancy are: the financial performance of the branded products and services; the role the brand plays in influencing customer choice; and the strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company.These elements are indicative of the fact that brand leadership involves all aspects of an organisation. Unfortunately, there is sometimes a disconnect between brand strategy and organisational strategy as a whole; discussions around brand are often percieved to be another aspect of marketing, and marketing is

seen as a cost centre. Therefore, there is a need for companies to close the gap between business strategy and brand strategy; brand management should not be seen as just another element of the marketing mix.In his 2014 research paper on the strategic direction of brand management, Henrik Uggla argued that this attitude results in leadership and management largely excluding brand management from the strategic agenda. “The nature and scope of brand strategy should be ideally aligned with the strategic intentions of the firm,” Uggla wrote. A more integrated approach “invites managers to attain a balanced approach at the intersection of business strategy, brand strategy and market opportunities,” he argued. In this week’s column, Andrew Joubert, Director of Executive Education at Wits University, shares some insights from the Brand Leadership course he facilitates through the HP-GSB’s Executive Education department.

HP-GSB: Brand leadership: whose responsibility is it? Andrew Joubert (AJ): When we look at the elements which combine to make a strong brand, like brand awareness, uniqueness, favourability and image, it exists as an organisation-wide phenomenon. Anyone in the organisation who has any contact with customers, or is seen to act in any way on behalf of the organisation, has the ability to enhance the brand image, or to detract from it. That is why it is so important that every single person representing the brand, from customer services, accounts, operations, delivery and top management, takes responsibility for their representation of the brand to deliver positive contributions to the brand’s image and strength.

HP-GSB: How important is it for brand managers to get buy-in from senior management, when building a brand?AJ: In business strategy, we usually accept that the senior management in the organisation are the visionaries, and therefore ‘own’ its vision and mission. In the same way, just as the brand embodies the personality or character, so must the top management be in agreement about the brand’s nature, strength

and favourability. There needs to be a clear consensus as to the brand elements, and its dynamics and trajectory.

HP-GSB: What makes a brand unique- and how much effort is needed to maintain that uniqueness?AJ: What makes a brand unique (truly one-of-a-kind) is a combination of the brand elements, and how they are managed. Brands also have a ‘story to tell’ and this should not be able to be confused with any other brand. When one thinks of German brands such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, each has a unique personality. There is no confusion between these brands, despite their competing head-on in the same market segments with similar classes of

products. The effort to sustain this uniqueness takes hard work, from all parts of the organisation; it relies on differential product design, promotion, communication and symbolism. Each of these competing brands has to display points-of-parity (POPs), just to allow them to compete adequately in that particular market, but also points-of-difference (PODs) to distinguish their product from that of the opposition. The same applies to airlines, hotels, supermarkets and all the other consumer, and non-consumer industries.

HP-GSB: The position of the Chief Brand Officer is becoming more common in organisations around the world. What is your take on this, and what do you think this executive’s role should be?AJ: Although there are increasing numbers of specialist C-suite officers in organisations, I think it boils down to the size and shape of the organisation. Remember, there is a compelling case for “everyone does the marketing”, not just the marketing manager, or marketing division. In a small organisation, the marketing function might consist of a few senior persons, and these people would be the ‘owners’ of the brand. In many cases, smaller organisations outsource much of their marketing activity. Large firms such as multinational consumer companies have brand managers for particular brands in their portfolios. Large amounts of money are spent on research, product design and communication, and these fall under the control of these brand managers’ budgets. In a larger organisation, at top-management level, there could well be a compelling case for having a custodian of the brand, in the form of a Chief Brand Officer. This person would have a very broad, cross-discipline responsibility, and would therefore also need to have the necessary authority to influence business strategy, finance, marketing strategy, product design, marketing research and of course communication and promotions.

*Christine-Rita Abankwah is the marketing and communications officer at the HP-GSB

Becoming the most valuable brand Christine-Rita Abankwah

Andrew Joubert