The concept of brand building in Hong Kong is a new idea, but one that is being eagerly discussed by government and businesses alike, and for good reason. The true beauty of brands lie in their ability to create value for their companies, their economies and their countries by changing consumer behavior. Of course this is not true of all brands, but the strongest brands are very powerful indeed.

A recent study of brand value produced jointly by Interbrand, Business Week, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, estimated that the combined value of the world's top 10 brands was a staggering US$385 trillion. This is not the value of the companies, nor their factories or stock, it is the value of something completely intangible, their brands.

But we shouldn't need financial studies to convince us of the value of brands. We know from our own experience that we will pay more, more often, for our favorite brands, creating greater revenue and profitability to the brand owners. In return, we expect the brand to deliver greater value to us. Brand value transcends notions of "product quality" -- it taps into our social and imaginative nature to actually transform the consumption experience.

"The real success story of branding in recent decades has been the way in which companies have used their brands to turn the satisfaction of complex and even spiritual needs into commercial transactions."

-- Simon Anholt, Brand New Justice: The Upside of Global Branding

But what is a brand?

Some people think of a brand as "signs and symbols." Others think of a brand delivering "a promise of satisfaction and quality." Both of these ideas are valid, but a brand can be much more.

A poetic definition might be "a brand is the most valuable real-estate in the world, a corner of the consumer's mind." Simply put, a brand is "a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer and other stakeholders." A brand is not just the product, not the packaging, not the advertising, not the after-sales support, not the contract details. It is all of these things, and many more. Every experience of the brand has the opportunity to build value or destroy it.
To build brand value, everything that a brand "says and does" should work towards a place in the consumer's mind that is:

1. Distinctive (from the competition)
2. Motivating (to consumers)
3. Credible (rooted in the truth)
4. Enduring (with a good "fit" to market trends)
5. Strategic (in line with the objectives of the business)

To achieve this, other "stakeholders," such as employees and distributors, have to buy into the brand, so the brand has to offer them something distinctive and motivating too. This is particularly true as more and more of our economy is driven by service and corporate brands.

Hong Kong's success stories

Hong Kong has the skills to build strong brands, and there are notable success stories, which tend to fall into three categories -- traditional Chinese brands, service businesses, international brands.

Traditional Chinese brands, especially in the food category, are well recognised not just in Hong Kong but internationally. Amoy, for example, is one of the world's most recognized food and sauce brands, marketed in more than 40 countries around the world.

In addition there are successful Hong Kong brands that you probably wouldn't even know are from Hong Kong. Binatone Telecom is a Hong Kong-based company that is hardly known here, but which has significant brand presence in markets such as Germany and Russia, and is a household name in the U.K. There is Neil Pryde, which manufactures almost a third of the world's windsurfing sails, another Hong Kong brand that most people in Hong Kong wouldn't recognize. And there are many others too: successful Hong Kong businesses that have built strong, motivating and distinctive brands in regional and international markets, without communicating that they are "from Hong Kong."

Hong Kong brands, but not always branded from Hong Kong

The country of origin can be a powerful asset to a brand. The image of a country and the image of its brands often work in unison, mutually re-enforcing each other to the benefit of both. For example: the Marlboro cigarette brand is about individuality, freedom and masculinity. The association with America, and particularly the "Wild West" works well for the brand.

German car brands, such as Audi, Porsche and BMW, have built from and contributed towards Germany's reputation for "precision engineering."

And in Asia it is Japan, with its technology and design skills (both with deep roots in Japanese culture) that projects a distinctive country image that has benefited Japanese brands as diverse as Sony and Hello Kitty.

But what of Hong Kong? Our culture is predominantly Chinese and in that respect it doesn't offer a distinctive story to Mainland Chinese consumers, nor does it help us stand out against Mainland Chinese brands when competing in other overseas markets.

It's for these reasons that many existing Hong Kong brands tend to make little reference to their country of origin: quite simply it doesn't offer a particularly motivating brand story to the consumer.

Developing a distinctive and motivating "city image" is a long-term process, one which Hong Kong has been grappling with for many years. It is an issue for the government and society, and a successful outcome certainly would be of benefit to Hong Kong businessmen as they work to build brands. However, there can be (and already are) successful Hong Kong brands, even if they are not always branded "from Hong Kong."

The process of effective brand management

Brand management, like any other aspect of business, can be thought of as a disciplined and structured process. But it is more than just that, and in some respects brand management encompasses every aspect of what a company does and says.

"We all know that the Disney brand is our most valuable asset. It is the sum total of our seventy-five years in business, of our reputation, of everything that we stand for."

-- Michael Eisner, Chairman and Chief Executive, Disney

This perspective is becoming increasingly common, as CEOs shift their thinking away from corporate "vision and mission" towards the idea of a corporate brand as the driving force behind the success of the company.

Whether the brand is a corporate, service or product the brand management process is the same in its overall structure:

Discovering your current brand Don't just think of customers. There can be many groups involved in your brand. Your list of stakeholders may include: employees, business partners, distributors, investors, even yourself -- as well as customers. Very few companies understand what their stakeholders really think about their brands. And very often this "current brand" doesn't make very pleasant reading. This is not what the company wants the brand to be, it is "warts and all" -- a true picture of the brand as it is now.

Gathering this kind of information, presenting and discussing it at a senior management level, can be a powerful catalyst within the company.

Defining your desired brand How many of your managers can clearly define the brand you are trying to build? And if they can't define the brand, how can they make judgments about what action will most effectively build the brand? It is essential to define your desired brand, the one you are trying to build in the mind of your stakeholders.

Defining your desired brand is a process of research, investigation, distillation and inspiration. You need to get to the point where you can define how you are distinctive from your competitors and motivating to your stakeholders, in a way that will endure and meet your business objectives.

"Ultimately, strong branding is not just a promise to our customers, to our partners, to our shareholders and to our communities; it is also a promise to ourselves... in that sense, it is about using a brand as a beacon, as a compass, for determining the right actions, for staying the course, for evolving a culture, for inspiring a company to reach its full potential."

Carly Fiorina, CEO, Hewlett-Packard

Delivering the branded experience Successful branding is not just about advertising and communications. It is about harnessing every aspect of the experience to create brand value. This includes the product experience, communications and contacts between employees and customers.

Everything that you say and do will either build your brand -- strengthening your position in the marketplace, securing revenue and increasing the value of your business -- or weaken your brand through inconsistent and mixed messages.

This is true whether you are a new company with two or three employees, or a global corporation with offices around the world.

Keeping on the right tracks Managing your brand is an ongoing process, not a one-off activity. This final step is one of measurement and monitoring, to see how successful you are in moving towards your desired brand and the additional steps you may need to take.

Outlook for Hong Kong brands

As Hong Kong seeks to create value in its economy and society, the role of brands and brand management will be vital. The signs are very positive that we have the skills and resources within the business community to continue and accelerate the development of Hong Kong brands.

Colin Bates is Founder and Director of BuildingBrands Ltd (www.buildingbrands.com), and author of "Managing Your Total Brand."