Branding makes headway in today’s digital age

SINGAPORE, 9 February 2011 – The branding landscape in Asia has changed significantly in recent years, spurred by monumental leaps in technological advancements in the media. Thanks to the internet, social media and mobile platforms, the barriers of information flow have been reduced, and this has leveled the playing field for brands trying to carve a niche in the crowded market.


Increasingly, brands are realising that there is a need to make an emotional and memorable connection with their consumers, and engage them through positive brand experiences at the right place and time, both offline and online, to maximise their long-term brand building initiatives. While there are potential pitfalls in this largely unregulated space, the digital world presents many exciting opportunities for brands to connect with consumers across multiple channels.
“Too many brands still consider digital as a separate channel for brand building and engaging with consumers.
In fact, the focus should be on delivering a consistent and seamless brand experience across all media including, if relevant, the physical environment. As digital platforms, and the consumers using them, grow more sophisticated, this becomes ever more important,” says Jonathan Cummings, Managing Director of Start Creative Hong Kong.
Furthermore, as the digital community evolves, so are consumers becoming more open to sharing content.
Opportunities abound for brands who are able to create engaging content and brand experiences that consumers feel eager to talk about online. Increasingly, digital channels can serve not only as a platform for a brand experience, but also as an amplifier for each interaction between the brand and the consumer. There is enormous potential which brands should leverage on to enhance word of mouth for their branding initiatives. Gaurav Mishra, Director of Digital and Social Media of MSLGROUP Asia, shares, “In 2011, visionary brands will realise that social is not only about the new medium, but also about new and more meaningful messages. So, instead of trying to spread inside-out brand-first positioning messages, they will search for an outside-in community-first ‘social heartbeat’ that connects the brand values with the passions shared by the community members.”

Cummings and Mishra, among other experts in the industry, will be addressing these issues and more in a conference held in Singapore and Hong Kong in March this year. Some of the key highlights of the conference include the ‘socialisation of brands’, multi-platform branding, digital and new media as part of internal brand engagement, search engine optimisation for brand building, and measuring the ROI of digital branding campaigns. These will be shared by Craig Harvey, Director for Insights & Planning of Universal McCann, Julie Ng, Manager, Brand Development & Communications of CLP Power Hong Kong, Jacqueline Thng, CEO of Lexis Branding, Oz Aksugur, Worldwide COO of BLUE, Tim Riches, Chief Growth Officer, Asia Pacific of FutureBrand, Bernice Klaassen, Head of Digital and Anne Rayner, Regional Head of Brand and Communications, of TNS among others.

Conference Details:
Title: Branding in a Digital Age Conference
Date & Venue:
21 – 22 March 2011, Sheraton Towers, Singapore
24 – 25 March 2011, Regal Hongkong Hotel, Hong Kong

Organiser: Pacific Conferences
Contact Person: Ms Tu Kae Yun
DID: 65 6372 2249
Email: kaeyun@conferences.com.sg

Attachment: Full Programme
Full programme can also be found at: http://www.conferences.com.sg/S1379-cb11-64e-R.pdf