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RECENTLY, I received a gift bearing the name of a world-famous brand. As I examined it, I remembered my roots in advertising, marketing and public relations, upon which my whole career has been built.
I recalled a variety of national and international companies with which we established many brands and made an initial five-year plan. Then our strategy continued with them for another five years as we concentrated on the brands’ positions in the market and on expanding these companies before moving on to the second phase of brand development and consolidation.
Some of these businesses are still around today. They continue to be our clients, and they are still getting a good return on their investment in the brand.
Of course, some have left the market and disappeared for a variety of reasons, while others have altered their activities and geographic regions while maintaining the same brand to sell new services and products.
I can speak from my many years of expertise in the advertising sector when I say that a brand name frequently becomes more significant than the product or service itself. Under the same brand name, the company offers customers a wide range of products and services, many of which vary over time. Customers continue to trust these products and services because they already have faith in the brand.
The German-born CEO of Nivea once told me that the company’s efforts were ultimately focused on maintaining consumer confidence in the brand. This has defined our marketing goal from the outset, and we have been able to work together in the Arab markets for more than 20 years. In fact, Nivea’s annual revenue increased from roughly $20 million to about $1 billion a year. It’s almost the same experience we’ve had with other brands such as BMW.
I noticed that as the advertising sector develops, the product is starting to have a distinct personality and needs an improved ideology to explain its origins, its existence, and why people should trust it. Additionally, I think that the brand name is like the human body that always needs nutrition to continue in life.
In the 1960s, I established my advertising agency, and I developed my activities as the market changed. But the biggest change happened at the start of the new millennium with the development of technology and digital advertising.
These important technological advancements were ignored by several of the companies that first arose in the previous century. They even insisted on utilising the same strategies to promote the brand. As a result, they have gradually lost ground to younger, more innovative brand names that have a greater understanding of how technology influences business.
For instance, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are prime examples of international brand names that are still at the top of their respective industries. Due to openness and a free market, they have been able to expand in every market around the world.
The public can now be reached and interacted with using new tools that have been made possible by modern technology. But it hasn’t altered the fundamentals of long-standing marketing, which may be summed up as a method of satisfying human needs. One of its pillars is a discipline known as “consumer psychology”, which focuses on the study of consumer behaviour. Understanding consumer psychology benefits businesses and organisations by enhancing their marketing plans.
Marketing has even evolved further – have you heard of “neuromarketing”? This uses techniques such as eye tracking, heart palpitations and planting ideas in people’s minds? Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie Inception maybe a good example.
It must also be noted that branding is no longer restricted to corporations, institutions, products and services. The brand name industry has developed to include people names like American businessman Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and many others.
This topic brings us to the subject matter of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections in Bahrain. More than 200 people have applied so far, but how many of them are familiar with and skilled in brand management? How many of them have a well-defined strategy for speaking to the media and the public? To gain the trust of people and increase the likelihood of winning elections, it is critical to be proficient in advertising, marketing, public relations and communication skills.
States, governments, parties and organisations are now included in the brand name industry due to its evolution. And in my opinion, the West’s dominance is the success of its brand. Communism was unsuccessful because it did not address or meet higher human needs like happiness, satisfaction and optimism.
Akram Miknas,
Chairman,
Promoseven Holding Group
Chairman,
Promoseven Holding Group
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