Building brands key to post-AEC expansion: researcher
Millward Brown, a research-based brand-consulting company under WPP Group, is keying in on providing research and branding services for new local clients, particularly those that are expanding further into neighbouring countries to capitalise on the Asean
The company set up a research unit in Myanmar this year to help its existing clients tap into this 60-million-strong market in the near future.
As part of its strategy to lure new local clients, Millward Brown held a seminar on "The Meaningful Brand-Building Great Brands" for its existing clients and potential new ones on Tuesday.
At the event, Nigel Hollis, executive vice president and chief global analyst, shared his ideas on how a strong brand can make more money for businesses.
Bangkok is the first leg of Hollis’ tour in Southeast Asia, with Malaysia and Vietnam to follow.
"From our perspective, many local Thai brands are very strong. Meanwhile, Thailand has a rich culture that would provide a chance to Thai companies to create meaningful brands," he said.
Hollis, who is the author of "The Meaningful Brand", said that creating a meaningfully different brand could capture five times more volume than an average brand and command a price premium above the average one.
The company will also potentially be two times more likely to grow the value of its shares over the next 12 months, he said.
Some Thai brands are focusing on expanding in the region in a bid to cash in on the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Klass Hommez, managing director for Thailand and Myanmar, said the company has witnessed some Thailand-based companies continuing to extend their business outside the country. Financial service and telecommunication businesses were among them.
"Our company wants to help those companies leverage their brands outside Thailand through marketing research and optimisation of the return on media and communications investment," he said.
Among cutting-edge research tools, Millward Brown aims to lure new customers and new assignments from existing clients by using neuroscience measurement, a technique of data collecting and face-to-face surveys via new smart devices such as smartphones and tablets.
A new market like Myanmar was also put at the centre of the company’s focus in conducting marketing research for clients. After securing an operating licence in Myanmar, the company deployed about 20-25 staff, including about six research analysts, in Yangon.
The company was optimistic that this year it would exceed the industry’s growth despite facing an economic downturn and political uncertainty.
Millward Brown was formed in 1973 in the UK and entered Thailand in 2002. The firm is a part of Kantar, WPP’s data investment management division. Kantar is the world’s second largest research company after Nielsen.
