Leo van Sister focusses on Global branding and developed a strategic view about how to build global brands. See also: www.merkcommissarissen.nl

1. Global brands
powerhouses by Leo van Sister
Global branding seems to be the Holy Grail for every brand marketeer. With their need for long-term, large-volume in-
vestments, ongoing innovation and consistency, global brands’ brand strategies have to be rock solid. Their cash values
are tremendous. Many global brand owners have long-standing reputations and budgets that put the GNPs of small
nations to shame. Yet the rise of the Internet may be changing the rules of the game, offering opportunities for fast track
global branding. Just how solid are global brands’ foundations?
According to Interbrand, the best Global Brands in 2006 were the car industry. These brands understand that consumers want
Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Intel, Nokia, Toyota, Disney, Mc- variety and that not all consumers opt for the same brand or
Donald’s and Mercedes consecutively. These brands alone rep- concept.
resent a value of close to USD400 billion. With just two European
and one Asian brand, the Americans would appear to be the New Age Global brands
better marketeers. The estimate for value is partly derived from Since the real breakthrough of Internet quite a few new brands
the premium consumers who are willing to pay over the years reached a global status.
for the branded products over another or unbranded one. Power brands such as Dell, Google, Ebay, Amazon, Yahoo, Your-
Yet things are not necessarily what they seem. Of course, the Tube, Monsterboard entered our daily life and by now have huge
States were leaders in marketing and brand building for a long economical performances. Their strategies are quite successful.
time and started rating brands financially some time ago. In doing They are focused on one distribution channel and normally out-
so, many of them crossed national borders and secured global perform their competitors in their specific competence domain.
positions. Combined with the fact that belief in brand communica- Most of them align their business model with smart and quali-
tions is high, many of the US brands are now true global brands. tative logistic skills. Their 24/7 “stores” are in reach of billions
of potentials consumers and offer well appreciated services to
The Europeans should in no sense be underestimated. Super- compensate the lack of staff. Most new age global brands have
Brands such as Mercedes, L’Oréal, BMW, Nokia, Louis Vuit- wide assortments of products and services in order to keep on
ton, Nescafé, Ikea, UBS, Siemens, Philips, Volkswagen, Bosch, being appealing for their huge audiences.
Chanel, Nivea and many others have carved comfortable posi-
tions in the global brand gallery. A number of Asian brands are Secure the strategy and brand concept
also expected to do much in the near future, with the additional Global brands are characterised by major turnover, with thou-
feature of being umbrella brands, whereby company is brand sands if not millions of users and they generally enjoy good
and brand is company. brand loyalty. Often, a large proportion of their turnover comes
from foreign markets. A crucial point in this is that the brand
It is certainly not true that developing and maintaining such ma- concept or proposition has sufficient relevance, is sufficiently
jor global brands is the only attractive economic option. There attractive to various cultures and that it manages to move in all
are numerous regional and local brands that offer great returns those markets with appropriate communications messages. The
and, if the holding company has several of them, can offer huge strategy and positioning must secure what the brand stands for,
accumulated profits. This is a common phenomenon in fast- what it has to offer, it must communicate the brand personality
moving consumer goods markets (FMCG), in cosmetics and in and provide the relevant benefits.

2. Brand architecture is also an important feature. If, like Hewlett Show leadership and be innovative
Packard, Philips, accenture, Nike or L’Oréal, you have a broad Global brands are almost without exception market leaders in
portfolio of products or services, you have to be sure your brand their own markets. They radiate this by the sort of strategy and
architecture is well defined and leaves room for brand exten- brand communication that they develop. But also by being and
sions and even brand stretches. remaining innovative.
Since the essence of global brands is so important, such as They keep a close eye on their competitors and ensure they
Nokia’s successful Connecting People proposition, it is impor- develop sufficient genuine innovations to leave the competition
tant that brand concepts are effectively and comprehensively behind. Good examples include the larger global brands such as
rolled out to all chains and people in the organisation. So much Gillette, Apple, Intel, Nokia, BMW, Toyota, Google and others that
so, that the essence of the brand has to be reflected in the maintain a high pace of innovation and structurally invest large
physical actions of the employees. If Disney stands for Fun sums of money in the process.
Family Entertainment, this has to appear in everything. If Audi Leadership also involves consistency. Maintaining a clear stance
represents Vorsprung durch Technik (progress through tech- visually, verbally and strategically certainly helps global brands
nology), the company has to ensure that technology is leading strengthen their position and in so doing generates a clear and
in all that they do. recognisable brand experience. Drifting positioning is almost
never successful.
A well-considered brand bonding strategy for all stakehold-
ers helps to develop and strengthen global brands. In almost Global brands may certainly also show emotions in their brand
all cases, the brandkeepership is then at the highest level and communication. The market, community and Zeitgeist are such
brand marketing is steered centrally by the holding company. that emotions fit well with a brand. Should a company take this
approach, however, it must ensure that they are balanced ef-
Are local marketeers completely out of the loop then? fectively and consistently. Showing that you really care for your
Elementary issues such as brand concept, brand positioning, target audience is highly appreciated.
brand values and brand benefits should ideally be defined and
safeguarded by a global brand management team at head of- Great brands represent great ideas.
fice, which has the authority and resources to manage the glo- Apple does this my ensuring its machines serve its customers
bal brand around the world. As such, global brands are charac- in a unique, dynamic and innovative manner, combined with a
terised by clear principles. totally original brand design. Budweiser takes a similar posi-
Should the necessity arise to change something fundamental, tion, this time by positioning the brand value friendship more
this happens at head office. Local marketeers must neverthe- centrally in all its brand communications. Mercedes has always
less have the space to give the brand communications a certain cherished prestige, which explains why they introduced the
amount of local character as human perceptions differ per cul- highly extravagant Maybach.
ture. The essence must remain, though.
Local marketeers are also in a far
better position to indicate whether
a local market is sufficiently attrac-
tive as to scope and development,
including relevant trends. They are
better placed to make an extensive
scan as to developments in con-
sumer behaviour and of local com-
petitors. Finally, they are more suit-
able for determining how the brand
can carve out sufficient share of
mind with targeted budgets.
Good global brands know how to
identify and approach their brand
communities in different markets. It
is the local marketeers who have to
make it clear to their target groups
why their global brand is different,
and better of course!

3. BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia
Whereas Mercedes nourishes prestige, BMW has always de- also have unique opportunities. Old established global brands
veloped its brand essence with the combination of technique, now have to fight new global forces such as Google, Dell and
sportive ness and authentic design. The in 2006 launched BMW others for the highest ranks in brand valuation. Time will tell how
concept coupe Mille Miglia is an ode to this legendary race. matters develop. There can certainly be no sitting still for anyone
The concept car looks both the past and the future in its styling in these fast-moving times, and we may well see further brand
and construction. At the same time it pays homage to the out- marketing models develop. There are fascinating times ahead.
standing achievement to the BMW engineers.
Many of the articles in this book relate to brands that have de-
Global Branding league veloped a global position in their markets over a long period of
Global brands need central steering and ultimate consistency. time. Others look at newcomers with less than a decade experi-
Nevertheless, it is best to handle them rigidly, as languages, ence at forging their brand identities yet are already making
cultures and consumer behaviour differ from place to place. the incumbents nervous. It is up to the reader to decide which
Strategy and control should be clear and strict, with a tight de- they consider more secure, more in touch and more in tune with
velopment framework. modern-day developments. The battle is just beginning.
Global brands hold a special position with brand marketers in
the marketing world, are confronted by unique challenges yet Leo van Sister
Leo van Sister is founding partner of de Merkcommissarissen® (Brand Custodians®), one of the leading Strategic Brand & Marketing Consultancy in the Nether-
lands that consistently challenges the thinking behind brand companies and their strategies. He is partner with the Business Development Group; chief editor of the
CoolBranding book and also President of the Dutch BrandCouncil. He is former General Manager for Douwe Egberts/Van Nelle, Friesland Food Service and Marketing
Director for Friesche Vlag, Frico and others and former Vice President of the Dutch Advertising society.