Branding conference to shed light on Malaysian successes

 

Successful local brand-builders who have made their mark in the international market will share their experience with participants at the Brand Entrepreneur Conference next month.

Small and Medium Industries Development Corp (Smidec) chief executive officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim strongly encouraged small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to attend the conference.

Branding is one way to help SMEs stay in business during the current economic turmoil, she said.

"It is timely to enhance brand awareness among the SMEs. We are pushing for content and will make sure the papers presented are relevant," Hafsah told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur.

Also present was Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Lewre Lew.

The one-day conference, jointly organised by Smidec and BAM, will be held on March 2 in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. It will be launched by International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Hafsah said the Crown Prince of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, had been invited to deliver the keynote address.

"Raja Nazrin is very passionate about branding of Malaysia. He is very knowledgeable and people listen to his ideas, which are refreshing and up-to-date," she said.

Some 500 participants from local and foreign companies, including multinationals, are expected to attend the conference.

Hafsah said the conference will focus on brand-building, with owners of top local brands sharing their thoughts and success stories.

Secret Recipe founder Datuk Steven Sim, Kart Food Industries Sdn Bhd managing director Mohd Fairuz Abdullah and Esthetics (Dermalogica) International Group Bhd founder Melissa M. Chen will highlight how branding has pushed their businesses forward and deepened customers' loyalty.

Securiforce Group executive chairman Datuk Maznah Hamid, dubbed the "Iron Lady of Malaysia", will motivate the audience on the importance of branding.

Making special appearance at the conference will be Media Prima Bhd's group chief executive officer for television network, Datuk Seri Ahmad Farid, and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology president Tan Sri Dr Lim Kok Wing.

Lew, who is also the chief executive officer of Lewre International Sdn Bhd, said that the current crisis should be the time for SMEs to leverage on branding to differentiate themselves and stand out from others.

"We seek to change the wrong perception among the SMEs towards branding.

"The SMEs think that they cannot do branding because they are small, so they compete in the red ocean, on price and products. They do not innovate as they focus only on profit," he said.

According to Lew, intellectual property (brand) was more valuable than physical property as branding focused on value-creation and could last for generations.