Recently a CEO of a large multinational corporation addressed his audience at a customer event in China. He delivered his maiden speech in Mandarin. No big deal. However he is not Chinese. Neither is he a Singaporean who is bilingual in Mandarin nor an expatriate who has mastered the language after years of living in China.
This young and brilliant CEO is a Senegalese. He created not only lasting impressions with his customers, I bet he won their hearts too. With no formal training in Mandarin, he asked his capable secretary to translate the script he has written (not his publicist, mind you) and he memorised every single pronounciation through constant recitation.
This CEO is a leader who has redefined leadership or what I call Servant Leadership. Within months of his appointment, he demonstrated this rare quality of serving people so they can serve others. His willing heart to learn a local language in the shortest time to reach local community, is just one illustration. Servant leadership has created environments to which employees are drawn and in which they thrive.
While language can be learned, I truly wonder how many top position holders have the serving attitude to go beyond "ni hao ma"?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Branding. Making it come alive like “No Signboard Seafood”
Everyone knows what a brand is. It is about delivering meaning and value.
My job is to make brands come alive. I describe brands as:
A promise, a personality, an image, a trusting relationship, a sense of purpose, security in purchase, satisfaction in use, leadership and authority, a sense of community, experience, and authenticity.
With decreasing product differentiation, product convergence, acquisitions and mergers, it is hard to tell products apart especially the white goods, automobile and others.
Only 20% of the brand is seen by customers who are able to recognize a logo and or a name. 80% of the brand convey values, that are unseen by the consumer, happen at the unconscious level.
Yes, big boys have money to burn so they have higher chances of getting their branding strategies right. However companies of any sizes have an equal footing if you are passionate about your business.
Even a well-known seafood chain in Singapore which does not have a brand before, has branded themselves as “NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD”! The name was given by their customers and they are wildly successful. http://www.nosignboardseafood.com/
So given the challenges, where do you start on branding?
The emphasis now is focus on the intangible or abstract value of brands. The big boys’ various branding architectures well illustrated this.
• SIA: a great way to fly - Corporate Branding
• Procter & Gamble: touching lives, improving life - Product Branding
• Nestle: good food, good life - Endorsed Branding
• Vidal Sassoon (under Procter & Gamble) - Line Branding
Recently I worked with a startup to conceptualize a new brand for a new company. We started by defining positioning in 7 levels: attributes and benefits, price, product class, use and application, competitor, value, and personality. Finally we developed the branding architectures before wrapping it up with messaging and proof points.
The entire process took 3 months from inception to launch, before a new brand is born.
My job is to make brands come alive. I describe brands as:
A promise, a personality, an image, a trusting relationship, a sense of purpose, security in purchase, satisfaction in use, leadership and authority, a sense of community, experience, and authenticity.
With decreasing product differentiation, product convergence, acquisitions and mergers, it is hard to tell products apart especially the white goods, automobile and others.
Only 20% of the brand is seen by customers who are able to recognize a logo and or a name. 80% of the brand convey values, that are unseen by the consumer, happen at the unconscious level.
Yes, big boys have money to burn so they have higher chances of getting their branding strategies right. However companies of any sizes have an equal footing if you are passionate about your business.
Even a well-known seafood chain in Singapore which does not have a brand before, has branded themselves as “NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD”! The name was given by their customers and they are wildly successful. http://www.nosignboardseafood.com/
So given the challenges, where do you start on branding?
The emphasis now is focus on the intangible or abstract value of brands. The big boys’ various branding architectures well illustrated this.
• SIA: a great way to fly - Corporate Branding
• Procter & Gamble: touching lives, improving life - Product Branding
• Nestle: good food, good life - Endorsed Branding
• Vidal Sassoon (under Procter & Gamble) - Line Branding
Recently I worked with a startup to conceptualize a new brand for a new company. We started by defining positioning in 7 levels: attributes and benefits, price, product class, use and application, competitor, value, and personality. Finally we developed the branding architectures before wrapping it up with messaging and proof points.
The entire process took 3 months from inception to launch, before a new brand is born.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The social web media battle against corporate
In this technology and ideas age, if your corporation does not have an official blog or a facebook fan site. Then your company is considered "old-fashioned". This is not only a beauty label. You should be seriously worried if your major competitors are ahead of you in the social web curve.
Many reputable corporations today have official blog sites and facebook fan pages. General Motors, Dell, UPS, Fedex are great examples of well-established companies who are using the new media to their full advantage. They recognized the importance of bringing people together online!
In my work with a regional client, he is keen to embark on this media plaform to expand his reach to employees and customers. His openess to explore new ways of communications is commendable despite his corporate's alienation of social media for years. Close to 70% of the employees in his organization are active social networkers through facebook, despite not having fb access at work ! Huge potential for internal communication ! We discussed possibility of developing a blog for customers and industry where it operates. However we still have to work through layers of resistance and challenges his corporate HQ may present.
PR department manages corporate reputation. A blog or a facebook are just two of these channels for reputation building. There are no different from interviews with analysts, press, and public speeches - all of these are documented anyway. The fundamental is to make sure that all spokespersons are well trained in what can and can’t be said. However, if the CEO has proven him/herself to be a loose cannon, perhaps some second party should advise on blog posts as well as during interviews.
There is only so much a provider like myself can do, it still boils down to who can win those corporate battles to reach new communication frontiers!
Many reputable corporations today have official blog sites and facebook fan pages. General Motors, Dell, UPS, Fedex are great examples of well-established companies who are using the new media to their full advantage. They recognized the importance of bringing people together online!
In my work with a regional client, he is keen to embark on this media plaform to expand his reach to employees and customers. His openess to explore new ways of communications is commendable despite his corporate's alienation of social media for years. Close to 70% of the employees in his organization are active social networkers through facebook, despite not having fb access at work ! Huge potential for internal communication ! We discussed possibility of developing a blog for customers and industry where it operates. However we still have to work through layers of resistance and challenges his corporate HQ may present.
PR department manages corporate reputation. A blog or a facebook are just two of these channels for reputation building. There are no different from interviews with analysts, press, and public speeches - all of these are documented anyway. The fundamental is to make sure that all spokespersons are well trained in what can and can’t be said. However, if the CEO has proven him/herself to be a loose cannon, perhaps some second party should advise on blog posts as well as during interviews.
There is only so much a provider like myself can do, it still boils down to who can win those corporate battles to reach new communication frontiers!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Day 5 of Shanghai World Expo 2010 - bigger bang than Beijing Olympics
Today is day #5 of the six month long Shanghai Expo 2010. The event ends on 31 October. While I have not booked my ticket yet, I am looking forward to visiting the event in September. For sure, this mega pow-wow has been well marketed on an international level, stacking up well above the Beijing Olympics in 2008 - except for that controversial theme song lifted from 1997 Japanese hit (Oops!) http://www.chinabuzz.net/buzz/shanghai-2010-world-expo-plagiarized-mayo-okamotos-song/
Well, well beyond plagiarism, there is still worthwhile facts to know :
Infrastructural cost:
Shanghai Expo US$58 billion
Beijing Olympics US$42 billion
Tourist traffic:
Shanghai Expo 70 million (forecast)
Beijing Olympics 6.5 million
Economics benefits:
Shanghai Expo 100 billion yuan (forecast)
Beijing Olympics 29 billion yuan
Oh, ladies forget about your 3-inch heels and pack a pair of good walking shoes. In China size does matter, but your comfort comes first !
Lili Koh
7Skies Communications
Well, well beyond plagiarism, there is still worthwhile facts to know :
Infrastructural cost:
Shanghai Expo US$58 billion
Beijing Olympics US$42 billion
Tourist traffic:
Shanghai Expo 70 million (forecast)
Beijing Olympics 6.5 million
Economics benefits:
Shanghai Expo 100 billion yuan (forecast)
Beijing Olympics 29 billion yuan
Oh, ladies forget about your 3-inch heels and pack a pair of good walking shoes. In China size does matter, but your comfort comes first !
Lili Koh
7Skies Communications
Monday, May 3, 2010
Making a masterpiece out of flies!
Dear friends
What do you do when you are bored? Time flies when you make a masterpiece out of flies ! See this creative work by Max, the Gen-Y designer working with me ...
http://www.mexzhouse.com/what-to-do-when-you-are-bored-at-work/#more-578
Enjoy !
Lili Koh
7Skies Communication
What do you do when you are bored? Time flies when you make a masterpiece out of flies ! See this creative work by Max, the Gen-Y designer working with me ...
http://www.mexzhouse.com/what-to-do-when-you-are-bored-at-work/#more-578
Enjoy !
Lili Koh
7Skies Communication
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