For the “Asian Century” to materialize – in real terms – big, powerful, compelling and desirable Asian brands will need to fuel it. This will require “great” not merely good brands. This paper reveals the 2 key drivers that will help realize a global paradigm shift.

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HOW ASIA WILL CHANGE THE WORLD
Jack Ma, Alibaba

2. © INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF
WE ARE WITNESSING
– IN OUR LIFETIME –
THE RISE OF ASIA.
THIS IS NOT THE
SAME AS THE RISE
OF THE “ASIAN
CENTURY”.

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HOW MUCH MORE?

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THE ONLY MODEL WE
HAVE THAT PROVIDES,
BOTH, AN IDEA OF VALUE
AS WELL AS REVEALS THE
SCOPE AND SCALE OF
OUTCOMES, IS THE
“AMERICAN CENTURY”

5. © INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF
The “American” Century changed the world - culturally
INSIGHT #1:
THAT BRANDS
GO BEYOND BUSINESS
& COMMERCE. THAT
THEY CAN AND DO
ALSO REPRESENT IDEAS
AND EVEN PEOPLE.

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INSIGHT #2:
THAT POWERFUL
BRANDS ARE
CAPABLE OF
DEFINING PEOPLE
The “American”
Century changed
the world -
culturally

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IF “GREAT”
BRANDS ARE PEOPLE
DEFINING, THEN
ASIA IS AWASH WITH
MERELY “GOOD”
BRANDS.*
*Japanese brands lie
outside of the calculus

8. © INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF
HOW DO THE
MORE PROMISING
ASIAN BRANDS
BREAK THE GLASS
CEILING AND
TRANSITION TO
PEOPLE-DEFINING
GREAT BRANDS?
QUESTION

9. © INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF
ANSWER
VIA TRULY GREAT
LEADERSHIP THAT WILL
REQUIRE 2 THINGS:
1. VISION, and
2. UNCONVENTIONAL
THINKING

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VISION
RECOGNIZE &
UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE,
SCALE AND PACE OF
GLOBAL CHANGE
1.

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THE EFFECT OF HYPER-
COMPETITION
TECHNOLOGY AND
GLOBALIZATION HAVE
IMPROVED PRODUCTS TO THE
POINT OF COMMODITIZING
THEM AGAIN. AS A RESULT
PEOPLE NOW EXPECT MORE
THAN JUST FUNCTIONAL
EXCELLENCE
a 3600
shift
VISION1.

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UNCONVENTIONAL
THINKING
2.
RECOGNIZE THAT CHANGE
WILL MEAN NOT JUST
DIFFERENT CUSTOMER
EXPECTATIONS, BUT ALSO
DIFFERENT WAYS FOR THE
COMPANY TO DELIVER
THESE

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THERE
WILL BE OUTLIER
VISIONARY ASIAN
ENTREPRENEURS WHO WILL
INITIALLY WALK ALONE.
THEY WILL BLAZE A TRAIL
OTHERS WILL EVENTUALLY
FOLLOW.
THEY WILL WIN FOR
2 REASONS:

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BRAND
PURPOSE
CORPORATE
CULTURE
2.1.
CUSTOMERS
INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

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WINNERS WILL RECOGNIZE
THE NEW CONSUMER
LANDSCAPE REALITIES AND
PRIORITIZE “PURPOSE” AS A
DRIVER OF BRAND
DIFFERENTIATION
1.

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INCREASINGLY
PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR
BRANDS THAT MATTER TO
THEM IN A RELEVANT WAY.
WINNERS WILL RECOGNIZE THAT
BRAND PURPOSE CAN INCLUDE
BUT WILL NOT NECESSARILY
ALWAYS NEED TO BE ABOUT
SAVING THE WORLD.
DIRECT
RELEVANCE
TO ME
CSR
THE NEW
OF BRAND PURPOSE
1.

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THE ENGINE OF A
COMPANY ARE ITS PEOPLE.
THE PROBLEM: RIGHT NOW TOO MANY
ASIAN COMPANIES HAVE CULTURES THAT
REPRESS EMPLOYEE EXPRESSION,
CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPERIMENTATION AND
INITIATIVE.
THE ABSENCE OF INCLUSIVE, ENABLING
CULTURES UNDERMINES THE BRAND’S
ABILITY TO APPEAL TO CONSUMERS AND
COMPROMISES THE COMPANY’S ABILITY TO
INNOVATE.
2.
CORPORATE CULTURE IS A LOW HANGING FRUIT
WHY?

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1. THE EXISTENCE OF HISTORICAL SOCIO-
CULTURAL MARKERS THAT TRANSLATE INTO
BEHAVIOURAL NORMS – BOTH OUTSIDE AS
WELL AS INSIDE THE COMPANY: PEOPLE ARE
CONDITIONED TO “KNOW THEIR PLACE”.
2. A COMMON CEO MANAGEMENT MIND-SET
THAT REINFORCES THAT CONDITIONING.
REGARDLESS OF CULTURAL SPECIFITY (FROM
CONFUCIAN TO ISLAMIC) MANAGEMENT
STYLES ARE PATRIARCHAL AND
HIERARCHICAL FAVORING COMMAND-
CONTROL MODELS
TWO REASONS:
2.

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THIS IS HOW WINNERS
WILL SOLVE IT:
THEY WILL RECOGNIZE THE ROLE OF CULTURE
AS THE ENGINES OF THEIR COMPANIES. THEY
WILL SHUT OUT EXTERNAL SOCIETAL
CULTURAL MARKERS AND CREATE INTERNAL
“SAFE ZONES” THAT WILL ENCOURAGE
EXPERIMENTAL THINKING AND
COLABORATIVE AND COOPERATIVE
TEAMWORK.
THEY WILL DO THIS CONFIDENTLY IN THE
KNOWLEDGE THAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE
DRIVEN TO WANTING “MORE” BY
KEY BODY CHEMICALS.
2.

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GLOBAL
TRENDS
BRAND
PURPOSE
DYNAMIC
INTERNAL
CORPORATE
CULTURES
GREAT
ASIAN
BRANDS
DEFINE PEOPLE ALL
OVER THE WORLD
TURBO-
CHARGE
ASIAN
ECONOMIES
THE ASIAN
ENTREPRENEURIAL
CEO: INVOLVED,
INSPIRING AND
ENABLING
RISE OF THE
ASIAN CENTURY
2
1
FUNDAMENTAL BUT CRITICAL PILLARS
THAT WILL SUPPORT ALL BRANDS ON
THEIR JOURNEY TO GREATNESS
2
THE ROADMAP

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“We (therefore) need to focus on our own people.
Develop their brains which will deliver innovation.”
“Our core competence is culture. We have 20,000 people
(working at Alibaba) and we focus on the values and the
mission… making sure that we build a culture that is about
working to help others instead of just making money.
Unlike Wall Street we believe customers No 1, employees
No 2 and shareholders No 3…this is my religion… it’s the
employees that drive innovation .. during crisis time they
(shareholders) ran away, my customers stayed, my people
stayed.”
Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba
On employees: “Continuous improvement…life
long learning and purpose…happy staff, happy
customers”
Ron Sim, Chairman & CEO of OSIM
On brand: “our people drive the brand and the
brand motivates people…”
“How you build can also destroy the environment, and how you
integrate yourself with the community can also destroy the social
cultural environment…With that great sense of responsibility, we
wanted to do good and as we did that, we began to realize
consumers like to link their purchasing power with their values.
More importantly, our associates like to be identified with a
company that reflects their values.”
Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Holdings
THE OUTLIERS ARE
ALREADY MAKING A
MARK.

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THE CATALYSTS WILL BE NEW
GENERATION ASIAN CEO
ENTREPRENEURS. GIVEN THE BACKDROP
OF THE WORLD THEY ARE INHERITING,
THIS NEW BREED OF LEADERS MAY END
UP DOING MORE THAN CREATE GREAT
BRANDS WE BUY AND USE. THEY
MAY WELL HELP SAVE
THE WORLD.
THE ASIAN CENTURY
WILL ONLY MATERIALIZE
IF ASIAN BRANDS GREAT
ENOUGH TO DEFINE PEOPLE RISE AND
SHAPE THE FABRIC OF GLOBAL CULTURE.

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brandASiAN
b u s i n e s s & b r a n d i n g
In Singapore
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www.BrandTalkAsia.com
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