New Delhi, Dec 21 (Mayank Nigam) Brand strategy is critical in driving growth, and one should also keep the core product in mind while balancing it with advertising, David Taylor, Global Thought Leader & Group Managing Partner, Brandgym, on Wednesday said. “The world of marketing has changed dramatically in the last 4-5 years and India too is feeling the change, “Taylor said in his opening address at the 21st edition of Brand Conclave organized by CII here. The twenty first edition of Brand Conclave, India’s Biggest Brand Management Workshop has had the bigwigs from the world of Marketing & Branding addressing the marketing geography decision makers in Kolkata for the past 20 years. Citing the fact that brand strategy is critical in driving growth for the industry, Taylor said that the social media phenomenon has become a very critical tool in this regard and now advertising through digital media has become important.
He added that organizations would have to be “incredibly tactical” in balancing the product/service and its advertising. He called for a rebooting of brand strategy and asked the decision makers and marketing experts present at the masterclass to not forget about the product and merge the human touch and social media for positioning the brand. The global thought leader stressed that a true brand is much more and beyond just a logo and that names and symbols are associated with a distinctive customer experience. Welcoming the delegates and David Taylor to the Conclave, Shiv Siddhant Kaul, Deputy Chairman, CII Eastern Region & Managing Director, Nicco Engineering Services Limited said Brand strategy tends to get overlooked for all these digital channels. “While we see branding as an imperative in a rapidly globalising India, today more than ever before, where markets span continents, deeper understanding of the nuances of new product adoption, sharpened and effective messaging, marketing strategy and behavioural science for brands are necessary to creating a competitive edge,” he added.
Strong brand equity, Kaul said, results in value accretion first for a company and its products and then to all its stakeholders. But the creation of such value requires branding and marketing personnel to have consistent access to advances in the various facets of the sciences involved, he added.
Taylor, Marketing thought leader held the Masterclass at the CII Brand Conclave to help organizations to grow strong brands and fully realize them in today’s digital age by leveraging new growth and marketing strategies in the context of industries that under deep disruption and transformation due to rapidly changing customer expectations. David is the Founder and Group Managing Partner of the brandgym, a global team of brand strategy coaches working from bases in London, Amsterdam, Mexico City and Bangalore. He was named one of the world’s 50 leading marketing thinkers by the CIM and has been elected as a Fellow of The Marketing Society. He has written seven acclaimed books on branding, including the latest, the brandgym: A Practical Workout for Growing Brands in a Digital Age. He has taught at London Business School on both the MBA and Executive Programs. David has led brand growth projects for clients including AB InBev, Nestlé, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, LVMH and Cartier. Prior to founding brandgym in 2002, David worked in brand management for P&G, did an MBA at INSEAD and then ran the Paris office of Kantar Added Value. David is also Director of brandgym Academy, the brandgym’s global centre for research, development and learning, including the brandgym Mastering Brand Growth Program. He spoke extensively on Brand purpose and positioning; growing the core; brand stretch and turbo marketing.