Article publié le Mercredi 24 mars 2004.

BRAND_TALK CEO’s inventing our future

You cannot have missed the ambitious slogan that welcomes all commuters heading to the Capital city from the south. Illustrated by dancers originating from different local cultures with a blurred effect in the art-directed photo shot and spread on a 12 X 3m billboard, “L’essentiel, c’est vous”, like a dream snapshot, is the first noticeable strong value proposition we notice while stressing our way through the morning traffic jam. This tag-line is supposed to symbolize the commitment of the Rogers Group, the island’s leading conglomerate, to its various stakeholders. While it would be an interesting exercise to assess to what extent this promise is a real statement in the daily life of the galaxy of companies making up this Group, impacting at the same time its employees, customers, shareholders, and business partners alike, it is strong enough to attract attention, provoke thought and be a source of inspiration. We may quote a lot more: “Innovation Delivered” for Accenture, “Brings Value to Life” for IBL, “Whatever it takes” for Fed Ex, “Shaping lasting success” for DCDM. But what lies behind these statements is much more important. Apart from tag lines, companies may at times spend millions of rupees to formulate Vision and Mission statements which are posted on shop-floor operations, reception areas, boardroom lounges but without any kind of implementation and any tangible effect on the behaviour, living values and let alone motivation or commitment of various internal and external audiences. As Change, and its necessary by-product, Transformation, imposes our local organizations (business or non-business) to always adapt to fast-moving market conditions increasingly set with “global” variables, it is legitimate for us to ask ourselves this simple question: to what extent our corporations realize the full potential of their Corporate Brands? And how do they link the whole to its parts, the parent to its off-shoots, spin-offs and ultimately with the products they sport on the market? Does the positioning take into account all these factors? With a media-literate mauritian consumer society, ubiquity of technology, emergence of deregulation, and increased merger & acquisitions activities, some of our most proactive conglomerates are today asked to answer tough questions by different publics: What does your corporation stands for? Who owns it? Are your Customers delighted customers? In which Values does the organization believe? What is your social responsibility? Our CEOs are today, realizing the key importance of leveraging on their Corporate Brands to make their voices heard in the crowd. Very often though we tend to confuse Corporate Branding with Corporate Identity, Corporate Image and Corporate Communications. Corporate Identity has more to do with the visual expression and look of the company and, hence deals with the company’s name, logo and visual identity system. Corporate Image is what is reflected in the minds of the target audience and the public at large, whether intended or unintended. Corporate Communications is all communication actions done on the level of the company (versus its products). Corporate branding, however, has the capacity to synergize all these in a coherent whole: it is a business process. One that is planned, strategically-focused and integrated throughout the organization. It establishes the direction, leadership, clarity of purpose, inspiration and energy for a company’s most important asset, its corporate brand. The CEO has a central role here: to bear the torch of the Corporate Brand, act as its all-time champion and inspire the troops. Of course, he will be helped by others around, but as he sits on the apex of the pyramid, he has the responsibility to show the way and run the show! If we take the example of the Prime Minister for instance: he heads a huge organization, has strong leadership traits and make sure he has a good degree of control over the system to make things happen as planned. All business leaders are in the same situation: they have to manage available resources at the best of their abilities and achieve optimum performance for their respective organizations while making sure the Corporate Brands they manage unleash sufficient power to invent the future… ashraf_oozeerally@yahoo.com   Also referenced on : http://www.lexpress.mu/Services/archive_15250_BRAND_TALK

Ashraf OOZEERALLY