With cut throat competition prevailing the world over, just having a good product is not enough. Branding greatly influences choice and profit. The African Executive talks to Tom Sitati, Director of a Branding firm.

A.E:  What is branding?

Sitati: Branding can trace its origins back to as early as 2500BC when ancient Egyptians “branded” their cattle by burning unique marks onto their hides to act as a theft deterrent. Cattle owners could identify their cattle using these marks. With time, people got to identify cattle depending on the marks they bore and began to associate certain marks with certain qualities. The brand graduated from being a mere identifying mark to become a promise. This concept hasn’t really changed much. Brands still create a unique identity while certifying origins and therefore the qualities of any market offering (products, services, organizations, places and even persons). The major development in modern day branding has seen brands transcend the mere functional qualities to now even creating an emotional connection with consumers.

A brand consists of both tangible and intangible aspects that make it unique and desirable to the consumer. It is more than a name, sign or logo although these play a role in creating a unique identity. A brand includes all perceptions that those relating to the brand in any way will have. People will relate to a brand at various touch points or different areas where brands interact with interested parties or stakeholders.

Research has shown that customers rate their experience with employees as more powerful influencers on their brand loyalty than advertising. Gallup organization research in the banking industry has shown that customers are more likely to return, by a ratio of 10 to 20 times, if the organization has outstanding employees. Employees form an important touch point for brands. Others include premises, visual presentations including stationery, the actual product or service being delivered, among others.

A.E. Why is branding very significant?

Sitati: Cut throat competition has ensured that having a good product is no longer sufficient to beat the competition. Quality product is no longer exception but the norm. Branding not only creates that distinction that makes an offering stand out from the competition but also creates the connection in the relationship between the market offering and the consumer.

Celtel, one of the larger telecommunications providers in Africa has embraced the principles of branding. Roots, Modern Sophistication and Technology are Celtel’s brand pillars.The organization consistently builds its brand by communicating its Pan African roots and desire to “make life better” through the use of cutting edge technology. This is demonstrated through its consistent advertising, while it intentionally designs and rolls out products and services that while technologically advanced, are convenient and simple for common people to use. This is all in line with the soul of the Celtel brand and has ensured that it stands out in a consistent manner in every country where it has a presence.

A.E. What makes a brand "good" or "bad"?

Sitati: One needs to go back to the definition of a brand. Great brands have two things in common. First, they are unique – they have characteristics that make them stand out from similar market offerings. Second, they maintain a consistency across all touch points. Great brands have a single consistent meaning and feel at all touch points. Mercedes is one of the top global brands. When you interact with the Mercedes brand you can be sure of an aura of prestige. This rings true from the vehicle itself to the showroom, sales literature, advertising, customer service and even pricing.

A.E. Who needs branding?

Sitati: Since we are in a competitive and crowded global market we all need to embrace the principles of branding. When one doesn’t take charge of their brand, it develops by default. Not choosing to define, develop and manage ones brand is as good as gambling away an investment. When no effort is made to create, define and manage a brand, the most common and consistent elements to a brand’s market presence become the brand. We cannot escape from perceptions that stakeholders create of our market offerings. To ensure that these perceptions are what we wish them to be, it is important to embrace branding.

A.E: To what extent has Africa succeeded or failed in branding itself?

Sitati: BusinessWeek, in collaboration with Interbrand, one of the top branding agencies in the world, recently released a list of the top 100 brands in terms of value. They have done this for the past six years. Not a single African brand has ever made it to the list. Africa hasn’t done well in creating world class brands. A typical example of where Africa has lost out is in the coffee market. The top brands related to coffee include Starbucks from the United States and Nescafe from Switzerland. Neither of these countries can produce the product but that hasn’t stopped them from making the bulk of the money in the coffee industry by creating and owning coffee brands. The competitive global market is dominated by brands. Africa must create and manage its own world class brands in order to compete in the global market.

The battle to create world beating brands may be lost if the continent is unable to forge a united front, define its own unique brand, proceed to manage it and ultimately compete with the rest of the world. South Africa is probably the best example of an African country that has managed to define its brand and is actively managing and promoting it. The fruits of this effort are already being seen through economic prosperity and better livelihoods for South Africans. With such a fertile environment for brand building, we are likely to see the first African global brands emerging from South Africa.