Brands in the Boardroom

“Why don’t we see a single Indian brand in the Business Week league table?” This question raised by an aspiring manager at the recently held ET in Campus seminar on ‘Brands in the Boardroom’ put the issue of understanding and managing DNA right in focus. Successful organizations world over have nurtured strong brands with unique consumer connect experiences over a period of time. Indian corporates would have a better chance of multiplying their EVs and getting counted among the big guys out there if they focus more on the demand side management and not just the supply side. Read on... .... (ET dated 29th Jan. 2009, section – Business & IT, Page 6) href="http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/ET/navigator.asp?Daily=ETBG&login=default&AW=1233236248953" ‘Focus on intangibles key’ Publication:Economic Times Bangalore; Date:Jan 29, 2009; Section:Business & IT; Page Number:6 Our Bureau BANGALORE THE success of any enterprise in the next three decades will be determined more by its ability to use intangible assets than by its ability to control the physical ones, said Ramesh Jude Thomas, president of Equitor Consulting, speaking at ‘ET in Campus’ event held at Christ University Institute of Management. Delivering a lecture on ‘Brands in the Boardroom,’ organised by ET in Campus, an initiative of the Economic Times, Mr Thomas said that brand is a unique relationship that creates and secures future earnings for the company. Explaining the case of the world’s top two brands, Coca-Cola and Microsoft, he said that the total brand value of these two companies in 2007 was $129 billion, which was higher than the GDPs of many countries. According to him, the companies with established brands appeared more credible. Detailing the role of intangible assets in mergers and acquisitions, he said that when Procter & Gamble bought Gillette for $57 billion, a little less than half the price was for the brand alone. Dwelling on the reason behind the absence of Indian brands on the league table, Mr Thomas said: “As long as we continue to focus on cost, someone else will beat us at our own game. The need of the hour is to focus on creating value through brands.” “In the very near future, companies will be valued around the quality of their brands. Other assets will be valued only for the support they can provide to the brands,” Mr Thomas said.

Ramesh Jude Thomas, president and chief knowledge officer, Equitor Management Consulting, speaks on ‘Brands in the Boardroom’ as part of the ET in Campus ‘Leaders on Leadership’ lecture series, at Christ University in Bangalore on Wednesday. —ET

IPL is the Bluest Ocean Around

Last week an old colleague of mine who runs Interbrand Australia mailed in for a ringside sense of the IPL phenomenon. And that’s exactly what it is. As much as we all have issues with the way cricket is run in this country, one has to admire the sheer audacity of the idea and indeed the way it has been executed and administered so far. My mind went back instantly to a Blue Ocean session at INSEAD where I had used Kerry Packer as an outstanding example of breaking market boundaries. What IPL has managed is to successfully do a Packer on the “traditional” one day format. I can’t think of a better example of classic Blue Ocean than IPL. 1. Like Packer, IPL demonstrated brilliant business thinking which extended far beyond cricket. IPL is actually a new entertainment medium in this country. It competes seriously with Bollywood. And if ever proof was required here it is: some multiplexes have already decided to screen the IPL matches instead of the scheduled movies on the match dates 2. Like the Low Cost Carrier or I-tunes, it has successfully brought in new customer segments into the market. Housewives, old in-laws and young kids are prepared to give up F1, dinner or video games during matches. 3. Its most laudable achievement is that it has finally monetized the dominating share of mind the game has always enjoyed amongst 1.5 billion people across 8 countries. It was a shame that with the fan following it had, cricket as a legitimate commercial activity has always remained a fraction of the value of tennis, FI or even golf. 4. The most telling evidence of its reach and power is the attention it has received from the politicians. IPL shifted to SA only because the politicians tried to bully them out of the original schedule which clashed squarely with the general elections. In fact South Africa is a great blessing because the 4 hour time difference will now allow Indians to return from work and watch entire matches. Any organisation can take a leaf out of Lalit Modi’s business leadership book: for sensing big opportunity, outstanding execution and smart conflict management.