PANA enlists Asian Branding Guru Martin Roll for its Brand Master Sessions

In this ever-changing technology-driven landscape, entrepreneurs understand the need to adjust and evolve their businesses to adapt to the changes made in the industry. Oftentimes, these changes include all aspects of the company–from its use of technology to its day-to-day operations. But one aspect many business owners should never overlook is the role that marketing and communications can play in the growth of their brand. 

To help gain a better understanding of how companies can strengthen their brand name and elevate it to a global status, the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) has enlisted the help of Asian branding guru Martin Roll to speak to practitioners and aspiring advertisers at the PANA Brand Master Sessions 2019, happening on October 2 and 3. 

As a world-renowned global business strategist and author of the novels, “Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Iconic Brands” and “Family Business Strategy”, Martin Roll is the perfect person to share his expertise on the industry’s latest trends and developments. 

“Our expert, Martin Roll, has deep insights and research on how Asian businesses can use branding as a key strategic tool to bridge this gap–and this is what we will discuss at this year’s conference,” says Viki Encarnacion-Herrera, Marketing Director of Watson’s Philippines and Director-in-Charge of the PANA Brand Master Sessions 2019. 

On the first day of the masterclass sessions, Roll will be discussing three topics namely, Asian Brand Strategy: A New Paradigm, Transforming Family Business and Disrupting the Enterprise with Digital Transformation. 

While on the second day, he will hold C-level Roundtable Discussions to engage in deeper conversations with event sponsors.

But before his two-day stint at the PANA Brand Master Sessions, INQUIRER.net had the opportunity to talk to Martin Roll himself to get his insights on Philippine and Asian advertising. Here’s what we learned from the world-renowned global business strategist: 

Marketing needs to be centralized in all departments

When asked what was one problem advertisers had yet to solve, Martin Roll said centralizing the role of marketing in all departments of the company.  

“To be honest, there are a lot of different challenges to solve in the industry. But maybe the key challenge still–from an Asian perspective–is that it’s still a challenge for many practitioners to get the entire organization involved, in the sense that branding is not something that needs to be isolated in the marketing department,” he explains.

He believes that many company owners still have that underlying belief of “what can marketing do for us?”–when in reality, proper marketing can increase sales, elevate the brand’s status, and even become the strategic driver in Asian companies. 

Moreover, Roll believes that the key to facing this challenge is changing the mindset of upper management.  

“The challenge for mindset is asking ourselves, do we have the right mindset in my organization? It initially really starts with the founders, the owners, and the chairman understanding the power of marketing and communication.” 

Once top management is able to fully grasp this concept, Roll believes they can then implement it to the lower business units and instill a program to centralize marketing 

Professionalism should be implemented for family-owned businesses to survive

Through his years of research on the Asian marketing industry, Martin Roll has noticed the abundance of family-owned businesses in countries like ours. His interest in this topic has even led him to write the book “Family Business Strategy,” which makes him the ideal person to discuss this subject matter further.  

So, during the interview, Roll was asked why many times, the third and fourth generation fail to uphold the legacy of their family businesses. To this, Roll answers that the lack of a proper succession plan is one of the reasons for that. 

“They have not made a process of succession in terms of leadership and ownership. And questioning you as a family member, should you be a part of management? The question is in governance and professionalism.  Oftentimes, the key reason why they would not continue after the third generation is because they have never professionalized,” he shared. 

With no clear structure presented to the succeeding generations, it’s difficult for many family-owned companies to continue to improve their business––however, this is not a lost cause. According to Roll, families can avoid this by teaching their successors about the business–thereby instilling in them a sense of dedication and loyalty to the brand. 

The time is now for Filipino brands to go global

With the number of Filipino brands slowly gaining traction abroad, Martin Roll urges local business owners to take the next step in bringing their brand abroad. He adds that Filipinos have the necessary tools to make it big in the global scene. 

“If you look at the Philippine market, a lot of clients that have visited over the years–having kind of observed the Philippines and its rising for over 20 years–it’s because of your culture that you have the kind of motivation, energy, and determination to do well in marketing. And obviously the very good comprehension of English, I think that put you in a better decision to do that,” Roll adds. 

In this way, Roll foresees more brands being adopted into the Western scene. 

For more information on Martin Roll’s upcoming venture at the PANA Brand Master Sessions 2019, visit www.panabrandmasters.com.

INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/FM