Mavericks, stand up and be countedThe word ‘maverick’ could bother a lot of people in Asia because they do things differently and question the status quo but often, they are the names behind some of the world’s most successful brands.  Karthik Siva, chairman of the Global Brand Forum, who was opening his event last week (August 14), themed “Maverick Approaches to Brand Building”, said that mavericks change the rules of the game, always questioning conventional wisdom and pushing for progress.“Mavericks don’t need to be Guns n’ Roses or Grateful Dead. Gandhi and Mandela were mavericks, as are Steve Jobs and Richard Branson.” He added: “Progress would not be possible without mavericks.” Another key to successful brand building is “forgetting” and “unlearning”. “The more you remember, the more you’re stuck in the past,” said Karthik. Using Singapore as an example of a successful brand that has reinvented itself every two to three years, he said, “Singapore has transcended by forgetting the past and remembering the future.” Asia, he said, was at a tipping point, in “a predicament”. It had a lot of huge companies but an abysmally small number of world class brands. Most Asian economies and brands have grown out of copycat economics, he said. “Copy them, make them cheaply and make a lot of it,” he said. “Asia has to make the transition from centre of imitation to centre of origination.” Karthik will be speaking at WIT. He will share “Ten Ideas To Get You Thinking” on Oct 21. PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS 10.20-11.00 New Ideas For Brand Building & Marketing If you don’t stand for something, you fall for everything. Indeed, there’s a very thin line between bland and brand. What are some of the new ideas out there that can help ensure your brand does not fall into the abyss of blandness? Gordon Locke, Vice President, Airline Marketing and Strategy, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network John Mims, Global Sales & Marketing, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Kathleen Tan, Vice President-Marketing, AirAsia |
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