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The programme of Singapore Brand Conference 2010 has been specifically crafted to address the needs of small and medium sized enterprises. With a focus on building global brands, this event is set to be the definitive branding conference.

| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |

Singapore Brand Conference 2010

Rethinking Innovation: Building Borderless Brands

Keynote Address
Guest-of-Honour: Mr Inderjit Singh, Member of Parliament, Ang Mo Kio GRC

Rethink, Retrain, Re-engineer – Branding Innovation: A Study of Singapore SMEs
Dr Wilson Chew, Group Principal Consultant & CEO, StrategiCom

What does innovation mean to you as a business owner? Is it equal to invention? Or is it something that lies exclusively in the domain of multinational corporations? A nation wide study of SMEs was conducted to gather responses from the business community on this issue. Innovation is key to competitive growth, but this alone will not benefit organisations unless SME owners commercialise their inventions through branding.

The Implications & Dynamics of Building A Borderless Brand
Mr Raymond Kwok, Director of Business Development, Jurong Consultants

As your business matures and begins to look overseas for potential new markets, the implications and dynamics of building borderless brands become more pertinent. Mr Raymond Kwok will share the success story of how Jurong Consultants has effectively managed to overcome challenges to establish its presence in key markets such as Saudi Arabia, India and China through groundbreaking innovations.

Building Borderless Brands: Rethinking Innovation
Panel Chairman: Mr Teng Theng Dar, CEO, Singapore Business Federation

Our world is now driven by cutting-edge technology and the Internet. Geographical and spatial barriers used to be obstacles to contend with but have crumbled under the weight of modern science and technological wizardry. Today, as businesses continue to grow and develop, the focus has increasingly shifted towards building a global brand that can cross territorial borders seamlessly. Innovation is one of the keys to unlocking this route to success, and it includes process innovation as well as product innovation. During this panel session, business leaders will speak on their experiences in innovating to enhance their competitive edge when building their brand both locally and overseas.

Panel Members

The Battle of the 21st Century: Attacking Your Enemy’s Strength
Mr Jacky Tai, Principal Consultant, StrategiCom

Conventional wisdom says that you can’t take on a larger competitor head-on because when you pick a fight with an 800-pound gorilla, you will get crushed. But when you are trying to build a borderless brand, 800-pound gorillas are everywhere. They are the entrenched players in those international markets that you are trying to penetrate. Conventional wisdom tells you if you are up against these giants, you either avoid them or you find a weak spot to attack. Conventional wisdom doesn’t work in the 21st century because everybody is using it. If you want to win the battle of branding, you have to attack the enemy’s STRENGTH. But you have to TURN that strength into a weakness first before you attack. Jacky Tai will share with you the 7 keys to launching a successful attack straight at heart of the enemy’s strength.

Protecting Your Brand From Global Competition
Dr Stanley Lai, Head of Intellectual Property & Technology, Allen & Gledhill

Acute awareness of the laws and regulations that govern the country your business operates in is one of the foundations of staying on the right side of the law. That knowledge alone however, may not be enough to ensure the integrity of your brand. Breaking into a new market opens up more business opportunities, but it also exposes your brand to more intense competition with an increase in the number of competitors, who may be more familiar with the local business scene. Let Dr Lai provide you with knowledge from a legal perspective on how you can protect your brands by ensuring your intellectual property rights.

Navigating the China Market – Defending Your Design
Mr Chan Chong Beng, Chairman, Goodrich Global

Acute awareness of the laws and regulations that govern the country your business operates in is one of the foundations of staying on the right side of the law. That knowledge alone however, may not be enough to ensure the integrity of your brand. Breaking into a new market opens up more business opportunities, but it also exposes your brand to more intense competition with an increase in the number of competitors, who may be more familiar with the local business scene. Let Dr Lai provide you with knowledge from a legal perspective on how you can protect your brands by ensuring your intellectual property rights.

Defending Your Brand While Expanding Into New Markets
Practice Associate Professor Ashok Charan, NUS Business School, NUS

The added benefits of establishing your brand’s presence in new markets goes hand-in-hand with greater risks. How then do you ensure that your brand has 360 degrees protection while expanding into new markets? Our panelists, comprising of legal experts, association leaders, academics and business leaders will provide counsel and share real life experiences on the precautions you need to take when treading in unfamiliar territory.

Panel Members

What CEOs SHOULD Do To Better Engage The Media – The Media’s Perspective
Mr Azhar Khalid, Senior Editor, MediaCorp NewsHub

CEOs are ambassadors and champions of their brands. As a living embodiment of their brand, there is much they can do to better engage the media. With years of journalistic experience to his name, Mr Khalid will speak on behalf of the media industry from the industry’s perspective of the strategies that CEOs can adopt to capture and focus media attention on their brands.

What CEOs MUST Do To Better Engage The Media – The CEO’s Perspective
Mr Steven Tham, CEO, Leeden Limited

As the sequel to “What CEOs SHOULD Do To Better Engage The Media – The Media’s Perspective”, “What CEOs MUST Do To Better Engage The Media – The CEO’s Perspective” will provide business leaders with savvy knowledge of the Do’s and Don’ts of engaging the media from a CEO familiar with the media spotlight. Learn from the Leeden Limited’s Executive Chairman & CEO, Mr Steven Tham as he shares his tips on dealing with the media.

Using Media To Create Borderless Brands
Panel Chairman: Mr Azhar Khalid, Senior Editor, MediaCorp News Hub

Going global is no longer confined to a physical presence in a particular territory. With the technology that is available today, having an online presence is just as important as having a physical presence. It offers a cost effective way of penetrating a new market and forms an integral part of brand strategy. Aside from the traditional print and broadcast media, online media is becoming increasingly important in brand building.

Panel Members

Brand Consistency Through Service Delivery In A Culturally Diverse World
Dr Tim Andrews, Director of International MBA, University of Strathclyde

In this presentation Dr Andrews will focus on the challenges facing services firms in their quest for strong and coherent brand development and delivery across geographical and cultural borders– especially in Asia. Unlike product-based brands – where quality standards can be largely assured through production systems/technology – the consistent delivery of service brand experiences is critically dependent on employee values and behaviour, an internally-based but yet far less predictable phenomenon. Dr Andrews will highlight how socio-cultural and developmental differences across societal boundaries can influence services brand consistency from within, often detrimentally and sometimes fatally. In particular he will examine how such variables can be identified, understood and – in consequence – successfully managed. Case illustrations from a range of both B2B and consumer services brands in Asia will be explored. The salient implications for the regionalization of exported services brands across the Asian region will then be discussed.

Managing A Brand In Diverse Markets – A Case On Thermal Limitec
Mr David Thomas, CEO, Thermal Limitec

How would you go about ensuring the consistency of your brand when your business is spread over places as far flung as Alaska, China, Venezuela, Angola, Kazkahstan, Netherlands and Congo? Like people, brands have personalities. Having a strong personality is a great way to differentiate your brand, but this is a tough differentiator for a business as you need to ensure that everyone in your business projects this personality consistently and correctly. For a brand to be differentiated by personality and thrive in diverse markets, focus is key to success. Through his own experiences in business expansion, Mr David Thomas will share with you on the tough challenges he has faced and overcome.

Stepping Across The Dotted Line – Brand Consistency Through Service Delivery In A Culturally Diverse World
Panel Chairman: Mr Jacky Tai, Principal Consultant, StrategiCom

In our rapidly evolving world where the customer is king, a high standard of consistent service delivery can prove to be your winning hand. Service has become commoditised – it is now expected as part of the product offering rather than a considered bonus. Service quality however, is dependent on people and it is extremely difficult to get right. Getting your service level right in a new market that is culturally diverse and operates along a differing scale of societal norms is an even more monumental task. Brand consistency depends largely on service delivery at every customer touch point.

Panel Members

Singapore Brand Conference

The Singapore Brand Conference is specially designed for Singapore companies, bringing you the most powerful principles that transformed successful global brands.