The CEO must drive the brand

Here’s a great blog post (below in its entirety) from the guys at The Branding Blog about how branding will become one of the most prominent drivers of value across the globe in the next two decades. We couldn’t agree more. In fact, we would argue that it already is the most prominent driver of value. It’s just that it’s taking some leaders more time to catch on than others.

In the next five years, we will see a rapidly changing landscape across the globe, where the opportunities for businesses to benefit from corporate and product branding efforts will be larger than ever before.

The growing emphasis on branding will move up the boardroom agenda and I strongly believe that branding will become one of the most prominent drivers of value across the globe in the next two decades. Businesses with a sustainable business model and with a visionary and passionate CEO with branding talent will benefit from the rising opportunities for competing in the modern marketplace and potentially taking on the global scene.

It needs to be no less than the CEO who embodies the branding efforts and serves as the company’s and thereby the brand’s primary advocate and nurturer. The approach is particularly well suited to companies whose top executives have a passion and talent for brand strategy, but in tomorrow’s tough environment all top-executives must be able to represent and lead the brand. World-class companies like Sony, Virgin, Starbucks, Microsoft, Nokia, Giorgio Armani, Singapore Airlines, L’Oreal and Nestle all meet that description. Their top executives are directly involved in leading the branding vision, strategy and implementation, and spend a significant amount of their work hours to drive their brands forward and to achieve even better results.

Tomorrow’s CEO must be a brand champion who leads corporate and product branding strategies, all strategic brand-portfolio decisions and constantly monitors the implementation of the brand locally, regionally and globally. A strong CEO has credibility and respect not only because of business talent and organizational power but also because of the depth of experience, knowledge, and insight. A suggestion from a visionary CEO with branding talent and managerial experience in branding and marketing is the key driver of the branding efforts and results in any successful organization - internally and externally.

But having the branding know-how and sophisticated marketing technology is no longer adequate. The modern business leader needs to be a complete player, who covers a broad range of managerial capabilities and experiences, and have the vision to constantly monitor and improve. Being a marketing wizard is no longer enough. One also has to be an excellent business leader and a passionate brand marketer with a truly international edge.