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The rules of the game
WPP has been analyzing local and global brands using its proprietary BrandZTM measurement tool, undertaken by Millward Brown, for almost two decades. BrandZTM is the world’s biggest and most authoritative brand equity study, and the wealth of data and analysis that goes into it has generated deep insights into what fuels and sustains strong, valuable brands.
In producing the annual BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings, now in their 10th year, WPP has also learnt much about the way brands grow and develop in fast-growing markets.
In Myanmar, people have often had to buy what is available, rather than the product or brand they have a preference for. This is something we see in other fast- growth markets at the beginning of their development journey.
As choice becomes possible, consumers in developing markets start to notice - and buy - the brands that are different
in a positive way. The starting point for creating difference is visibility - driving brand awareness in a competitive environment. In newly emerging markets, recall of a brand name can be enough to trigger interest and trial.
What marks out Myanmar now is the scale of the opportunity for brands. Not only is there a large population and rising spending power, but in many categories, people don’t know any brands or are yet to make up their minds about the brands they prefer. And more brands are on the way.
BrandZTM tracks the attributes that consumers feel apply to brands – whether they are fun or creative, for instance, or generous and caring. Some brands are so little known or understood that they are
a “clean slate” in consumers’ minds. Many people simply don’t know these brands exist, while others know the name but don’t know what it stands for, and that means they have little reason to buy.
Globally, about 16 per cent of brands are a “clean slate” on the BrandZTM scale. In Myanmar, that figure is 32 per cent. This means there is a huge first-mover advantage to be had in Myanmar.
As markets become more developed, brands need to do more than simply build awareness. Consumers need
to understand points of difference between products and brands to enable them to make a choice, and to drive curiosity and trial. The need for brands to project difference intensifies as competition increases and awareness becomes a given.
What counts as brand ‘difference’ is
in the mind of the consumer, and this changes as a market develops, BrandZTM analysis shows. The benefit of a brand or product tends to be about its physical attributes, its features, or some other highly tangible aspect of it in the earlier stages of market development.
Later, brands move from projecting superior function to incorporating an emotional advantage that a brand can give consumers. A brand can start to “make my life better” in ways that are more abstract and harder to quantify. Successful brands at this stage of market development bring meaning in addition to function.
The progression of a market from developing to developed demands that brands need to work harder to maintain their advantage or make a successful entrance. Looking at BrandZTM data from fast-growing markets over time, it is clear
that this advancement is speeding up. Brands in Myanmar should not be satisfied with driving awareness alone; very
soon, this won’t be enough to establish difference.
IN MYANMAR, NOW IS
THE TIME TO INVEST IN BUILDING A STRONG BRAND
Global BrandZTM analysis in a range of markets has demonstrated that successful, valuable brands become so because
they make a human connection with consumers. The same will hold true
here in Myanmar. Brands grow because they are salient, relevant and meaningful to people – and they deliver on their promises. This applies everywhere. What differs between markets is what makes
a brand salient, relevant and meaningful. When a brand is all of those things, consumers will love it and it will grow – regardless of whether it is a local brand or a global name.
BrandZTM analysis shows that the strongest and most valuable brands around the world achieve greatness and value in
two ways: first, they invest in building a strong brand that makes a real, human connection with consumers; second,
they communicate their brand attributes effectively through great communication.
Brands that do either one of these things well can add significant value to their brand – but those that do both create a multiplier effect.
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