Tasty branding strategies of Singapore firms

Singapore is a welcoming hub for international brands that seek to establish a base in Asia or specifically Southeast Asia. With the rise of competing products and service providers, it is imperative that businesses are able to distinguish their brands among their competitors.

Let us take a ride to explore the branding strategies of Singapore businesses.

Strategy 1 : The heritage brand

The adoption of such strategy is pervasive in Singapore. Often heritage brand conveys a story that wraps a business. The story can reflect the past journey to present development. Particularly, this creates an emotional affinity between consumers and brand, bringing them to the possible nostalgic past.

One example is local grown brand Old Chang Kee. It portrays a craving of nostalgic old-time delicacy of curry puff dated back since 1956. Another similar example is Ya Kun Kaya Toast with a history dated back to the 1940s of the simple breakfast delicacy of toast bread with a sip of the enduring “kopi” aroma. These two local brand examples are how a compelling story can elevate individual business to become a well-loved heritage brand by imaginary differentiation.

Strategy 2: The cultural brand

A culture is often perceived as a way of life. This can encompass the consumption habits of consumers. Think about the decision-making process of consumers. What affects their taste and preferences?

If a business can build a consumption culture, it can flourish into a cultural brand. Perhaps we can think of the local grown brand TWG tea, which have revamped the way people consume and associate with tea. Few would have thought that tea consumption could become a popularised culture not only in commercial setting but at home too.

Strategy 3 : Personality branding

The market of consumerism often places strong emphasis on personality branding. The key between personality and personal brand lies in the image projection. Let us take a look at the footwear market. A long time favourite of local grown brand Charles and Keith is an example of how personality branding shapes consumers' preference for the products.

Consumers tend to associate brands with a perception. They tend to think of how people would perceive them when they consume a particular good or service. We are living in a brand-conscious era where consumers may have certain self-identity association to the products they consume.

The key is to understand how your brands can help consumers to enhance their image perception and beyond.

Dominant strategy: Fusion approach

Few companies take an independent approach in building brand capital. A rational approach is to infuse different strategies and create a branding plan that would reflect the value proposition, character, and identity of the company.

Take time to consider this brand diagnostic: if you will remove your brand from your product, will consumers continue to buy your products? If the answer is no, then perhaps you are in a branding business. If the answer is yes, you are probably in a product business.

Take a sip of coffee and enjoy the branding ride of your company today!