The Power of Branding"Marketing is too important to leave to the marketing department, Hewlett-Packard co-founder David Packard once said.Some of the most iconic rands in the world elong to manufacturers -- Ford, Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola - ut in the ver! concrete world of manufactured products, rands and randing can often seem ephemeral at est.""hether it is in the consumer marketplace or the #$# marketplace, the compan! rand matters. People want to u! from companies that make a difference, take a stand, are working towards something more than %ust profitailit!."& 'a! (ould, )hief *perating *fficer, +nterface",he strength of a compan!-s rand -- that the! are seen not %ust as eing surpassingl! good at what the! manufacture ut that the! manufacture in a responsile wa! and the! treat their emplo!ees well-- contriutes significantl! to a compan!-s license to operate." In the modern business world, an organisations brand image can be as important as the goods or services it produces. A strong brand image is a powerful asset for any organization as a recognised and trusted brand identity makes people confdent that the organisation is dependable. This is the reason why all successful businesses work hard at building their brands and presenting them in a clear and consistent way.According toJerry McLaughlin, Brand is the perception someone holds in their head about you, a product, a serice, an organi!ation, a cause, or an idea" Brand building is the deliberate and s#ilful application of e$ort to create a desired perception in someone else%s mind"&'e(ning"" Brand""Its evident that rands today are more important now than at any time in the past !"" years. rands are psychology and science brought together as a promise mark as opposed to a trademark.#roducts have life cycles. rands outlive products. $ith a brand is associated a uniform %uality, credibility and e&perience, which makes a brand valuable.)er *uestioned why Tata Motors of +ndia bought Jaguar and ,ange ,oer from -ord. /as it for -actories. -or ,aw Materials. -or )mployees. 0o ""1oldman 2achs andMorgan 2tanley helped -ord sell the brands to Tata for 34"56 billion, and the brands were worth more than all other ingredients combined"2imilarly, when 7raft bought 8adbury for 39:"5 Billion what did they buy. The chocolate. The factories. Therecipes. The candy ma#ers. 0o"" they bought the brands"And when'our (easons )otels, Inc.,a8anadian based international lu;ury, (eews was produced by -orus and mailed home to all of its employees worldwide to keep them informed of the changes. The booklet described answers to %uestions like @$hy the new nameAB, @$hat does it meanAB, etc. This booklet was available to other stakeholders including customers, suppliers, etc. and were very well received by all.(ubse%uent booklets titled as ;-orus >ews and ;-orus $orld were also published and designed with the perspective to provide an open channel of communication with employees..stablishing a new company and a new brand is usually a massive undertaking. ut the approach adopted by -orus proved highly successful. -orus became a widely recognised brand that %uickly developed a strong presence in the international metals industry. Cebranding the organisation made it possible for -orus to open up new opportunities while building on the strengths of the past. ecause developing a strong brand depends so heavily on creating appropriate perceptions, the internal and e&ternal communication e&ercises had been vital in %uickly building up the confdence of stakeholders. The entire e&ercise of brand4building was done keeping in mind the ob3ective of creating a consistent and well4recognised character of the company throughout the globe based on %uality, performance and presentation which will result into benefcial results, reinforcing the ethos of ;one company, with one name and one vision.Leeraging the ehicle of Ipen 8ommunications-orus continued the process of open communications. 'or e&ample, it ran focus sessions with groups of employees to discuss new workwear designs..mployees were invited to comment on what they like and to suggest improvements. 'or instance, all red for better visibility, re6ecting the importance of health and safety to -orus employees.rand seminars were held for -orus communication managers to ensure the integrity of the -orus brand is always preserved.In its e&ternal communications -orus concentrated on creating a consistent approach in all of its literature, eg. brochures, posters, press releases, education resources etc. to reinforce brand consistency..In its e&ternal communications -orus concentrated on creating a consistent approach in all of its literature, eg. brochures, posters, press releases, education resources etc. to reinforce brand consistency..The strapline associated with the company was ;-orus the future in metal.This re6ected the confdence and ambition within the company. It was used, with pictures of end products to illustrate the many ways in which customers beneft from -orus products and services, e&ample, in high4precision engineering, cars and civil airliners.The strapline associated with the company was ;-orus the future in metal.This re6ected the confdence and ambition within the company. It was used, with pictures of end products to illustrate the many ways in which customers beneft from -orus products and services, e&ample, in high4precision engineering, cars and civil airliners.