Advertising guru: Start with the 'Whys'
Published on: Tuesday, May 05, 2015
Alor Setar: Advertising guru of Bulb Communique Sdn Bhd, Zain Amri Ayeob liked to quote about business leadership: "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe". "Start with the Question 'Why'. It is a simple but powerful business model. All organisations, business or otherwise, start with 'Why'. Ask yourself – Why does your company exist? Why you do what you do (nature of business). "By 'Why', I mean your purpose, cause or belief," he said at a recent Workshop on Module 7 – Kickstarting your Brand Advertising under the 'Empowering Our Community Through Quality Learning' series.
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Zain, who is the Managing Partner of Bulb Communique (a strategic brand communications consultancy), borrowed the quote from English author cum business leadership guru, Simon Sinek. In fact, Sinek authored the best-selling book 'Start with Why' in which he deliberated on the concept.Without having that clarity of "Why", Zain said, everything is generic. "For example, if you say you are the best paper, there must be a "why" to it. If the paper stands for the rakyat, people will buy it because whether you are talking about music or sports, at least the readers can trust that whatever is published is coming from the perspective of the people at large."And that's a brand. But if you sell your paper as having the latest news, the strangest gossips, everybody has got that," he contended.
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Giving another example, Zain said if one says one's catering company does this and that, then we can ask the owner why. "And why does he or she think that the company is more valuable than the other? It could be personalised service, and maybe why he or she is doing it is because of the intention to raise the standard of guest dining in the State."Emphasising the importance of brand advertising, the advertising guru said very often, people misunderstand or belittle the value of investing in brand advertising because they think it is not necessary. "But some companies who invest heavily in brand advertising have seen tremendous results," he added.
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Citing Toms Shoes as an example, Zain said it is an international brand and very popular with consumers "not because of the style but because of the belief of the founder."Blake Mycoskie, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, started his "One for One" company in 2006 with a vision and mission of social entrepreneurship. So what he did simply proved what he believed in."Why did he start that company? His vision is to put a pair of shoes on every human being in the world in addressing the world's needs. 'One for One' is a business model that helps a person in need with every product purchased."So the social company is selling Toms Shoes not so much about how great the shoes are, but with the philosophy that for every pair sold, the company will outfit a kid with shoes somewhere in the world, one who cannot afford to buy."And people buy Toms shoes because they support and believe in the company's noble cause," Zain said.The one-day workshop was organised by the Sabah Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals Association (Swepa) led by Datin Jeanette Tambakau, and supported by the Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology, at the Grandis Hotel, here. Organising Chairperson Niney Chong said Module 7 was part of the Swepa Training Committee's 'Empowering Our Community Through Quality Learning' series.Answering a question about Malaysia's Vision 2020, Zain said that is a brand vision, a name that gives Malaysians a goal. "2020 is a target so we have an idea of what Malaysia should be by then. We go back to the Plan of Action and see whether the strategies are going to make us (Malaysians) get to 2020." "The Government is striving to brand Malaysia as a country of opportunities, of economic growth. That is absolutely branding," he asserted. To another question, he said there is a demand for brand advertising in the Malaysian market in line with the country's goal to increase income for a developed nation status by 2020."The Volkswagen is one great example of brand strength. Branding has made it an everyday man's car. It doesn't try to be a Ferrari. I think we need to grow on our brand strengths."We need to learn how to tell that story in a way that compels people, and that is what is missing. The brand is determined by who a company wants to speak to, that is, the target audience."The target audience is not as simple as 13 to 50. It's literally – he is a hipster, he is a rock fan or he is a coffee drinker. Targeting gets very tight now," he said.On what Swepa has done to promote itself through programmes and activities since its inception in 1993, Zain said it is a great brand exercise."If my wife wants to set up a business in KK, then I will tell her to join Swepa because obviously, it's something you want to be aligned to."That's what a brand is. Sirim is a brand. Halal is a brand. A brand is just one word or one symbol that gives you the understanding of everything it stands for," he said.Citing the American Marketing Association's definition, Zain said a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.He accepted Swepa's invitation to come and conduct a workshop on brand advertising on the premise that he stands for self-made entrepreneurs in the country. "I stand for entrepreneurism because not everybody is born with a silver spoon in the mouth, and not everybody is born with rich parents," he declared. "But that does not mean we are not destined to be successful economically speaking." As a successful and award-winning women's organisation, Zain said, Swepa could be an inspiration to other women in other states."I believe in that and I think Swepa should grow their brand to that level, not only just helping the women in Sabah but having the women lead the other women in the country to show, 'Look, what we can do. As a State association, look at what we have created.'"Asked whether it is necessary for winners of entrepreneurial awards to continue with brand advertising, he said: "Branding is never enough."For now, the advertising guru wants to support the businesswomen in Swepa in efforts to build a belief system among the community that this is the next level. "It's not just getting the business right, it is getting the business famous, talked about and respected. So a brand ambition is what I am trying to develop with them as well because right now, all they say is that they just want to grow their business."And I am saying besides growing your business, what is your brand ambition? How do I know whether you would get to become successful? What would happen when you are successful?" Zain said."For example, what would happen if a paper is successful? How would it affect readers? It means everybody now knows what they need to know about their own State. So they will support the paper by buying it."On those who claim to be successful in their endeavours, he said success is only to the level that they know how to run their business. "I am trying to create extra value in the sense that it's not just being successful by doing what you do best but trying to grow your name so that it doesn't limit you to just that business."A good example is that of a businesswoman whose restaurant is doing very well and has become famous. But for that particular businesswoman, she wants to be known as a person who wants to go beyond that restaurant. She wants to open other businesses. But how would people know she is more than just a restaurateur? Again it boils down to brand advertising," he shared.Earlier, in his presentation, Zain said brand is anything that increases your perceived value, and perception is the reality, the truth and the belief based on what people experience."There are two ways one can make money – either you create a product that is valuable or as a function or you create a product that costs a little but you can convince people to pay a lot."Say a certain drink costs about 13 sen but nobody complains it is sold at RM2 because of brand. Similarly, Coffee Bean or Starbucks is selling an experience which is why the cup costs RM10 versus a normal cup somewhere else."Simply, they have got air-con, wi-fi and the beverage comes in a certain cup. So all that is brand, and when brand is there, people don't mind paying more," he explained.Speaking from experience, Zain said what makes it difficult to grow one's business is the need to convince people that the value of a product can increase even though the product may be the same."For instance, how do you turn a 30 sen roti canai to a RM3 roti canai? And people will buy because of the brand. To value-add is not simply just putting more roti or more gravy. Perhaps the roti canai is served with a certain specialty or that the setting of your roti canai is authentic."The whole idea is you want to raise the perceived value of your product. I am helping Sabah entrepreneurs to translate what they believe is something they have to offer to the community. But at the same time, I am enlightening them on how the community thinks, so there is always a gap."For example, even as a newspaper, I am sure the reporters write good stories and these are your beliefs, your vision but the consumers don't know that. Therefore, what is missing is the fact that the paper has not branded itself in certain ways so people can understand what it stands for," Zain elaborated.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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