In today’s environment, strong brands are the foundation in building a strong nation.

Let us take a look at some of the great nations of the world. The United States has the largest economy in the world and is also known as the land of brands.

In the 2008 Top 100 Best Global Brands study conducted by Interbrand, the US leads with 52 brands in the top 100 list, followed by Germany with 11, France eight, Japan six, Switzerland four, the Netherlands, Britain and Italy three each, Korea and Sweden two each, and Finland and Spain one each.

To qualify for the ranking, brands must derive 30% of their revenue from the export market.

Japan, Germany and France are the second, fourth and fifth largest economies in the world and their brands are well known for their quality products.

Coca Cola was ranked number one in the list with IBM, Microsoft and GE taking the second, third and fourth positions respectively.

Coca Cola has maintained its pole position since 2001 and for 2008 it had a brand value of US$66.7 million. The tabulation of brand value does not include the company’s assets such as buildings and machinery.

Apart from the 52 brands in the list, there are many strong US brands that did not make it to the list but have established their global presence.

These brands have helped to strengthen the nation’s brand image and equity and established the US as an economic superpower.

Before the Second World War, countries established their world supremacy through military conquests, but post war and into the new millennium, engagement and building emotional attachment through financial aid, investments and products and services are the new channels that are adopted.

We cannot deny that many of these brands have a great impact on our lives. Microsoft has make work processes more efficient while Google has enabled us to gather information and to increase our knowledge at the click of a mouse.

We become so dependent on them that if our Word documents crash and we cannot access Google, we are completely lost! When brands are able to connect emotionally with consumers, they are enroute to establishing their leadership position.

It is interesting to note that only two Asian countries – Japan and Korea – made it to the 2008 Top 100 Best Global Brands list.

Why are Asian brands still lagging behind? While we have many Asian conglomerates that are of international standard, many of their brands do not have high brand value. Maybank, Malaysia’s largest bank and ranked number one in the 2008 Malaysia’s Most Valuable Brand Award, has a brand value of US$2.832 billion (RM9.9 billion).

Visa which is ranked 100th in the 2008 list has a brand value of US$3.338 billion (RM11.7 billion).

Branding or the process of managing a brand is a discipline that many brand owners or custodians in Asia do not view as important.

While a brand is intangible, it is the key driver of growth for any business and an important asset. Great brands were not built overnight but through a well thought out strategy coupled with large doses of passion and commitment.

Except for Japan and Korea who are known for their quality products and services and innovation, many Asian brands suffer from a perception problem – that of inferior products and no distinctive brand identity.

China is the third largest economy in the world and we identify it as the factory to the world but not home to any distinctive brand.

China and Chinese brands suffer from a terrible perception problem, aggravated by the recall of tainted products and food scandals.

A report by Interbrand last year found that 66% of international business professionals cited "cheap" as the business attribute that best
describes Chinese goods. Eighty percent cited the reputation of low quality as preventing Chinese brands from succeeding in overseas market.

Hence, the country of origin label is important as brands that are of poor quality reflect badly not only on the organisation but on the brand image of the country and vice versa.

Branding is an art that has to be mastered from delivering on brand promise, to innovation, R&D and protecting the intellectual property of the brand. The US has mastered this well and the results speak for themselves.

All is not doom and gloom for Asian brands as many brand owners in the region are now realising the importance of investing in their brands and that brands hold the key to their organisation’s longevity. We hope we won’t have to wait too long for the day when a Malaysian home grown brand enters the Top 100 Best Global Brands List.

Chew Bee Peng is general manager of The BrandLaureate. She is passionate about branding and feels that brand matters to everyone. She can be contacted at bpchew@thebrandlaureate.com