"Be heard when others go quiet"

Malaysia – It might be tempting to batten down the hatches and the marketing budget, but there has never been a better time to invest in your brand and get a lead on your competitors, The Edge, MD Ho Kay Tat told the audience at this week's Malaysia’s Most Valuable Brands gala event.

During a night which featured several speeches peppered with rousing calls to arms on branding and valuing brands, Ho, who's business newspaper partnered with the 4As on the Interbrand survey, said now was the time to show courage in the marketing department.

Ho said the weekly business newspaper teamed up for the survey in recognition of the importance of building brands.

“We will continue to urge the CEOs and CFOs to support the CMOs’ task, especially in these gloomy times. Be heard and be noticed when others go quietly,” told the audience which included many of the leading brands' CEO.

The valuation study conducted by Interbrand and commissioned by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) and the Edge is in its second year and this year identified that 14 brands out of the top 30 had grown in value.

Representatives of the the top brands as well as media and special guests were reminded of the importance of building up the value of Malaysia's brands during the event.

Datuk Vincent Lee, 4As president said: “Brands are organic assets that needed constant nurturing.”

“We need to look at our wealth creators and nurture them with even more courage, conviction and rigour,” he told journalists, at the press conference.

Entrepreneurs were encouraged to evaluate how their brand stands out from their competitors.

During his speech, Lee described brands as “wealth creators”  for the brand's ability to secure incomes and he even went so far as to label the CEO's of the winning companies "godfathers" of brands.

However, with the right financial flow; campaigns; understanding of consumers’ needs and the ability to take a risk are essentials that push a company in the right direction.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz presented the awards to the top 30 brands.