Build stronger and long-lasting brands

Before I trekked a career in leadership development and people management, I started my career in advertising and marketing. It was in this industry that I learned how to be insightful and be a strategic thinker. I loved the discipline of branding, especially the art and science of persuading buying behaviors and the psychology behind understanding consumers.

Because of this, in 2014, I encouraged our group, Salt & Light Ventures,to launch the first-ever learning event focused on brand building, which seemed to be losing its foothold in today’s marketing practices that seem filled with sales-driven short cuts.

In order to do this, we had to partner with industry’s best. I started calling my friends who used to work for companies like Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive. It was Albert Cuadrante, who has 20 years of brand management experience under his belt, currently General Manager of Greenwich, who connected me with his consultancy company, Acumen, led by Pauline Fermin. The group boasts of seasoned brand and marketing consultants who all have first-hand experience in growing successful local and global brands.

And so in November 2014, the first ever brand conference-cum-workshop in the Philippines was born: the Brand Boot Camp. It was the first seminar-workshop of its kind where brand managers and business owners were invited to take a careful look at their brands in a participative “roll-up-your-sleeves” learning environment. The goal was to equip participants with fundamental marketing skill and insight to carry back to their workplace.Almost 300 brand executives, managers and owners from various industries all over the Philippines -- both multinationals and locally owned companies -- including restaurants, banks, telecoms, pharmaceuticals and services, attended.

The responses and feedback were so overwhelming (overall rating of 4.58 out of 5.00 with high ratings on “Expertise of the lecturer” and “Usefulness to job”) that we have to do it again.

On its sophomore year, Brand Boot Camp this October 22-23 at the SMX Convention Center in SM Aura Taguig promises to deliver world class, insightful and intensive two-day hands-on learning experience. For one, Jonah Berger will be a plenary speaker. He is New York Times best selling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On, named Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing Association.

2015 Brand Boot Camp Plenary Speakers: Bestselling Author of Contagious, Jonah Berger and brand strategist, Pauline Fermin

Since our partner is in charge of the overall content and curriculum of the Boot Camp (BBC), I interviewed the Managing Director of Acumen, Pauline Fermin, on what’s in store for Year 2 of  Brand Boot Camp. Pauline's brand expertise is culled from 24 years of brand management, research, marketing strategy development and corporate strategic planning from P&G, Coca-Cola and BPW combined. Being a CPA and having an inherent love for business strategy, she sees stories in numbers and quantitative reports. She gives us a lowdown on what to expect from this ground-breaking marketing event.

Why a Brand Boot Camp? What can BBC contribute on how we do marketing here in the Philippines?

We saw the need for a public training program that's intense, rigorous and focused solely on brand-building, on building a relationship with consumers. We wanted to impart practical learnings on how to build a strong brand, based on the principles drawn from the depth and breadth of Acumen’s brand consultancy practice, and the experience of our senior consultants who had built brands across a variety of industries and markets. Brand Boot Camp is designed to equip participants with fundamental principles and frameworks which they can easily carry back to their day jobs, and apply immediately to their own brands. 

Brand Boot Camp is also an invitation to our fellow practitioners to take a step back and a measured look of how they are progressing in brand-building. Today, more than ever, there's a greater need for brands to be very deliberate in their strategy to be able to cut through the clutter and stand the test of time. “How can my brand be preferred over others?  How can I ensure repeat purchase and loyalty?  Where do I even begin in defining the core promise of my brand?  How can I get my target to love my brand?” and other questions like these are what we want trainees to be able to answer at the camp.

Why Jonah Berger as plenary speaker?

The most potent source of brand awareness is word-of-mouth.  In addition, there had been a major shift in the past three years driven by technology: the media landscape and consumer touch points have significantly exploded. With digital technology being more powerful, there have been a lot of talk about viral marketing. But, how does one actually do it? Why do some things catch on and others fail? What makes online content go viral? And why do some products, ideas, and behaviors get more word of mouth than others? 

We wanted to address these challenges head-on and sought out an expert who can provide research-based answers.

Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at Wharton, has spent over 15 years studying how brands and ideas to catch on, which he has summarized in a book aptly titled Contagious: Why Things Catch On. Jonah Berger has examined the behavioral science that underlies these questions.  He will enlighten participants on how consumers make decisions, how ideas diffuse, and how social influence leads people to imitate (or avoid) what others are doing. We believe his insights will be of great value for all of us.

Aside from this, he has consulted for a variety of Fortune 500 companies and his works are often covered by Harvard Business Review and other top tier journals. Jonah's book was recognized as the Best Marketing Book of 2014 by the American Marketing Association.

Heard that you'll share a valuable research on consumer profiles. Tell me how insightful this will be for the participants. 

Yes! It's another innovative segment that we have incorporated for this year's camp. Acumen, with our research partner, Harvestry, will give participants an exclusive access to fresh and first-hand ethnography research on four consumer groups: Gen Z (Teens), Millennials (Working Young Adults), Moms (Gen X & Gen Y Moms) and the Silver Market (AB, 50-60 years old). 

Substantiating quantitative data, this research will paint a clearer picture on why these Filipino Consumers behave the way they do, based on their life needs, mindset, motivations, media and purchase habits. It will give the participants a look at their bigger picture and enlighten them on why consumers fall in love and out of love with brands.

Last year, participants loved the breakout sessions. What else can they expect this year?

On Day 2 of Brand Boot Camp, we retained its unique design - the breakout sessions. The success of our first run inspired us to explore other ways to make it more enriching for participants. Specifically, participants can attend a session focused on a consumer segment and industry of their choice (packaged goods or services).  Class sizes will also be limited to 30 to ensure effective learning and interaction. These sessions will apply learning from Day 1 and will answer brand building's fundamental questions: ”What makes a strong brand?”  “How do I build a strong relationship with my customer?” This year’s break-out lectures will be further enhanced by the application of the Consumer Portraits that will be unveiled on Day 1.

It will still be run and facilitated by Acumen's deep bench of seasoned marketing consultants who all have first-hand experience in bringing local and global brands to the top. 

A brand is more than a product's logo or mark that distinguishes it from the others on a shelf:it's a promise. This is apparent in the biggest brands in the world; they promise and deliver innovative technology, exemplary service, and first-rate solutions -- attributes of a powerful brand. This kind of brand excellence assures long-lasting customer loyalty and recall. This makes sure that certain brands are talked about and remain widespread or viral.

2015 Brand Boot Camp, Oct. 22-23 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Taguig.

At Brand Boot Camp 2015 this October, you’ll hear Jonah Berger uncover the secrets of word-of-mouth and effective marketing, and how some brands can stand out from the rest. We also have an exclusive presentation of Consumer Portraits & Brand Love Stories for a deeper understanding of the four consumer groups Pauline mentioned: Gen Z, Millennials, Moms, and Silver Market. Be enlightened on how people fall in love or out of love with brands. These two sessions will happen on the first day, October 22.

For the second day, October 23, we have invited the best marketers in the country to be facilitators of our breakout sessions. Armed with solid marketing and branding experience from various fields, the facilitators will (1) enlighten participants on the value of strong brands and what it takes to build and develop them in the local market and (2) synthesize the learnings from the Jonah Berger and Consumer Portraits sessions from Day 1. Participants will find much value for their learning investment as they not only will get marketing wisdom, but collaborate with their facilitators in finding solutions to their brand challenge.

Build stronger and long-lasting brands through our extensive and integrated curriculum. Join Brand Boot Camp™ 2015 on October 22-23, the first brand conference-cum-workshop in the country,at SMX Convention Center Aura. 

For more details, call (02) 813-2703/32 or email bbc@saltandlight.ph, and visit www.brandbootcamp.com to reserve your seats.

We can't wait to see you at the conference!

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Boris Joaquin is a top-ranked public speaker and masterful trainer for leadership programs and other soft skills. He is a seasoned management consultant, being involved in various industries and business sizes, from multinationals to locally owned enterprises. Presently, he’s the President & Chief Equipping Officer of Breakthrough Leadership® Management Consultancy, Inc.

You may be able to contact Boris at (02) 813-2703/32 or emailtrainings@breakthroughleadership.asia