What it takes

'The importance of global brands has increased, is increasing and will increase further. There are three sets of factors which explain why global brands are so important: benefits to consumers; providing their owners with cost advantages; and recruitment and retention of outstanding employees. Global brands have to balance their global appeal with local citizenship and adapt to local country preferences.'

John Quelch

Senior associate dean, Harvard Business School

'Loyalty programmes often conflict with the cultivation of customer brand loyalty and the creation of customer assets. However, many loyalty programmes are shams because they produce liabilities rather than assets. And, rather than showing trust by committing to customers, the firm asks customers to trust it. In other words trust in the firm will provide future customer rewards. True loyalty programmes invest in customers by providing free up-front training or customisation with the expectation of greater future revenue.'

Steven Shugan

Russell Berrie Foundation eminent scholar and professor, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida

'Being happy in life means that someone consumes more positive than negative emotions. We are living in all kinds of emo-worlds: the world of sport, music, art and culture, food and travel. Successful products and brands provide clusters of emotions (emotivations) that people in western Europe want to consume. 'Living young' is a strong emotivation as is 'being desirable'. Striving for self-esteem is another example. We have discovered 16 emotivations for new product development and brand development. All successful products and brands contain two or more of the 16 emotivations.'

Roland van Kralingen

Founder of INNOA

'The magic of a product creates a brand and there must be a brand leader in a company in which a promise is created and consistently kept from year to year. It should inject into the minds of staff and customers or anyone who receives your brand message. It is your company personality to differentiate against your competitors. It defines where your market is. It evokes feelings and drives customer action which will become your company profit and enhance your firm's long-term growth.'

Ricky Szeto

Executive director

Hung Fook Tong Holdings

'Brands cannot be managed separately from the product and service provided by mid-sized but growing companies. To increase brand value, products should carry uniqueness, be innovative and create demand from customers who are willing to pay a premium for the brand. In today's stressed business environment, creativity in product design and business strategies is essential for continued growth and sustainability of these companies.'

Boby Chan

Chairman and managing director

Moiselle International Holdings