Batey offers Asian branding tips in book

<p>SINGAPORE: Ian Batey - the founder of Batey Ads and the man behind </p><p>the Singapore Girl icon - has published his first book, 'Asian Branding: </p><p>A Great Way to Fly'. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Billed as "the first definitive guide to building brands in Asia", the </p><p>book charts the rise of Asian brands as they battled their Western and </p><p>Japanese counterparts, and, in some cases, emerged on top. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Batey also recounts the inside story behind the development of Singapore </p><p>Airlines' Singapore Girl campaign. The book's title borrows from SIA's </p><p>tagline, 'A great way to fly'. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Even as he detailed the strides made by Asian brands, the respected </p><p>adman also cautioned that Asian companies would lose out "big time" to </p><p>their Western counterparts unless they put more resources into </p><p>developing their brands. American and European organisations owned about </p><p>90 per cent of the world's top brands, with the remainder held by </p><p>Japanese and, to a lesser extent, Korean companies, he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If you take away the Japanese and the Koreans, there's really nothing </p><p>else from this region in the top 50." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Batey cited confidence as the main problem. "There's a sense that no-one </p><p>can be bigger than an American brand. This is untrue. If a programme is </p><p>put in place with appropriate resources, milestones and reviews, I am </p><p>confident that we will see at least 20 Asian brands, not including Japan </p><p>and Korea, in the world's top 50 brands within the next two </p><p>decades." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Batey, who earlier this year relinquished day-to-day operational control </p><p>of his agency to concentrate on macro branding issues of major clients </p><p>including SIA, said another problem was that most Asian companies saw </p><p>themselves as manufacturers rather than brands. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>