CIM SL hosts 3rd Talking Point Program on ‘Re-igniting Conversation on Brand Relevance’

From left: HSBC Sri Lanka Head and Marketing and Communications Tharanga Gunasekera (Moderator), Unilever Sri Lanka Marketing Director for Home Care, Foods and Water Makshoodh Meerasaibu, Spa Ceylon Co-Founder Shalin Balasuriya and Fairway Holdings Group CEO Imal Fonseka – Pix by Gitika Talukdar

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka concluded its third Talking Point Program under the thought provoking topic ‘Is Branding Losing its Relevance?’ The keynote speaker was Imal Fonseka, Group CEO, Fairway Holdings Ltd. while the panel consisted of Makshoodh Meerasaibu, Marketing Director, Home Care, Foods and Water, Unilever Sri Lanka, Shalin Balasuriya, Co-Founder, Luxury Ayurveda Brand Spa Ceylon, and Tharanga Gunasekera, Head of Marketing and Communications, HSBC Sri Lanka, who also moderated the discussions.

Attending the program were a host of senior managers and executives keen to know how to manage and influence the personality and character of their brands for the local market. Cautioning the audience, Fonseka said: “Our approach in marketing and branding is no longer what it was. You have to re-look at what you are doing.”

He advised, “Look at brand objectives, as a brand person, take the leadership and start seeing the future. As marketers you have what nobody else has – you represent the customer and understand the customer best. Igniting the passion is what it is all about – drive the change, create the change.”Stressing on key enablers, he noted, supply chain, innovation, differentiation are vital to influence customer experience. “As brand people enhance your scope and influence within the enterprise and that way your role will be more relevant in the future,” encouraged Fonseka.

Urging participants on the importance of sustainability and differentiation, he said: “Your sustainability and success will be based on your ability to create disruption in your business model. Anyone anywhere can create a brand and succeed overnight but you need to be ahead of the curve, understand the curve and find a space to be really connected with your consumers, find ways to make it more relevant to the market.”

Gunasekera stated that, “With today’s consumers becoming web-savvy, the consumer is now more empowered. The brand is seen as a promise, relationship and an experience.

Commenting from a FMCG perspective, Meerasaibu said, the fundamental eight principles of branding is very relevant. However, the consumer is evolving and is constantly seeking to change. He advised the audience to constantly be cautioned about how to keep pace with the ever changing demands and to know whether ‘branding’ going to communicate or is ‘branding’ becoming facilitators or enablers of conversation.”

Balasuriya noted, “Attention spans and brand life spans are getting shorter. We need to be continuously giving our consumers new experiences, tweaking their interest, and that is what we do.” Balasuriya opined that branding relevance relies on transformational innovation. “We keep learning from our consumers and the brand lives in the mind of the consumer. You need to engage with the customer and start connecting with people’s lifestyles so that you are relevant to your consumers,” he said.

The program concluded with a vibrant and lively question and answer session between panellists and the audience.