German branding expert to educate local exporters

CEBU, Philippines – A branding and marketing expert from German Development Service will be helping Cebu-based exporters on branding and marketing efforts amid the challenging global market condition.

PhilExport-Cebu, the business support organization for exporters in Central Visayas, announced that it will hold a branding workshop on August 7, encouraging exporters to take advantage of this opportunity.

A training program for the main export sectors in Cebu was developed, which makes the concept of branding very understandable and palpable to the participants.

Sabine Schacknat, the Philexport consultant from DED, believes that one does not need a lot of scientific explanations to grasp the essence of branding.

She said it very feasible and down-to-earth approach combines vivid elucidation with a three step workshop where the participants experience the difficulties of mastering the initial phase of branding by applying it to their own industry sector.

“A brand is much more than a trademark or a product. It is about getting your target market to see your company as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. It is about customer trust and loyalty. It seems to have evolved as the most powerful strategic tool since the invention of the spreadsheet. Most of all, the brand value of a company can amount to more than half of its assets as for example in the case of “Coca Cola” and that makes branding a strategic tool to be taken very seriously,” Shacknat said. 

After the branding consultant conducted two branding workshops for their own organization to get a grip on their national/local branding, PhilExport-Cebu advocacy officer Jun Abines said the organization decided that it is also high time to give their members the opportunity to unveil the real meaning of the hype word “Branding” and use it for their strategy development. 

The results of the first two workshops, which were held for the gifts, toys and houseware sector and the furniture sector, were astonishing.

He said many participants had a “light-bulb-moment” regarding the definition of a brand. The key phrase “it is not what you say it is; it is what they say it is” which emphasizes the importance of the customer became the mantra of the day for everybody.

During the workshop the participants had to formulate an “onliness statement” for their industry sector.

He added that the previous results were very encouraging since it showed that a common belief in Filipino creativity and distinctiveness exists which may be the basis for creating a cross-sectoral regional brand.

Philexport Cebu will continue its effort in enticing other industry sectors to learn more about branding by conducting more seminars of that kind; the next two will be for the fashion accessories sector and health and wellness sector, Abines added.

PhilExport-Cebu believes that there is no substitute for having an innovative and distinctive brand expressed in “experiences that rivet minds and run away with hearts.”