The business landscape in Asia will change rapidly in the coming years, where the opportunities for Asian companies to benefit from international branding will be larger than ever before. The growing emphasis on international branding will move up the boardroom agenda and branding will become one of the most prominent drivers of value in Asia Pacific in the next two decades. Branding is being discussed almost daily in Asian media and in multiple conferences and seminars.

Branding is a boardroom agenda - a strategic issue. The branding process cannot reach its logical conclusion unless the chairman and the CEO buy into it and back it up with the required resources. But merely having the branding knowledge will not suffice. Leaders need to have a holistic vision and an in-depth understanding of the discipline. One also has to be an excellent business leader and brand marketer with a truly international edge.

Asian boardrooms have traditionally been the playing fields for technology and finance professionals, and most directors either have technology, operations or finance backgrounds. Going ahead, these capabilities alone will not be sufficient for sustained growth and enhanced shareholder value. With branding taking the center stage, it is extremely crucial that the boardroom represents brand capabilities and experiences to ensure that brand guardianship is practiced at the highest level.

This can be accomplished in two ways. Firstly, education and training of the boardroom directors can bring them up to a common understanding of the discipline, its opportunities and challenges. Secondly, the company can elevate people with strong marketing and branding backgrounds to the board.

Companies can ideally combine the above two ways to achieve optimum results. Asian brands can indeed challenge the global players, but it requires a new mindset, resources and capabilities. The Asian boardrooms and their brands have all opportunities at hand.