by Nazim, Corporate Communication
It’s been a year since the launch of the Sarawak Energy new corporate identity. The Sarawak Energy brand or corporate identity is the complete alignment of what customers see, hear, read, experience and think about Sarawak Energy.
Brand is built over time.
But, what is brand? A lot of us have different views on what brand is. Most of us have the impression that ‘brand’ is a logo, a visual representation.
But it is more than just a visual representation. It is actually an experience – it has an emotional attachment. For an organisation, the branding process starts with fostering a culture within the organisation which is then communicated externally through the various media and platforms such advertising, customer service, website, newspaper articles etc.
A brand is also a promise between the organisation and its customers. And this is reflected through the organisational culture or behaviour: Who We Are, What We Do and How We Do It.
As simple as, when we make a promise to our customer that we will complete a job at a certain time, we will have to honour that promise. Breaking a promise or delivering sloppy work does not leave a good impression – and experience. And it is from this experience that this customer will shape her or his opinion of us. So if we want to give our customers a good impression of our brand, we should live by our core values.
Being in Corporate Communication is a completely new experience for me, what more having to be given the responsibility of developing the Sarawak Energy brand identity.
This brings me to the main story that I would like to share where I had the opportunity to attend my first brand conference together with our Chief of Corporate Services, Puan Aisah Eden and Senior Manager II Corporate Communication, Haniza Abd Hamid. The Brand Entrepreneurs Conference 2013 titled “Branding- Innovation, Governance & Entrepreneurship” was held on the 29th August 2013 at MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), KL.
Brand Entrepreneurs Conference 2013.
“Branding – Innovation, Governance & Entrepreneurs”
The one-day conference saw the participation of delegates from Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Kenya and China, among others, was launched by Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri.
This conference was a great effort by both the government and private sector to create a platform to share ideas, strategies and branding tactics that is a necessity for any Malaysian brands to excel, especially at the international level.
This is relevant to us since we are embarking on transformation journey in charting our exposure beyond Sarawak, with the advent of SCORE. It was an opportunity for us to learn from experienced brand builders and business players throughout Malaysia, ranging from small enterprise to large corporations of how they have successfully penetrated foreign markets. It is the vision of Branding Association of Malaysia to strengthen the Malaysian branding industry and the value of the Malaysian brands through blue branding for quality branding standards and competitive branding advantages throughout the world.
It is with this vision that compelled us to be a lifetime member of the Branding Association of Malaysia so that we can capitalise on the skillsets of others in helping us build our own capacity and knowledge.
Puan Aisah receiving the Brand Association of Malaysia Life time membership from Datuk Hamim Samuri.
Together with the rest of the new members of Brand Associate of Malaysia.
The delegates at the packed conference hall.
From the conference, now I truly understand the importance of brand. We convey our brand identity through every form of communication and experience, through the service we provide, how we look, how we act and what we say. Everything we do has a direct impact on how the world perceives us.
Eversendai Corporation Berhad Group Managing Director Tan Sri A.K. Nathan sharing his experience.
A proud new member of Branding Association of Malaysia.
Puan Aisah with Datuk Maznah Hamid the Iron Lady.
I believe that Sarawak Energy has what it takes to be a model corporate citizen and a contributor to the community in Sarawak. I know what lies ahead for Sarawak Energy is a huge and challenging task in realising the vision of the State. My thoughts: everyone within the organisation has a role to play in upholding our corporate values in order to build a positive brand experience.
Power to Grow 