This column has been a privileged forum where a number of interesting ideas have been shared about the necessity for Corporate Mauritius to adopt the Branding Paradigm very seriously if we want to see this country transformed into a virtual Center Of Excellence in this part of the world. Do we realize that we are at crossroads with our own future? Our Private and Public sectors have been playing ?ping pong? on who needs to be the engine of growth and provider of innovative ideas?But we have the impression (may be the wrong one) that the tune is more: one step forward and two backwards...

We have had the opportunity in Brand_Talk to raise and discuss a number of pressing issues ranging from consumer behaviour, Nation Branding, Corporate Branding, Brand Protection, Employee Branding and Corporate Social Responsibility to name a few. Branding is a holistic and multidisciplinary discipline that cuts across management, strategy, design, marketing, communications, psychology, sociology? It is a highly intellectual exercise requiring alignment of analytical data to organizational, marketing and strategic objectives. Branding implies striking the right balance between creativity and strategic thinking.

Though Branding is just starting to be used in Mauritius, we must make sure we do not fall in the temptation to limit brand strategy within the walls of business only. Branding is emerging as a powerful tool in the arts, health, education and in a host of other areas. ?The rise of the social sector?, as described in Saffron?s corporate profile, a leading Spain-based brand consultancy and Chaired by brand strategist and internationally recognized writer, Wally Olins, ?as filling the vacuum left by governments who can?t maintain their traditional roles in specific sectors?.

When we see problems that a number of our public institutions are facing everyday, we are just tempted to say: ?Have you thought about branding the organization?? But it works only if we are willing to change things. Otherwise we will have to limit ourselves to quick fixes and be enslaved into internal micro-politics or macro-politics. Are we ready then to take branding to the next level and take the ?Brand Oath? ? This may take some time but we have to start somewhere?and we need more than just a pair of (eye-)balls to see where we are going. We need guts, we need bucks, we need tons of grey matter?

Let?s take the case of mergers. Lots of mergers and acquisition fail because ?soft? issues have been wrongly managed and the essences of the two brands have not fused harmoniously. Developing a brand-led vision in such a context provides endless benefits. It starts by painting a vivid and compelling picture of the near and far future for the workforce. It acts as a powerful platform from which to launch a whole range of coherent internal and external communications. It offers clarity about what customers are buying into, and encourages them to return back. It helps alleviate anxieties all employees, shareholders, staff, partners and customers may have. In such a Change driven context where uncertainty is permanent, a brand-based strategy represents security and inspiration from which to reassure all audiences.

Ulrich Hartmann, CEO of E.ON, one of the largest energy suppliers in Germany, used the brand to ?light? the way through a major merger process. Using the brand idea of ?Power to People?, he advocated his vision privately and publicly ? helping the merger to be completed in a relatively short timeframe. In 2001, Hartmann was voted the CEO of the year and E.ON is now the largest energy supplier in the world.

So the challenge is just ours and the sky, our limits!

<B>Ashraf Oozeerally

Managing Director, eye_dentity</B>