In a global economy subject to changing market dynamics and heightened competition, the role of brands has never been greater. In today’s global economy, countries fight for more investment, they want their brands to be in high demand around the world; they want the country to be a preferred destination among the fast growing globalization of market. All this require a thorough understanding and application of branding principles. Research reveals that companies with big brands tend to generate anywhere between 2 ½ and 3 times as many jobs as actually appear on their payroll. As they expand they hire more people and that increases the service businesses around them. They need more suppliers, they sell more products, the retail businesses do better, everybody pays more taxes, they hire more people, and so it goes on. When countries have less strong brands like Bangladesh it does not get that effect In BBF we are driven to provide the inspiration and knowledge to our corporate world in producing world class business and brands. We want to present brands in their right context. We want to establish that brand strategy should drive business strategy. We want to break the myth that becoming a dominant brand in the market is only a matter of pumping money into the advertising budget, when in reality a brand driven organization supported by all functions creates an everlasting personality. Vision for our magazine was aptly captured by one of the leading brand guru of the world, Al Ries, when he wrote for our launch issue with the title, ‘The future of Bangladesh depends on one word: Brands’. Throughout the entire first issue we have tried to establish that point. Our focus has been on 2 areas. First, in establishing the importance of brands in a country like Bangladesh. Second, in  presenting the tools, know-how, news and case studies  for the managers to develop the brand mind set, so that they can lead within their organization in building powerful brands.

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A great brand is more than simply a great marketing campaign or product. Increasingly, brands reflect the deeper personalities, culture, and behaviors of the organization that gives birth to them rather than simply offering consumers a hollow creative form generated by a marketing agency. If we look back to our 30 years of business history in Bangladesh, this statement will make more sense. We have witnessed some names, brands rise for a while than stumble, primarily for 2 reasons. First, the rise was due to some creative campaign or a burst of initiatives which could only provide success for a short duration. Second, the company was not driven by ethical standard and practices. So when the time arose to make a choice between internal gain and consumer/society/ market benefit, for them it was a simple decision. We strive to establish the premise that enduring brands are only built when they are driven by a purpose and not by merely profit. And in today’s consumer world where brands are built by consumer preference and consumers are increasingly seeking for responsible businesses, choice for business and brands are likely to be dictated by simple and honest concepts.

We have been working for the last 1 year to associate with some of the best institutes and business thinkers from both the academics and professionals. And we were overwhelmed with the support and cooperation from all over the world. We are glad to inform that we will be providing cutting edge thoughts, trends, analysis and features from institutions and experts who define the world of business. We are bringing you writings from INSEAD to Harvard Business Review,  British Brand Group, Faith Popcorn, Seth Godin, Ad Asia, Milward Brown, Professors from London Business School, Indian Institute of Management, Penn State University, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, and the leading practitioners of Bangladesh in our commitment to provide you the best of both Bangladesh and Global arena.

We are driven by a single purpose, to transform Bangladesh through branding, and we are committed to provide the right tools and inspiration every month through our publication. We believe we have to and are confident that together we can. 

Shariful Islam

Editor
Bangladesh Brand Forum
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2008