By Francis Chan

GIANT brand names such as Google and McDonald's started life as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

With good branding to bolster their profiles, smaller firms here could reach the same spectacular heights - which is why BrandPact was introduced.

The branding assistance programme was rolled out jointly by enterprise development agency Spring Singapore and trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore in 2005. The goal: to help local firms equip themselves with vital branding know-how.

'Many of our SMEs are able to provide products and services that match up in every way, and in some instances even surpass, those of the big players,' said Ms Cheong Lai Peng, Spring's director of resources and capabilities development.

'By adding the emotional potential of being a desired or trustworthy brand to their value proposition, there is so much more potential for many of them to become tomorrow's big players.'

BrandPact was introduced to help SMEs understand branding concepts such as developing 'brand knowledgeable executives' and to help catalyse the adoption of branding as a strategy for businesses to become more competitive.

Besides subsidising SMEs up to 70per cent of the qualifying costs for their branding projects, the other key pillar of BrandPact is the availability of learning resources for SME bosses and their staff.

Firms can access online resources offered by Spring and IE Singapore, including diagnostic tool kits and the success stories of other firms related to branding.

SMEs have to work harder and be more innovative with limited resources, says Ms Cheong. 'But that can be a blessing in disguise, as it forces them to think out of the box, and this often leads to very unique and personal ways of building the brand,' she said.

Spring also works with business associations and brand experts to raise awareness and adoption of branding as a strategy for business competitiveness through branding workshops, discussion forums and awards.

'For companies that have branding-related queries, we have recently introduced monthly one-to-one branding clinics for SMEs to seek free consultation from branding professionals,' she said.

To date, BrandPact has helped over 7,000 companies here build their brand names. Of these, about 200 have embarked on branding projects to put into practice their brand development plans.

Local firms which have embarked on their branding journey with BrandPact say they have seen an increase in sales, among other benefits, after bolstering their branding, with improved market recognition.

'Because of good branding, our staff are more committed - they have a better sense of belonging and pride,' said Mr Kang Puay Seng, managing director of Super Bean International.

'We are so new in our brand journey, yet we have already seen improvements in sales and public awareness, and we've captured some new markets as well,' said Mr Lee Chong Han, business development manager at Green Art Design and Products.

Spring's Ms Cheong maintains that a strong brand is crucial in growing sales, strengthening one's customer base, enhancing customer loyalty as well as improving business performance.

'A common misconception about branding is that it is all about coming up with a fancy logo, name or slogan.

'Branding goes beyond that. It is all the things about you that distinguish you from your competition. It is about accurately communicating your values and delivering your brand promise.'

The Government, too, has been working closely with business associations.

It recently introduced an enhancement to BrandPact to support five industry branding efforts in the food manufacturing, furniture, textile and apparel, food & beverage and retail sectors.

These industry branding initiatives have proved valuable in creating a collective marketing platform to showcase the nation's companies both locally and internationally, said Ms Cheong.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.