BY CHUANG PECK MING

IN the overcrowded global market, your products need to stand out from the rest. Branding can do the trick.

'The key objective of branding is to differentiate and influence consumer behaviour,' says Quek Ai Nah, Assistant Director for Capability Development Group at International Enterprise Singapore.

'A comprehensive brand strategy differentiates a company from other competitors, which is even more crucial in the international playing field,' she says.

For industries such as fashion, where there are no distinct differences in the function of the products, branding is key in swaying customers to buy from you.

To give your brand identity and values an extra shine, you need design.

'Good design which is aligned with a company's brand also helps to win over new market segments and strengthen its emotional bonding with consumers,' Ms Quek says.

Apple Incorporated is a clear example of how the power of design can be used to make a difference in a company's products in the global market.

'Through design, Apple has gone beyond aesthetics to create innovative products and services that support and adds tremendous value to its brand, bottomline and market value,' Ms Quek says.

Then you need protection for you brand, design and other intellectual property (IP), which is where IP management comes in. And you need this all the more when you venture into markets outside Singapore, where there are many more thieves and copycats of hot brands, designs and technologies.

'Companies can no longer ignore the importance of IP management as an essential companion in their overseas growth,' Ms Quek says. 'Proper and strategic management of their intangible assets in targeted markets will enable companies to protect, own and extract value from their creations and circumvent threats to their business.'

IE Singapore, which is pushing Singapore companies to go global, has been stepping up its campaign to get companies to build up such capabilities as branding, design and IP management - the tough economic environment notwithstanding.

And it has rolled out more programmes to help companies in these areas.

'Even during the current economic climate, many of Singapore's internationalising companies remain financially sound and are in a good position to capitalise on emerging opportunities,' Ms Quek says.

'Thus companies should continue to build up their capabilities in order to continue to expand their global footprint,' she says. 'This will serve them well for the global upturn when it happens.'

Strong competition remains the top concern of Singapore companies - especially the small and mid-sized enterprises - in their ventures abroad, Ms Quek notes. So it is important they beef up their branding, design and IP management.

She says that while most companies here are aware of the value of design, they are less familiar with how to make it a part of their business strategy.

'For a number of companies, design is still perceived as a cost, rather than an investment, because its returns are not immediately visible to management,' Ms Quek says.

She further notes that Singapore companies are already practising IP management, dutifully registering their trademarks and filing patents in targeted markets.

'However, they also need to be more forward-planning and to be tuned in to future piracy threats in other territorial markets that may not be on their immediate radar screen,' Ms Quek says.

To help Singapore companies build long-term capabilities to sharpen their competitiveness in the global market, IE Singapore started the Internationalisation Capability Development Programme in April last year (see accompanying story).

IE Singapore is also working with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore on a programme for IP management.

What's more, IE is a member of a multi-agency behind Design for Enterprises, a national strategy to pool efforts to drive companies to adopt design as a competitive tool to make a difference in their business.

The Internationalisation Capability Development Programme

TO help companies sharpen their competitiveness long-term, International Enterprise Singapore launched the Internationalisation Capability Development Programme (iCDP) in April 2008.

iCDP supports the development of a range of company-level capabilities to facilitate overseas expansion. Examples include branding, design, intellectual property, manpower, franchising, financing, joint ventures, market studies and e-commerce. The capabilities are supported on a per project basis via third-party consultants or in-house experts.

These are the support levels available to companies under the iCDP:

• Manpower - Customised training (up to 70%), grant capped at $7,000 per person Basic salary (up to 70%), grant capped at $10,500 per person per month
• Third-party consultancy cost -Up to 70% support
• Hardware and software purchase cost*- Up to 50% support
• Intellectual property (registration of trademark/design cost)* -Up to 50 per cent support
• Market intelligence reports purchase cost*- Up to 50 per cent support
• Airfares and accommodation#- Up to 50% support

* Supportable only as part of an overall iCDP project, not supported in silo.
# Applies to overseas marketing office presence bidding projects only.

This article was first published in The Business Times.