Firms urged to build trademarks

Vietnamese businesses and their counterparts in other developing countries should focus on developing their brands and trademarks to become competitive both at home and abroad, a seminar in HCM City on Thursday heard.

Louis Chan, legal counsel for Procter&Gamble Asia Pte Ltd, said a brand was a “personality” that identifies a product or service to customers.

A trademark was an important part of the brand and strongly influenced consumers’ decision making about choice of products and services, he said.

Brands could help increase revenues, create customer loyalty, gain and maintain market share, introduce new products or reposition existing ones, and provide lucrative franchising opportunities, he said.

Strong brands were also large intangible assets, he said, pointing to the examples of Coca Cola and IBM, whose brands were valued at US$70.45 billion and $64.72 billion last year.

Ye Min Than, senior programme officer at the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Asia Pacific regional bureau, said: “Trademarks are indispensable for the efficient provision of products demanded in a modern economy. Brands are generally recognised as a key asset for creating value for a business.”

Any enterprise, small, medium or large, could develop a brand image, he said, adding that businesses, especially SMEs around the world, were depending on brands to enhance their competitiveness in a globalised economy.

He listed some famous Vietnamese brands like Vinacafe, Chi Thanh plastic, and Phu Quoc fish sauce.

However, many firms still paid little attention to developing brands because of a lack of understanding about their value, he said.

“Many SMEs may not know how to go about developing a brand image or perhaps erroneously believe that brand development is a privileged sphere reserved only for large, multinational enterprises.

“In fact, developing a brand image is not an out-of-reach venture for SMEs. Of course, it does require time, effort, and commitment and certainly some financial resources.”

He said a brand image should be developed together with the business and a branding strategy should be an integral part of any business plan.

The conference, organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, and the HCM City Department of Science and Technology, was attended by business executives and officials. — VNS

Tags: trademarks, Vietnam trademarks