NATION BRAND ING: STORY OF BANGLADESH

Brand:

Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer's mind (see positioning). Thus brands help harried consumers in crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value. Legal name for a brand is trademark and, when it identifies or represents a firm, it is called a brand name. See also corporate identity.

Branding:

The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In developing a brand identity for Bangladesh, first the term – brand should be understood. A more sophisticated definition is offered by Aaker (1996): a brand is a multidimensional assortment of functional, emotional, relational and strategic elements that collectively generate a unique set of associations in the public mind. Brand is defined as “a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors (Kotler, 2001)”. A brand is a promise that is made to customers about the quality and value of the products or services they purchase (Kotler, 2003). The best brands convey a warranty of quality.Branding can convey up to six levels of meanings:

attributes, benefits, values, culture, personality and user.The branding challenge is to develop a set of positive associations for the brand. In the same way as companies, stores and individuals have specific images among their respective audiences, countries can also have a brand or image among a target audience (Jaffe & Nebenzahl, 2001). Simon Anholt (1998), pioneer of nation branding, argues that brand is intangible because it has brand value as outlines in his book Brand New Justice. The brand value lies in the trust of a brand name for quality and reliability, a form of guarantee for its reputation, a promise the brand delivers and the service it provides to the consumers. The idea of nation branding is an extended form of place branding. Simon Anholt’s approach of competitive identity is about helping countries, cities and regions to earn abetter and stronger reputation in the following ways:

• Through courageous and enlightened social, economic, environmental and foreign policies.• Through the dynamic development of tourism, foreign investment and exports.• Through carefully chosen international cultural, sporting and political events.• Through improved cultural and academic relations with other countries.• Through a strategic commitment to international development and poverty reduction.• Through productive engagement with multilateral institutions, regional organizations and with NGOs at home and abroad.• Through effective coordination between government, industry and civil society.

• Through enhanced public and private diplomacy overseas.• Through a visionary long-term approach to innovation, investment and education.According to Steenkamp and Verlegh (1999), “a country image is not merely a cognitive cue for product quality, but that it also relates to emotions, identity, pride and autobiographical memories that transform country-of-origin into an expressive or unique attribute”. The origin of nation branding study can be traced to four different sources, namely, country-of-origin (Heslop & Papadoplous, 2002), place or destination branding (Gertner & Kotler, 2002), public diplomacy (Fan, 2008 & Melissen, 2005) and national identity (Bond, et al. 2001). In 2002, Anholt proposed a concept of branding hexagon where he distinguished six main factors influencing country image (Figure 1). Nation branding focuses on the nation as a whole – its people, culture and heritage, investment and immigration,Governance, exports and tourism.

Figure 01: Branding Hexagon (Anholt, 2002)Country-of-origin and place branding have a clear focus on promoting specific economic interests (export, tourism or inward investment), whereas nation branding is concerned with a country’s whole image on the internationalstage covering political, economic and cultural dimensions (Fan, 2006). A country image sometimes can be linked to specific products. German cars, Danish furniture, French wine, etc. are favorable product-class which is linked with country image. Views of countries are formed not just by what a country says about itself, but by what it does, by its products, by what it looks like, by what people say about it and by the company it keeps.According to Dinnie (2007), there are five objectives for nation branding. Nation brands itself to stimulate export growth, increase inbound tourism for tourism receipts, attract foreign investment into the nation, enhance political influence internationally and manage negative stereotypes. All of these play a role to the brand identity and brand image.Every country has a unique name and images in the mind of people both inside and outside the country, so a nation does have brands. A nation brand is the total sum of all perceptions of a nation in the mind of international stakeholdersWhich may contain some of the following elements?People, place, culture, language, history, food, fashion,famous faces (celebrities), global brands, etc.

A nation’s brand exists, with or without any conscious efforts in nation branding, as each country has a current image to its international audience, be it strong or weak, clear or vague (Fan, 2006).Two distinctions need to be made. Firstly a nation brand should not be confused with a national brand. In contrast with a global brand, a national brand is originated from a country and its use is probably still confined to the country;While a global brand is recognized in the world marketplace. Secondly when compared with a commercial brand, there are more differences than similarities. Unlike commercial brands many elements in nation brand construct are not in the control of those engaged in nation branding management, they are difficult to change in the short term.

NationBrand

ProductBrand

CorporateBrand

Offer Nothing onOffer

A product orservice onoffer

Related tothe productor sector

Attributes Too complicatedto definein simpleterms

Clearly defined Well defined

Benefits Purely emotional Functionaland emotional

Mainly emotional

Image Complicated,diverse, vague

Simple, clear Simple, visibleor hidden

Association Secondary,numerousand diverse

Primary andsecondary,relativelyfewer andmore specific

Mainly secondary,fewerand specific

Purpose To enhancenational reputation

To help salesand developrelationships

To enhancereputation anddevelop relationships

Dimension Political, economic,socialand cultural

Mainly economic Economic andsocial

Ownership Multiplestakeholdersunclear

Sole owner Sole owner

Audience International,diverse, “significantothers”

Targeted segment General publicor targeted

Nation branding is not a myth. The impact of nation branding should not be exaggerated or dismissed. For a nation to change its image, it needs first to change its behavior.Then, equally important, it needs to tell the people in the world about the changes. The way for a nation to gain a better reputation is to communicate to the international audience that how good you are, is called nation branding (Fan, 2010).

PROCESS OF NATION BRANDINGLeading nation brand specialist Anholt introduced in 2005, the Anholt’s Nations Brand Index (NBI) that ranks country as their brand value. Based on responses from about 25,900 consumers drawn from 35 countries, the index provided a score addressing six core areas of a country depicted through a hexagon: people, governance, exports, tourism, culture and investment. It was initially published four times a year. Since 2008 research activities from GFK Roper Public Affairs and Media and Simon Anholt are joined and resulted in an expanded version of the index which is since then known as the Anholt-GFK Roper Nation Brands Index. Published on an annual basis, 20,157 interviews have been conducted with approximately 1,000 interviews per country for the 2008 index to determine how countries are perceived by others. People over the age of seventeen have been interviewed in twenty countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt and South Africa.According to the Nation Brand Index 2012, the top ten nations who have successfully meet up the six criteria are United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden. The six criteria underlying the Nations Brand Index ranking are explained below:

• People: Measures the population’s reputation for competence, education, openness and friendliness and other qualities, as well as perceived levels of potential hostility and discrimination.

• Governance: Measures public opinion regarding the level of national government competency and fairness and describes individuals’ beliefs about each country’s government, as well as its perceived commitment to global issues such as democracy, justice, poverty and the environment.

• Exports: Determines the public’s image of products and services from each country and the extent to which consumers proactively seek or avoid productsfrom each country-of-origin.

• Tourism: Captures the level of interest in visiting a country and the draw of natural and man-made tourist attractions.

• Culture and Heritage: Reveals global perceptions of each nation’s heritage and appreciation for its contemporary culture including films, music, art, sport and literature.

• Investment and Immigration: Determines the power to attract people to live, work or study in each country and reveals how people perceive a country’s economic and social situation.A powerful country brand translates into a better perception of the country. South Africa launched the Brand South Africa Project in August 2000. In New Delhi, over 100 people work full time on Brand India as India Brand Equity Foundation with the goal of modifying critical stakeholders attitudes towards this diverse country. Malaysia, Egypt, Costa Rica, New Zealand and many more countries have active nation branding programs in spite of the existence of state institutions such as investment, tourism, exports and public diplomacy dedicated to country products, services and reputation management. Many of them have created slogans and symbols in order to fulfill current business needs.

Country Slogan of Nation Branding

Bolivia The Authentic still Exists

Dubai The Jewel in the Desert

Egypt Destination Egypt

Iceland Iceland Naturally

India Incredible India

Malaysia Truly Asia

Singapore Uniquely Singapore

South Africa Alive with Possibility

Sri lanka The Pearl of the Indian Ocean

Thailand Amazing Thailand

Table: Active Nation Branding Programs

The organization, Future Brand introduced another nation brand index that is known as ‘Country Brand Index’ in 2005. From 2005, it is published annually and based on both qualitative and quantitative research. In 2012-13, it has collected quantitative data from 3,600 opinion formers and frequent international business or leisure travelers. It also have collected qualitative information from a carefullyselected and diverse panel of experts in policy and governance, international relations, economic and trade, international law, national security, energy and climate change, urban and regional planning, immigration and the media. The main tool of determine the nation brand index is Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM). It determines how key audiences including residents,

investors, tourists and foreign governments perceived a country’s brand, from a baseline of awareness all the way up to brand advocacy.

This model takes seven areas of consideration:Awareness Do key audiences know that the

brand exists? How top of mind isit?

Familiarity, How well do people know thecountry?

Association, What comes to mind whenpeople think of the country?

Preference, How highly do audiences esteemthe brand? Does it resonate?

Consideration, Is this one of the countries beingthought about for a visit?

Decision / Visitation To what extent do people followthrough and visit the country?

Advocacy. Do they recommend the countryto family and friends?

In this model, only the third stage – Association deals with five components: Value System, Quality of Life, Good for Business, Heritage and Culture and Tourism. Each component is divided into some parts. Value System consists of political freedom, tolerance, stable legal environment, freedom of speech and environmental friendliness. Quality of Life consists of most like to live in, education system, healthcare system, standard of living, safety and job opportunity. Good for Business consists of skilled workforce, advanced technology, investment climate and regulatory environment. Heritage and Culture consist of natural beauty, history, art and culture and authenticity. Tourism consists of value for money, resort and lodging options, attractions and food. According to Country Brand Index 2012-13, the top ten nations are Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, United States, Finland and Norway.

4. NATION BRANDING – BANGLADESH:In 2008, Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed launched the first country branding for Bangladesh. The logo of the branding includes a rising sun above waves of seawater with the slogan ‘Beautiful Bangladesh’ beneath. The image problem of Bangladesh made a low ranking by

organizations as diverse as the World Economic Forum, UNDP, UNCTAD, Transparency International Bangladesh andGoldman & Sachs. These rankings are usually based on a mix of objective measures and stakeholder perceptions. In the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 by World Economic Forum, Bangladesh ranked 118th among 144 countries in terms of 12 indicators – Institutions (127th), Infrastructure (134th), Macro-economic environment (100th), Health and primary education (103rd), Higher education and training (126th), Goods market efficiency (95th), Labor market efficiency (117th), Financial market development (95th), Technologicalreadiness (125th), Market size (47th), Business sophistication (108th) and Innovation (130th).According to the Country Brand Index 2012, Bangladesh stood 110th position among the 118 countries that is diminution from 2011 (107th) and 2010 (102nd). Till now, Anholt’s Nation Brand Index (NBI) does not include Bangladesh.

But Bangladesh can be analyzed based on the six criteria of Nation brand Index:a. People: Bangladesh has demographic dividend for last few years. Population aged 60 years and above is likely to exceed the population aged below 15 years in 2046. Demographic dividend results in economic return like labor supply, savings and human capital. The urban growth rate is 3.5% per annum. This high rate of population movement and pace of urbanization can be regarded as a driving force of modernization and centre of economic growth and development.

b. Governance: In order to improve public financial management, the government of Bangladesh has taken a comprehensive Public Financial Management Action Plan. With a population of 140 million, it has only 1.4 million registered income tax payers and 300,000 businesses registered for value-added tax. The government approved a strategic development plan aimed at a tax administration modernization project, fostering tax-payer service and ensuring uniform and equal treatment of business. The government is also trying to build capacity of Board of Investment and Export Processing Zone Authority to reduce administrative barriers in attracting foreign investment.

c. Exports: Bangladesh has become the ‘export power house’. ‘Made in Bangladesh’ labels are now common in American and European stores. McKinsey, the consulting giant, has called Bangladesh the ‘next china’ and predictedthat Bangladeshi garment exports, now about $18 billion a year, could triple by 2020. It has already underscored the importance of exports for creating dynamism in the manufacturing sector and for the provision of high productivity and high-income jobs. Along with readymade garments, tea, jute, leather, handicraft, fish, dry food, etc. have earned good reputation from the world.

d. Tourism: Bangladesh is a combination of forests, river line countryside, long stretches of sun-bathed beaches, fearsome wilds, venerable shrines, etc. The world’s longest unbroken beach of Cox’s Bazar (120 km) is situated on a clean stretch consisting of miles of sands.Sundarbans, world’s single largest mangrove forest, is Familiarity, Associations, Preference, Consideration, Advocacy, Decision / Visitation, Awareness special to catch a rare glimpse of the Royal Bengal Tiger in its natural habitat. Bangladesh is also crisscrossed by a network of rivers and creeks. It has rich archeological sites

like Paharpur, Mahasthangarh and Mainamati. UNESCO has declared Paharpur as a World Heritage Site. In the capital of Bangladesh, it has also some outstandingmonuments like Lalbagh Fort, Sonargaon, Ahsan Manjil, Husseni Dalan, Dhakeshwari Temple, etc.

e. Culture and Heritage: Ekushey February has got worldwide recognition as the ‘International Mother Language Day’. Pohela Baishakh displays our rich andvibrant culture and heritage. Our food culture can be focused as cuisine can be a powerful agent for shaping public perception. Bangladesh has also a diverse culture of tribal people that can be promoted as well for nation branding.f. Investment and Immigration: In order to provide infrastructure facilities, government has established Industrial Park, High Tech Parks and EPZ. Economic zone can be set up by local or foreign entrepreneurs or organizations. To reduce power shortage, the government invites the private sector power generation companies.Special incentives have been announced for using Biomass, Solar and Windmill based power. The government has also introduced tax holidays for developed and underdeveloped areas. FDI has increased significantly over the years. Flow of remittances in Bangladesh is around six times higher than it was a decade ago. In 2011-12, it was $ 12.17 billion that made possible to earn positive balance of payments.

Brand Equity:

The Aaker Model, created by David A. Aaker, a marketing professor at the University of California-Berkeley and a management consultant at Prophet, is a marketing model which views brand equity as a combination of brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand associations, which add up to give the value provided by a product.

In simple terms, “brand equity” is a construct that is designed to reflect the real value that a brand name holds for the products and services that it accompanies.  Brand equity is considered important because brands are believed to be strong influencers of critical business outcomes, such as sales and market share.  For example, Inc. Magazine notes that “branded products invariably command a higher price than so-called "generic" or "store brands"—even when the product is itself a commodity like sugar. In such cases the higher price is due almost entirely to the power of the brand. ” Professor Kevin Keller, of Dartmouth College, lists the following seven benefits of brand equity:

1. Be perceived differently and produce different interpretations of product performance;2. Enjoy greater loyalty and be less vulnerable to competitive marketing actions;

3. Command larger margins and have more inelastic responses to price increases and elastic responses to price decreases;

4. Receive greater trade cooperation and support;

5. Increase marketing communication effectiveness;

6. Yield licensing opportunities;

7. Support brand extensions

Brand equity, like most constructs, has been defined and measured in numerous ways.  It is sometimes understood from the perspective of tangible financial assets of a firm.  However, from a marketing research perspective, brand equity is often viewed conceptually- as a framework for understanding the power of the intellectual and emotional associations consumers have with particular named products and services.  In contrast to the absolute dollar valuations that underscores the direct financial perspective; marketing researchers seek to measure and understand brand equity for strategic positioning and planning. 

Introduction of Walton:

Walton HIL (Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd.) is the pioneer of refrigerator, freezer, and motorcycle manufacturing technology in Bangladesh. It is also the manufacturing of Energy saving Lamp. R.B. Group (Mother Company) is the country’s top business Group in electrical and electronics, Motorcycle, Electricity generating equipments and other household electrical & electronics goods using the brand name WALTON with some other sectors like Textiles, Dairy etc. The company has been running its business with a great reputation since 1977. Establishment of Walton HIL to manufacture Refrigerator & Freezer, Lamp and Motorcycle etc. In the country is a milestone in the path of success and reputation of the brand WALTON.

Walton HIL has introduced first advanced research and manufacture technologies and equipments for customized commercial and household Refrigerator and freezer, Motorcycle and Energy Saving Lamp etc, In Bangladesh. The company desires to provide the latest technology based products with innovative design, excellent quality and many different models & capacities. In these concerns, management of Walton HIL ensures their commitments for quality at any cost. WALTON brand main products are different types of Television (CRT, LCD, Plasma etc), HD, DVD & DVD Player, Motorcycle, Refrigerator & Freezer, Microwave Oven, Steam Oven, Domestic and Industrial Generator, Washing Machine, Wrist- Watch, Manganese

& Alkaline Battery, Energy saving Lamp, Power tiller, Air- conditioner and various types of necessary and useful home appliances.

Services and functions:

Walton is providing customers the latest technology based products, innovative design, and excellent quality with different models & capacities. Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. and other sister concerns are furnished with a strong Research and Development (R&D) division comprising a large team of 600 plus dedicated highly skilled engineers and technical personnel from home and abroad. Walton HIL has a fully equipped industrial set-up with annual production capacity of 1.4 million Refrigerators and Freezers, 0.3 million Motorcycles, 0.3 million Air Conditioners, 1.0 million Televisions (3D LED, LED, LCD, CRT).Walton has its own Mold & Die making sections, VMC, CNC Wire-Cut, EDM machines. It has 08 Poly Urethane Foaming Plants, 15 Thermoforming (Vacuum forming) Units; highly equipped Metal Forming Units with Powder Coating, 3D Scanner & Printers, Nickel-Chrome Plants and Die-Casting Sections. Walton also has Robot operated Injection Plastic Molding Plants, highly equipped Test Labs, Printing & Packaging Sections, Alloy Wheel Making & ED Coating Plants, Seam Tubes, Seat Foaming & Silencer Plants, Nitrogen & Electricity Generating Plants. Walton has very strong & rigid Quality Control (QC) policy and well equipped QC division consists of all types of testing devices as required including worlds latest CMM. Walton always emphasizes on supreme priority to achieve customer satisfaction. It has a large sales& after sales service network in home & abroad. Walton has achieved various standard quality certificates including ISO 9001:2008 & ISO 14001:2004. Walton service network is the country’s only ISO 9001:2008 Standard Certified after sales service network. The products of the company have acquired a significant local market share and are also being exported globally for its world class quality. Walton sets its vision to take a place among the top Electronics, Automobiles, and

Telecommunication Industries in the world by 2015. In a nutshell, it has been vehemently proved that Made in Bangladesh is the mark of ultimate confidence.

Mission:

WALTON will become the acknowledged leader in electronic home appliance industry to provide quality products into reasonable price. Leadership will be achieved by establishing the industry standards of excellence for quality of service and by maintaining the broad loyalty relative to our service commitment.

Achievement of Mission requires:

1. Absolute dedication to understanding and fulfilling our customers need with the appropriate mix of service, reliability, product and price for each customer.

2. A country wide showroom and service network for customer providing with reputed brands, products with excellent useful characteristics with different aspects for customer.

3. Allocation of resources consistent with the recognition that we are in number one position in country wide business.

4. An environment that rewards achievement, enthusiasm and team spirit and which offers each person in WALTON with superior opportunities for personal development and growth.

5. A professional organization able to maintain initiative and local decision making while working together within a centrally managed network.

The evaluation of our business in providing new products, new services, markets or products will be completely driven by our single-minded commitment to anticipating and meeting changing needs of customer.

Goal:

“To provide best quality products for the valued customers by introducing latest technology driven products and expanding service network.”

OBJECTIVE:

1. To create and continuous upgrading the loyalty of the clients and their recommendation of our people through: quality products and good advice, dependable service and delivery and efficient marketing effort.

2. To establish a strong and distinguished corporate portfolio and image by retaining the tradition of the world’s greatest product line up.

3. To continuous upgrading and monitoring and evaluating of total quality management (TQM) approach to our all marketing and distribution system by making dynamic, honest and industrious showroom and dealer personal, a integrated part of the family.

4. To reach the pinnacle of the market in Brand Category combined with customer segmentation and strength our position there.

5. Develop an integrated human resource policy and implement its consistent use through the organizational training, authority commensurate with responsibility and recognition for performance.

6. To ensure that every number of the management team will be a person of top capability.

7. Introduce methods to plane for the provision of required caliber and quantify if staff.8. Assist the organization in becoming more customers aware and responsive in changing

needs of external marketing environment.

9. Define and encourage implement of an improved communications culture throughout the organization.

10. Faster a leadership style throughout the organization which encourages the respect for individuals, teamwork and close identification with customers.

Long-range objective:

The long-term objective is to gain leadership globally in the home appliance industry.

Short term objective:

Their short-range objective is profit maximization through customer satisfaction by providing quality product and increase market share in electronics market.

STRATEGIC INTENT :

To be the global leader in the appliance industry.Corporate strategic To earn more than average profit by exceeding customer expectation.Business strategyAdding product features to different markets and thus gain substantial market share.Operational strategyTo promote corporate image, to established good production facilities and to setup a good distribution channel.

 

WALTON MARKETING MIX:

Marketing Mix

Product Mix

product line Range

Distribution Mix

Physical Distribution

Communication Mix

Advertising Sales Catalogue

Incentive Mix

Money

Design Concept

Color Appeal Style Intention Package

proposal Brand Name price

Structure Service

Function Warranty Offer

Supplier Stock Handling Storage Transportation Warehousing Distribution

channel Direct

Distribution Trading Block

Field Sales forces public Relation Direct Marketing Telephone sales

force(Brand Image ) Merchandising

off(discount)

Competitors Sales promotion

BULDING A STRONG BRAND (WALTON):

1. Ensure identification of the brand with customers and an association of the brand in customer’s minds with a specific product class or customers need.

2. Firmly established the totality of brand meaning in the mind of customers by Strategically liking a host of tangible and intangible brand association with certain properties

3. Elicit the proper customer responses to this brand identification and brand meaning.4. Convert brand response to create an intense, active loyalty relationship between

customers and the brand (WALTON).

Walton Product gallery:

A product may be anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations, and ideas.

Product Classifications:

Marketers divide products and services into two broad classes based on the types of consumers that use them-consumer products and industrial products.

a. Consumer ProductsMarketer products are those that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. These products differ in the ways consumers buy them and how they are marketed.

b. Industrial Product Products are those bought by individual and organizations for further processing Of for use in conducting a business. According the previous definitions, Refrigerator and Freezers should be categorized as a consumer product. As a shopping product, they are less frequently purchased consumer products that customers compare carefully on suitability, quality, price, and style. They spend much time and effort in gathering information and making comparison. They buyers see homogeneous shopping products, such as major appliances, as similar in quality but different enough on price to justify shopping comparisons.

Television: Walk into the new arena/world of entertainment with Walton LCD & LED television. Walton brings you world class LCD & LED television to enjoy the stunning entertaining world.

Refrigerator: Walton offers wide range of refrigerators & freezers with a lot of variety in colors, dimensions & types.

Freezer: Walton Refrigerator & Freezer ensures highest quality compressor, Condenser is made by 100% copper which lasting for 20-30 years.

Generator: Walton Generator scientifically developed technology that deliveries of Clean Power that means much more reliability but interruptions are very low.

Motorcycle: Walton motorcycle produced with modern innovative technology, elegant shape & design with different models of 80cc to 140cc motorcycle maintaining international standard

quality.

DVD Player: Add a touch of Walton DVD Player of unique style to your home entertainment area. This lightweight, compact DVD player also up converts you’re DVDs.

Mobile: WALTON Mobile is an elegant line of mobile phone handsets. It is distinctive by its unquestionable quality, longer durability and eye-popping style.

Microwave oven : Walton Microwave Oven cooking standard is very high. Walton Microwave Oven has some special features like as Power output:900w, Cavity capacity :28liters(1.1cu.ft),

Washing Machine: Walton Washing Machine standard is very high

.

Iron: STEAM-IRONNING Sit the temperature rotator to position for moderate steam and to for maximum steam. With conventional steam iron, water may leak from the, sole plate if a too low temperature has been occur.

Air Conditioner: Walton presents the perfect solution from heat & high temperature with its Air Conditioner. Only Walton air conditioner ensures exact BTU that’s why experts are so sure & confident about it.

WALTON Refrigerators and Freezers and features:

Opinion Good Very Good Excellent No Idea Bad

Percentage 25% 28% 38% 7% 3%

Opinion

25%28%

38%7%

3%

0% 20% 40%

1

Percen

tag

e

Bad

No Idea

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Competition about Walton and Others Brand:

Walton Lg Sony Sharp Samsung Others

27% 25% 22% 17% 12% 4%

Brand Name

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%Walton

Lg

Sony

Sharp

Samsung

Others

Present brand users of Microwave of different brand :

Brand Sharp Samsung LG Walton Miacko

% 15 5 21 27 32

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%

Sharp

Samsung

LG

Walton

Myacko

Opinion about present china brand user of Refrigerators and Freezers of different brands:

Brand Butterfly Sharp Walton Nova Konka Others

% 19.50 12.37 25.63 15.75 16.35 10.40

Butterfly

Sharp

Walton

Nova

Konka

Others

Specific reason for choosing products of WALTON brands:

Reason Price Brand image Features Warranty Getup

Percentage 32 27 17 18 6

Price

Brand image

Features

Warranty

Getup

“Brand Image” position:

Brand name Percentage Position

LG 24 1st

Walton 21 2nd

Sharp 18 3rd

Sony 15 4th

TCL 14 5th

Samsung 13 6th

Toshiba 12 7th

Konka 6 8th

Opinion about low price offer high quality:

Opinion Agree Not sore Strongly Disagree

Percentage 15% 38% 47%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Agree

Not sure

StronglyDisagree

Opinion about WALTON Refrigetors and Freezers price present. Size 27,28,30(Liter) :

Opinion About price Reasonable Affordable High Unreasonable

Percentage 34 25 36 5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Opinion About Price

Reasonable

Affordable

High

Unreachable

Promotion to the consumer: Advertising Media:

Promotional communication methods consist of advertising sponsorship, branding. Packaging, public relations. Sales promotion and merchandising. They must not offer conflicting messages. Advertising media must be chosen for its ability to reach the right market segments. Perhaps the most significant role that advertising plays is its advertising is its contribution to the creation of brand preference. If the

necessary ingredient for advertising is a brand name, then the key to continued successful advertising is a good product. It goes without saying that no amount of advertising will persuade consumers to repeatedly buy a bad product. The key to successful advertising is to view a product as a bundle of consumer benefits rather than as a physical commodity. Advertising must communicate messages that address major benefits of a product and communicate realistic benefits of consumers. Examples of primary product consideration in establishing advertising goals are:

1) Brand position within a product category: products priced at the high end of a category will require different advertising strategies just as advertising for new products will differ from their established competitors.

2) Product purchase cycle: Obviously package goods bought on a biweekly cycle such as groceries will use different advertising approaches than durable goods, such as appliances, which are purchased every 5 to 10 years.

3) Product awareness and market position: Product with high market saturation has a much different marketing strategy than others, and it is reflected in both its advertising budget and its creative approach.

4) Product seasonality: For seasonality, Product is marketed differently.5) Short term advertising strategy: Is a particular campaign designed to gain initial consumer trial,

encourage higher purchase levels from current customers, or based on the following.

Opinion about showrooms decoration positive impact:

Brand Sharp Samsung LG Walton Sony

% 20 26 20 24 10

Brand

0%

10%

20%

30%

1

Sharp

Samsung

LG

Walton

Sony

Market Share Analysis of Industry for global brand: (Sales value):

Company Name Market Share %

LG 30.75

Walton 25.75

Sharp 24.25

Sony 12.15

Others 7.10

Market Share

010203040

1

Percentage

LG

Walton

Sharp

Sony

Others

Upcoming products from Walton:

Walton Walpad Pro :

Operating System : Windows 8.1 (32-bit), Processor : Intel® Atom™ 1.3 GHz Quad core Z3735F processor (Burst frequency up to 1.8GHz ) ; 2M L2 Cache, Network Standard : Single SIM (Data Only); Network type: UMTS /GSM, Memory : RAM: 2 GB DDR3; Storage space: 64 GB (e-MMC); External memory: Support Micro SD card, up to 128 GB, Screen Parameter : Screen size: 8.9-inch; Resolution: Full HD (1920X1200) (1080p); IPS Display with corning gorilla glass, Camera: Sensor: CMOS ; Rear camera: 5 -mega pixel Auto-Focus; Front camera: 2.0-Mega pixel, Battery: Li-Polymer 6000 mAh, Sensors: Motion sensors: Accelerometer (3D) GPS module: Yes.

W65E900:

Sound Yes Speaker-Type Stereo Connectivity Smart Tv Auto-Channel-Search Yes Power Unknown 

Other-FeaturesSmart Android 4.2Flicker-Free 3DCpu : Cortex A9 Dual Core 

Sponsor:

Walton Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League 2014:

Popular Bangladeshi brand Walton is becoming the title sponsor of the upcoming Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.The 2014-15 season of the list A one day competition, participated by 12 teams, will kick off tomorrow (Tuesday).Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the sponsor company Walton will sign an agreement in this regard at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur in the city at 12:30pm on the day (Tuesday).Uday Hakim, Operative Director of Walton (Creative and Publications Department) will sign the agreement on behalf of the company. Firoj Alam, Deputy Director (PR and Media) of Walton and Milton Ahmed, Senior AGM, will also be present on the occasion. Walton, the country’s leading electrical, electronic and automobile and telecommunication products manufacturing and marketing company also sponsored the previous two seasons of the competition. The company has also been sponsoring country’s first class cricket tournament ‘National Cricket League’ for the last five years.The Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League will follow a single league format. The top six teams on points will qualify for the Super League. The bottom three on points will have to play the Relegation League with the sides finishing 11th and 12th getting relegated to the First Division.   In the opening round on Tuesday, defending champions Gazi Tank Cricketers will take on Old DOHS Sports Club at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.In the other matches of the day, Sk Jamal Dhanmondi Club Ltd will play against Partex Sports Club at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Narayanganj and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club against Kalabagan Krira Chakra at BKSP ground 3 in Savar.All matches are scheduled to commence at 9am Bangladesh Standard Time.

The West Indies will arrive in Dhaka on October 4 to play a T20 International, three one-day internationals and two Tests against the Tigers in Mirpur and Chittagong.

The acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nizam Uddin Chowdhury announced that the BCB received 1.95 lakh US dollars from the sponsorship rights at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

“Two companies (the other being Ad Touch) participated in the bidding and Riz Events earned the rights as the highest bidder. We got less money than targeted as the floor price was 2.65 lakh US dollars,” said Nizam adding that the prize money of 59,000 US dollars was also included in the total amount.

“It's nice to see Walton coming forward to be associated with cricket and we hope they will continue their support in future,” he added.

“We believe that cricket can play a great role in creating a positive image of the country. We are really happy that we could able to be involved in cricket for the first time. We will try our best to continue our ties with the Bangladesh Cricket Board,” promised Mizanur Rahman, director of the sponsor company.

Humayun Kabir, also director of the sponsor company, and managing director of Riz Events Rizwan Bin Faruque also spoke at the function.

International market:

Walton pursues its 21st century vision of becoming a true universal digital brand through innovative design, latest technology and proper customer satisfaction. Walton set its vision to take a place among the top electronics, automobiles, and telecommunication Industries in the

world by 2015. The products of the company have acquired a significant local market share and are also exporting to different countries in the world like United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, Sudan, Qatar etc. And we are prepared for huge market access to Australia, Singapore, Poland, Romania, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Bhutan, Nepal, Bahrain, Nigeria and Ghana. Our major overseas distributors are:

Australiagtbc Australia 13 brechin court, greenvale vic-3059, Australia. Tel: 0061 393 335 183 mobile: +0061 410 262 731,0061 415 506 805

United Arab Emirates(U.A.E)mohd. Maqbol general trading(l.l.c) 117-236, al murar, deira f-314 (3rd floor) United Arab Emirates mobile: +971 50 884 5306,55 649658

 QatarNasser bin saad trad, cont. Est. C.r. No. 23175 p.o box no. 23695 Doha, Qatar tel: 0097 4482 0029

 North Sudannageer engineering enterprises 60, street, taif khartoum, North Sudan tel: 0024 9912 392 336

 SingaporeTanmoy enterprise25/27 lembu road, Singaporemobile: +6598  620  665, +6582  372

 Myanmarhero international ent’p ltd.No. 186/188, ground floor, pansodan t/ship,Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: 0095 1388 438, 391575 

 India bothra international p.o: Mankachal dist: Dhubri, Assam. Tel: 0091 9435 015 652 

 Ghana Ahmed kabir ltd. P.o: box: af 1747Accra, Ghana tel: 00233 263 945 965 

International fame:

Walton brand products have won the hearts of millions and would be exported to many countries including Japan due to its high quality. Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Shiro Sadoshimo said this while talking to the newsmen after visiting

the electronics and automobile factory Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. at Chandra, Kaliakair in Gazipur on Tuesday. There is a great possibility for Walton products to be exported in Japan as Bangladesh and Japan have a good friendly relation for a long time and have huge opportunities for co-operation in different fields like trade; he added. If Bangladesh and Japan work together the economic expansion of the two countries will be more progressive, he pointed out. The Japanese envoy assured the Walton authority for providing all kinds of technical supports to develop the production facilitates and other supports to promote Walton products in Japanese market. At this time he went round different units of the factory equipped by the state-of-art technology that manufactures fridge, motorcycle and air-conditioners with Miki Yamamato, economic counselor of the Japanese embassy, S M Shamsul Alam, Chairman of Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd, S M Ashraful Alam, Managing Director, Lokman Hossain Akash, Chief of Walton International Marketing Department and Enayet Ferdous, media adviser accompanied the Japanese envoy during the visit. Some Japanese companies have expressed their interest in importing Walton products from Bangladesh, Lokman Hossain Akash informed this while mentioning that the company has acquired positive image in international market for its electronics, electrical and automobile products. Senior Deputy Director and Chief of Creative & Publication, Uday Hakim has said Walton factory uses more American and German technology compared to the Japanese technology. Shiro Sadoshimo remarks that the visit will not only increase the use of Japanese technology in Walton factory but also create an opportunity to export Walton products in Japan. The visit is also an initiative to increase trade relation and technological cooperation between these two countries.

CONCLUSION :

There are around 195 nations in the world who are aggressively competing for the attention of investors, tourists and citizens. So it is time to plan a nation brandingStrategy that must consider two objectives. First making the citizens attached to the brand. Also it is necessary to improve people’s standard of living so that a citizen really feel proud of his / her country. Second the brand strategists should concentrate on branding the country beyond the border. Its success depends on how far they can reduce the gap between a native’s perception and a foreigner’s perception about the country. Country brand strength is a nation’s ultimate

intangible asset that helps to stand out regionally and globally and to realize future ambitions beyond its geographic size, financial performance or levels of awareness. When a product or service is identified with a strong nation brand, it has a better chance of premium pricing, longevity and preference in emerging markets. On the other hand, a poor nation brand leads to poor differentiation, ambiguous meaning and low recall in the minds of people who travel, consume and do business beyond the border. Nation branding provides the glue among political, social and economic pillars. It defines how a country’s own citizens and the world perceive it. It balances substance and form perception and reality. It enhances a nation’s ability to achieve its objectives across foreign policy, FDI, trade, tourism, etc. It delivers a unifying platform that builds synergy, allowing for cross-promotion and alignment across the public and private sectors.The government should come up with an aggressive but distinct nation branding campaign immediately. The basic principle underlying any success in nation branding is coordination, a shared vision and a shared strategy for all sectors in the hexagon. Also clever positioning is important. Bangladesh has to find a niche that it can truly own, always underline that one strong point and keep repeating this tiny feature, which is unique, distinctive and good. Only the government is not liable, or even capable enough to enhance national image. Each citizen should contribute according to position and ability. Media can play the most significant role in this respect.

Therefore, everyone should come forward to make a successful nation branding platform for our Beautiful Bangladesh that will bring not only name and fame but also huge foreign currency!!!

References:

[1] Asian Business Review, Volume 2

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