42小時品牌訓練課程

資策會首度與薩巴卡瑪聯手打造『國際高階品牌經理人』實務班國內唯一培訓國際高階品牌經理人的完整系列課程。8月17日前報名繳費，可享工業局補助40%優惠!!!

課程網址：
http://www.iiiedu.org.tw/ites/brand.htm

下載報名表：
http://www.iiiedu.org.tw/ites/​temp/BRAND1.doc

【E-MAG】2010年12月號 聯合品牌(Co-Branding) by Alison

聯合品牌(Co-Branding)策略對消費者並非新概念，它是目前品牌操作常見的方式之一。當然，此策略主要目的在提昇品牌知名度、喜愛度及銷售。

所謂的「聯合品牌」是使用品牌延伸的概念，結合二個或多個品牌的概念，針對一個新的消費族群(市場)，共同開發新的品牌或新的產品。

但它也非全然的只有好處，如果二個品牌在非常不同的品牌願景(vision)和品牌使命(mission)下做結合，它也將會帶給雙方負面的影響，將使其品牌權益受害。

【E-MAG】2010年10月號 談色彩、說趨勢，2010年Color Me Taiwan 2 成功落幕!! by Sherry

2010 Color Me Taiwan 2在各方民眾支持下，今年活動成功落幕！

感謝當天蒞臨現場的民眾支持薩巴卡瑪國際所主辦的年度色彩盛宴，也感謝遠從海外而來的Ms. Leatrice 以及林督 女士帶給觀眾們豐富的色彩資訊；還有人稱”台灣瑰寶”蒂摩爾古薪舞集帶來令人驚艷的舞蹈表演。

為了持續讓台灣人了解色彩更多的可能性，我們下一場Color Me Taiwan 3 預定在2012年舉辦。今年錯過活動的人，敬請期待2012 Color Me Taiwan 3的到來吧！

Another Taiwanese brand success story

Is it possible for small Taiwanese companies to develop brands to export overseas?- ABSOLUTELY! Within less than 3 years, Birzman has become an internationally acclaimed Bicycle tools & accessories brand. The Birzman brand was first launched at the Taipei Cycle show in 2007.
 

Birzman is a proud sponsor of;

• The Merida Van Racing Team

• Jose Antonio Hermida (MTB champion)

• Theresa Lu (LPGA Golfer) 

Just another great success for Taiwan Branding.

TATUNG BOY - Remember this guy?

Talk about successful branding. This guy has been around for decades. Tatung is more than 100years old. And the Tatung Boy has been around since 1969. (correct me if I am wrong) Tatung Boy strikes at the heart of many...older generations perhaps. But we have a sneaky feeling that Tatung Boy will inspire many more generations to come. He is alive and well! And there is a surprise waiting for all of you in the coming months. 

So stay tuned and you might become a fan of Tatung Boy all over again!

Home grown brands setting world trends

The opportunities are real. Some Taiwan-home grown brands have embarked on a unique branding path that has seen them set new trends. Birzman, launched in March 2007 and Quaadlife bike frames presented during this year's 2009 Eurobike are just 2 of several Taiwan brands that have caught the attention of worldwide distributors and cycle enthusiasts. Both of these brands have a very unique and niche market. Their products and design are original and trendsetting. Birzman has, in as little as three years, developed into an internationally acclaimed Bicycle tool and accessory designer and developer. Distributed in multiple territories across Asia, Europe, Australasia and Taiwan, Birzman is also a keen sponsor of the Merida racing team and other sport personalities.



The Birzman Team - www.birzman.com

Quaadlife, on the other hand, is relatively new brand. With 2 years in the making, the Quaadlife team presented their new frame designs during this year's Eurobike. The artistic collection of one-of-a-kind decals caught the attention of the International media and many enthusiastic bike designers. So keep your eyes out for Quaadlife's next design palette.

Quaadlife bike frames -www.quaadlife.com (designed by Subkarma)

Subkarma was involved in the design and development of both the Birzman and Quaadlife brands. Quaadlife frames were designed by Subkarma.

'PLURK' Vs 'TWITTER'

Ok - now we are getting started. Subkarma website is updated, 'www.subkarma.com' and this blog is running smoothly. Subkarma 'twitter' (name: subkarma) is online and twittering everyday during working hours and now we might just start 'plurking' (nickname: subee). So whats next? Lets first find out how Twitter and Plurk differ, how they compare? Who knows, we might try both of these for a while...
And if branding is all about communicating - how much communication do we have to do? Will it ever get easier?

Twitter Who?

Subkarma is twitting. Why? No idea. We are trying to figure out what makes Twitter such a world-wide sensation. Can it be a marketing tool for businesses here in Taiwan as blogs are? Is there an advantage? We should have the answer to this question by the end of this month. In the meantime, if you want to find subkarma on twitter, go to www.twitter.com and search for "subkarma".
Good twitting

Another successful Taiwan brand launch

Cideko is another recently Subkarma developed Taiwan brand. Cideko, with its all new wireless keyboard hits a home run and brings back gold during the 2009 Computex show in Taipei. Key 'cideko' in Google and find out what the world is saying. They are hot, hot, hot! So once again, I only have 2 words to all those theorists who don't believe in Taiwan's Small and Medium size businesses' ability to go OBM - Think Positive!
www.cideko.com

Branding Taiwan

Branding Taiwan - not so easy. Which words spring to mind when you think of...

• HongKong: Shopping, travel center...
• Thailand: Sunshine and smiles...
• Malaysia: Truly Asia, beaches, cultural...
• France: Romantic, good food....
• Korea: Energetic, growth...
• Taiwan?...................Hmmmmmmmmm?

We have run a 6 month survey asking local Taiwanese to describe Taiwan using 3 words of their choice. (For example: Friendly, beautiful, historic, fun, etc....) The results will be posted at the end of this year.

However, it is no surprise to us that so far, respondents' answers are quite different from each other. So what is Taiwan's brand personality? What is it we want to tell the world? How do we want the world to perceive Taiwan? In any case, to brand a country, the government (each ministry) and leading businesses must speak with a single voice. Today, there are numerous promotion campaigns with very different messages aimed at promoting Taiwan to the world. None of them are successful. ("Taiwan, Touch your heart." "Naruwan" to name a few) So perhaps you can help. If you could describe Taiwan using only 3 words, which words would you choose?

FROM BLAND TO BRAND

Imagine this; a group of 20 engineers from different companies coming together for a Industrial Design course organised by LAB(learning Academy of Branding) and TMBA (Taiwan Machine Business Association) and Subkarma's design director, Tony Soames, with the goal of inspiring creativity. 5 old broken down bicycles, a couple of tools, 4 cans of spray paint for each group, and a mission. Brand a bike. (Coke, UPS, McDonald, Google and Harley Davidson.) 1 day for building the bike, half a day at a professional photo studio (20 minutes for each group), 2 hours to develop a brand message, 10 minutes each for advertising layout and design. The end result, 5 great brand advertisements.(total cost each ad=NT$2,100) Remember that none of the participants have design backgrounds. If you want to see the whole story, visit LAB at www.branding-academy.com Creativity is in everybody!

Buddhism & Branding - similarities

It seems to us that more people in Taiwan understand the concepts of Buddhism than branding in Taiwan. There are few brand specialists and millions of practicing Buddhists. So is it possible to draw parallels between the both and if so, will it help Taiwanese companies better understand the principles of Branding. If we look at one of the most important wisdoms of Buddhism, the Hidden Potential, we can perhaps understand what a brand is. The Hidden Potential talks about the fact that nothing is what is is from itself. Deep enough? Lets try to understand this principle through an easy example. You find someone irritating. But someone else finds the same person quite the opposite, caring, loving, fun to be with or around. In this case, we can see that that person in itself is neither irritating or fun to be around. That person is in fact, quite neutral. However, it is our perception of him that makes him what we think he is. Our perceptions are developed through imprints made throughout our lives, good things and bad things and how it has affected us or others. These imprints force us to see things the way we do. How does this relate to branding you ask yourself?

Branding works in very much the same way. A brand in itself is nothing. A trademark, a name, a symbol, a product or an idea in itself is nothing. However, the perception that one has of a brand makes it a brand. People may perceive the brand in different ways, as we saw with the example mentioned above. The way we influence the perception of people is by placing imprints in the mind of people throughout their lives. These imprints, in turn, will manifest themselves through perceptions, negative or positive. In other words, the way you feel about a brand is influenced by what it means to you, how it relates to you or the way it has affected you.

Branding is a feeling. A perception.

In other words, brand success or failure is dependent on how people perceive your brand and not the way you think your brand is perceived. It is important to understand how people are affected by positive and negative imprints, big or small and how you can, in a small way, place imprints in the minds of consumers that may determine the way they feel about your brand. This can be achieved through positive advertising, promotional campaigns, honest charity events, promoting environmental awareness, being generous in times of economic downturns, treating employees and suppliers in a compassionate way, listening to your customers, setting communication methods for consumers to communicate with your brand, supporting a cause and so-on.

Remember, a brand is not what you say it is, a brand is what the consumer says it is.

A brand is a feeling.

Cheeky design strategy

Used by a great number of brands, the cheeky design strategy - which uses unflattering comparisons to competing brands, (image above that is making fun of Starbucks), may not be suitable for Taiwan brands. The risk for severe retaliation or even law suits is high. And once it begins, you might be starting a full-out brand war that might consequently cost you a small fortune. Imagine fierce advertising battles between Taiwan giants; Acer vs Asus, Giant vs Merida, Senao vs HTC...entertaining I suppose. But what about 85 degree vs Starbucks? My money would be on the local gladiator; 85 degree all the way.

Brand loyalty that hurts

How much do you love your favourite brand? A new way to define brand loyalty or successful brand loyalty is if consumers are willing to tattoo your trademark onto their bodies. They become immediate walking billboards. And if you were to get a tattoo of a Taiwanese brand, how about; La New, Hi-Life or Family Mart, Acer or Asus, Mr. Brown or Kavalan. Perhaps not. But a cool "SUBKARMA" trademark or symbol....why not?

The Dos & DONTS of Branding in Taiwan

Subkarma's book; "The Dos & DONTS of Branding in Taiwan" is still available.
You can get your signed book at Subkarma (Taipei & Taichung) and at L.A.B. .
It is also available in the following book stores: Eslite, Caves, Kingstone, Pageone.
It can be ordered online at: www.books.com.tw

A useful little checklist for preparedness, design and implementation, "The Dos & DONTS of Branding in Taiwan" is our way to help you create a successful brand. Enjoy the read...