KUMARAN NOWURAM

Executive Director MILO & Milks Nestle Products Sdn Bhd

How is the company coping in the current economic climate without compromising its brand presence?

At Nestle, our long-term vision is to create brands that are lasting, resilient, agile, sustainable and adaptable with the times regardless of the economic climate. This is why we continue to invest in building our brands and finding new and creative ways of reaching out to our customers.

While we welcome innovation and change, one thing has remained constant that will continue to inspire, inform and enhance our brand-building strategy – and that is our belief in enhancing the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future for individuals and families, communities and the planet.

what is the most significant aspect of creating powerful, effective branding?

We cannot emphasise enough the value of consumer engagement. We achieve this by creating content that is not only relevant to our consumers but also native to the platform of engagement. This drove the success of two of our signature consumer brand engagement programmes, MILO Malaysia Breakfast Day and Nestle Omega Plus Walk-A-Mile.

Not only did we achieve record-breaking numbers for both events this year, we also created a platform for our consumers to align themselves meaningfully with the purpose of each brand – MILO® Malaysia Breakfast Day helped individuals and families understand the health benefits of a balanced, nutritious breakfast and encouraged them to lead an active, healthy lifestyle, while Nestle Omega Plus Walk-AMile empowered Malaysians to take charge of their heart health in a fun, interactive manner.

In an increasingly transparent world, how can brands strengthen their brand equity?

Consumer engagement is also key in strengthening brand equity. In reaching out to consumers, there needs to be a shift from the old school approach of a one-way communication to a meaningful dialogue. In growing their business, brands need to recognise and treat customers as equal partners. With the advent of social media, brands now have more opportunities to listen to and learn from consumers. Taking stock of their experience and addressing their concerns are important steps for brands to take in order to continue improving and innovating.

what makes a brand memorable given the short attention spans and all sort of content screaming at customers?

Consumers see themselves in the brand that they love. In other words, they just don’t buy brands; they buy into the idea of the brand, what the brand stands for and how the brand helps them become a better version of themselves. The more brands are able to make their consumers feel good about themselves, the more memorable they become.