MARKET LEADER q1 11 COVER draft 1.indd - The Marketing Society

E d i to r i a l
Appealing to Muslims
In 1991 Stephen King wrote a prescient article predicting, among
other things, the rise of the ‘corporate brand’ in coming years. And
lo, this has indeed come about. In the past two decades we have seen
an increasing emphasis on corporate rather than individual product
branding. The contributing factors are many, not least of which is the
influence of the new sectors – technology, whether electronic or digital
– and the continuing importance of the service sector where corporate
brands predominate.
Similarly, the growing significance of Asian companies adds to the
increasing dominance of corporate brands. But even in the fmcg sector,
the original developers and evangelists of the product brand, we are
seeing international giants such as P&G and Unilever gaining publicity
as corporations. Many large Western companies are now performing
good deeds, particularly in developing countries where it is in their
interest to be more intimately involved in local activities by responding
prominently to local disasters or other issues.
The reasons underlying the consolidation of product branding
strategies under a corporate umbrella were originally financial and
practical. But a corporate strategy now has to answer to consumers’
increasing sophistication and greater knowledge of how companies
operate. Environmentalism has prompted people to want to know
more about how companies make what they sell, what their sourcing
and employment practices are, not to mention greater financial
transparency. And fortuitously, as Jim Stengel notes in his Viewpoint
piece, companies that devote themselves more to a higher ideal are
appearing to reap financial rewards.
But perhaps the most unexpected development in this gradual
movement of companies recognising a social responsibility, espousing
a ‘higher ideal’ or simply cleaning up their act, is the awareness of
what Muslim consumers look for in companies. Miles Young, in
his cover article, describes not just the size of Muslim communities
around the world – huge, and prosperous – but what they expect from
the companies behind the brands they buy. And their expectations
would bring joy to the hearts of environmentalists and critics of brash
capitalism. To quote Young: ‘Muslim consumers expect companies to
conform to Muslim values of honesty, respect, consideration, kindness,
peacefulness, authenticity, purity, patience, discipline, transparency,
modesty, community, dignity.’
That Muslim consumers could nudge Western companies into
being more honest, more socially conscious and more sincere is a very
pleasing irony.
Judie Lannon, Editor
market_leader@warc.com
Market Leader Quarter 1, 2011 3