In Asia, as in the rest of the world, astute businesses are increasingly regarding brands as much more than smart logos and slick advertising. They are appreciating the fact that more in-depth branding initiatives can substantially improve the financial performance of their companies.

For the last five years Brian R Richards Ltd (BRR) has been showing companies in Asia how to add considerable value to their brands, and therefore their businesses, by encouraging them to adopt brand-related concepts companywide.

The unique set of brand tools and processes developed by BRR is designed to address and collectively improve every aspect of the customer's experience of a company. Knowledge transfer is a fundamental part of what we do. As a consequence of our input, companies in Asia have benefited by being able to:

• Confidently and successfully take internal and external stakeholders through brand transitions.
• Establish a strong local presence and feel in Asian markets (for global companies).
• Considerably improve their ability to enhance and manage clients' total experience of their products and services.
• Upskill their staff by giving them the practical tools and understanding to better manage their brand.
• Have a set of brand tools to assist internal culture change and thereby improve staff support for existing or new brands.
• Effectively communicate their brand to the market via tools such as business storytelling.
• Establish asset inventories to improve management of all their branded assets.

BRR's strong commitment to Asia is reflected in the recent establishment of an office in Singapore. From its Singapore base, BRR will continue to assist companies throughout Asia to enhance their profitability through their brands. Also, using our appreciation of Asian business and cultural influences, we will be helping international brands, including those from New Zealand, to gain traction in Asian markets.

BRR's Singapore office is managed by Margaret Miles, who brings a wealth of international and Asian business experience to this task. Initially trained as a designer, Margaret worked for two leading design companies in New York before taking an Executive MBA and shifting into senior management in the financial sector, including General Manager, Operations for the insurance arm of Tower Corporation. For the last six years Margaret has been based in Hong Kong and Singapore undertaking a wide range of business development projects for global, Asian and New Zealand clients.