The Secretary-General of ASEAN
at the Launch of the Philip Kotler Center for ASEAN Marketing
The ASEAN Secretariat, 24 November 2005

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

The Customer Is King

1. In today’s highly competitive global business environment the customer is king.  To succeed, companies must: do business the way their customers want it, be close to their customers, and develop capabilities in attracting and retaining the most valuable customers.   

2. Under a constant onslaught of advertising, consumers have adapted and evolved.  In order to process information, they have learned to be more vigilant and adept in tuning out predatory messages.  With unprecedented access to information, they are less likely to swallow whatever they hear from marketers.  But consumers have shown that they are receptive to a truly relevant message. 

Providing Total Customer Experience

3. Companies must really get to know their customers in order to create meaningful brand experiences for them.  These experiences encompass the entire array of company-to-customer touch points: communications, packaging of products and services, the company’s website, its letters and special offers to customers, call/service centre interactions with customers, advertising, promotions and more.  Every touch point contributes to the customer’s total experience.  Consequently, they must be aligned and managed to provide that total experience.

4. Customer experiences with corporate brands go beyond the actual products or services to the intangibles that form customer perceptions, thoughts, emotions and attitudes based on repeated, interactive experiences with the brands.   This mix of intangibles transcends actual products and services, all of which can be purchased from a number of competing companies.  In short, brands are about feelings. 

5. Buying decisions are made on promises that are rooted in human emotions.  Quite simply, brands are built on trust.  Making and keeping promises builds trust, which is among the most basic of human emotions.  To have a positive impact on its bottom line, a company must earn the trust of its customers.  How customers feel about the company’s brand is therefore crucial to its survival and profitability.

6. The goal is to create that experiential environment for customers to become emotionally involved with a company’s brand.  Over time, the interaction will develop into brand dialogue and formation of ever-deepening relationship based on trust.  Brand loyalty is reinforced by repeated, positive experiences.  

Marketing in the ASEAN Economic Community

7. How is all this relevant to marketing in ASEAN?   With political will and greater consciousness of ASEAN as one region, Member Countries (MCs) are working together to make the ASEAN brand a viable option in the regional and global markets by looking for joint opportunities to produce, package and market products and services.  Selling the ASEAN brand is a collaborative endeavour requiring the cooperation and creativity of governments, businesses and civil society organisations, within and outside ASEAN.

8. The end-goal of economic integration as outlined in the ASEAN Vision 2020 is the realisation of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which comprises a unified market and production base that combine the unique qualities of the region into new opportunities for businesses.  Goods, services, investment and skilled labour will flow freely and there will be a freer flow of capital.  The aim is to develop ASEAN as a key link in the global supply chain.  

9. The measures to realise the AEC include: enhancing the attractiveness of ASEAN as an investment destination; accelerating trade liberalisation; improving trade and business facilitation; reducing business costs; upgrading the competitiveness of ASEAN enterprises; strengthening the dispute settlement system; and other integration support measures.

10. Eleven priority sectors – electronics, e-ASEAN, healthcare, wood-based products, automotives, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, agro-based products, fisheries, air travel and tourism – have been chosen for help accelerate regional integration.  These sectors are selected on the basis of their economic comparative advantages and value-added contributions to the regional economy.  A roadmap, outlining the specific measures to achieve integration has been developed for each sector.  As ASEAN’s institutional capacity for economic integration improves, more sectors will be included in the accelerated integration programme.
   
11. Concurrently, ASEAN is also working towards liberalising the services trade earlier than 2020, perhaps by 2015.  To facilitate this, Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) for qualifications in major professional services are expected to be in place by 2008.  This is to facilitate free movement of professionals and skilled workers.

12. As ASEAN become more integrated, exciting new opportunities will be created for businesses from within and outside the region.  It is up to businesses to identify and harness these opportunities to their advantage.  The key to gaining access to the vast ASEAN market of more than 500 million consumers is a well-thought out marketing strategy. 

13. Here as elsewhere, companies must learn how to engage increasingly savvy, empowered and well-informed customers.  They must know their customers and connect with them.  They must understand the local, cultural, demographic and psychological characteristics of their customers and how to turn them into business opportunities for themselves.  They must think ASEAN. 

Role and Objectives of Philip Kotler Centre for ASEAN Marketing

14. On this thought, I am pleased to launch the Philip Kotler Centre for ASEAN Marketing (PK-CAM) today.  The establishment of the PK-CAM is an important contribution to ASEAN’s economic integration.  The PK-CAM aims to promote regional marketing, develop a regional pool of marketers and enhance the ASEAN brand.  These will be carried out at three levels:

Global Standards

• Improve marketing standards in ASEAN.
• Develop a body of marketing knowledge applicable to ASEAN.

Regional Perspective

• Expand the network of marketing contacts in ASEAN.
• Provide a forum for marketing professionals in ASEAN to network with one another.

Local Champion

• Promote ethical marketing practices in ASEAN.

Accolades for the PK-CAM and Its Founders

15. With the support of business and consumers in ASEAN, I am confident that the PK-CAM would eventually become a key feature of the marketing industry and knowledge economy, from which valuable insights on how to capture the imagination of the region’s customers and persuade them to do business would emanate. 

16. I would like to congratulate the co-founders, Prof. Philip Kotler, Mr. Hermawan Kartajaya and Assoc. Prof. Hooi Den Huan on their vision and boldness in bringing into reality the PK-CAM, and wish the Center every success in its endeavours. 

17. Thank you.