The Global Branding Center offers insight into branding and marketing solutions, states C.W Park.
C.W Park speaks on taking a research-based approach to marketing requires running the tests and checking the facts accordingly. C.W. Park was the prior Global Branding Center Director. He says the Center’s research-based approach helped the Center to ensure the solutions are all action-based and consistently effective. He recently explored the concepts behind the Center’s approach that has been so effective for brands.
The Global Branding Center is a part of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. C.W. Park has spent 50 years making an impact on the marketing industry. Much of his time was spent building up the Center to become a global powerhouse.
“We hold five tasks that will support sustainable growth and revenue,” he explains. “The Center was established to turn years of research into a straightforward step-by-step process to improve critical areas of brand management. These areas include building brand admiration, strengthening brand admiration, leveraging brand admiration, orchestrating brand architecture, and providing brand admiration metrics.”
According to C.W Park, the Global Branding Center developed the process into a brand admiration management system. These methods include a dashboard for assessing admiration rates and monitoring progress.
“We wanted to help brands be the best they could be,” he says. “Without true competition, the marketplace would be overrun by the biggest players. We wanted to use brand admiration and research-based marketing to give all players a chance. The GBC’s methods gave brands insight into the customer’s value. It pinpoints where they are (or are not) measuring up to the expectations and demands of the industry.”
He notes how important it is to rely on research and make educated decisions about marketing impact. “We tend to have certain assumptions about what will work or what is already working for us,” C.W Park explains. “The reality is: without proper research, it’s impossible to know exactly what’s happening and how to improve. Assumptions are what cause the disconnect between brand and audience. We are in the business of seeking out the truths in order to respond to reality.”
Companies can entice their customers by offering a brand rooted in meaning, value, authenticity, and experience. This solid foundation allows customers to admire the brand to the point of customer loyalty. “Marking shouldn’t just be about getting people interested in the brand,” he explains. “After the purchase, then what? Brands should think about their long-term growth and sales projections. Ultimately, it’s going to be extremely important to have a loyal customer base. You need brand advocates—and you can’t have brand advocates without first having brand admiration.”
C.W Park goes on to suggest that The Global Branding Center is one of eight existing Marshall’s Centers of Excellence within the University of Southern California. The other centers include Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab, Center for Effective Organizations, Center for Global Innovation, Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute, Center for Investment Studies (CIS), Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership & Decision Making.
