THE greatest weakness of Malaysian brands is the failure to communicate the quality they are capable of delivering, and the solution is effective marketing strategies, said Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) CEO and Malaysia Effie Awards executive council chairman Datuk Noharuddin Nordin.

“As the 19th largest exporter worldwide, we are just as good as other developed countries but Malaysian products and services are being crowded out and have not made a serious headway into the high-end premium market,” he said.

Competing in the same shrinking global market, effective marketing becomes more important than ever.

“Now is the time, especially for SMEs, (small and medium-sized enterprises) to be effective in telling the world that we do have quality products that are competitively priced,” he said during the media briefing at the Malaysia Effie Effectiveness 2009 talk series launch on March 5.

Instead of withdrawing or reducing communication activities during an economic downturn, Noharuddin urged companies to intensify their efforts instead. “In the boom time of 2005 and 2006, it’s difficult to gain visibility because everyone is spending on promotion but now, with same amount of investment spent, your chances of visibility are greater. Visibility in branding is lasting — not just when you spend the money but in the future; when the economy recovers, people will still remember you,” he said.

Disputing the misperception that branding is for “the big guys”, he said that SMEs must realise that “it does not entail a lot of money to achieve an effective marketing strategy”. One must not compare apple with apple, he said. “You don’t compare a Coca-Cola campaign with that of a local mineral water producer. SMEs must be clear of its target segment, realistic about where and whom it wants to sell to, which is different from Coca-Cola,” he said.

Local SMEs also have governmental financial assistance for overseas promotional activities via Matrade’s Brand Promotional Development grant, said Noharuddin. To date, a total of RM36 million worth of branding grants has been dispersed to 74 companies.

In the Effie Awards SME category last year, 25% of the total entries received were from SMEs.

Deputy chairman and executive creative director of McCann Worldgroup Huang Ean Hwa said SMEs should not copy what the big players do because they don’t have the funds. Instead, they must be “be smart and play your own game”.

“You need courage to see how you can do things differently. The solution may not be a 60-second commercial but a POS (point-of-sale) where I buy the product, for example,” he said.

Huang was among the three speakers at the Effie Effectiveness Talk Series series, a new component of the Malaysia Effies to be held once a month until May. Other speakers from March 5 include Publicis Malaysia strategic planning head Arindam Chatterjee and OgilvyOne Worldwide Ltd Asia-Pacific president Kent Wertime.

The Effie Effectiveness talk series continues on April 2 and May 6 at the Menara Star Cybertorium. Registration fee is RM120 per person. For more information, contact Effies Effectiveness organiser Leong Ming Chee at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 012-3953260.

This article appeared on the Media & Advertising page, The Edge Financial Daily, March 10, 2009.