Branding was something soft, so it was relegated to a middle or junior executive level. Today, more and more, we're seeing it's the CEO who is calling the meetings, wanting to know more about how he can enhance his brand. But they've also got to defend their turf because a lot of the Asian markets post-recession are opening up. Whether it's in sectors like telecommunications or financial services, the international players are coming in, and some are coming in with very strong brands. It's true in some companies.
Advertising can help build a brand.
The advertising is a communication where you make a promise to the consumer. But prior to communicating, there are many other issues to resolve. We're putting these two businesses together, so we've got some intangible assets. They looked at international markets a lot earlier than other Asian companies, and they played the branding game earlier. Certainly in the consumer-electronics sector, a lot of the Japanese brands have come to represent innovation, value for money, great technology that is also strong in design.