Page 70 - Iconic Restaurateurs - The Entrepreneur Mag Ed. 3

Newsroom Round Up

Hasrath

Munasinghe

Deputy General Manager – Marketing - Commercial Bank of Ceylon

What can you tell us about your organization? drink may be a favorite not for its taste but purely for the branding
Commercial Bank is the largest private bank in Sri Lanka and it and image associated with the product. At its core, a branding is
certainly stands as a benchmark to others in the industry. Before something that is intangible; it cannot be quantified but the value
we became the most awarded and respected bank in the behind it is priceless.
country, our roots were cultivated in 1920 with the formation
of Eastern Bank. It has been a century since then and we What specific challenges are associated with branding
have set standards, created an identity and put many in this industry?
unsurpassable trends in motion within this time. We Banks have only payed attention to branding quite recently. This due
have maintained our identity while introducing to the fact that a decade ago, the playing field started getting very
various new products and services for the benefit competitive; rates were one and the same and atm networks and
of the public. Of course, we would not have branches among all players began to spread out evenly. In order to
stood the test of time without our focus on be different, branding is the key element. So, the challenge lies in
technology, which is driven by a team of how to differentiate yourself in a highly competitive market where
highly motivated, dynamic individuals. all players offer more or less the same proposition to consumers.

What does branding mean How does one innovate when it comes to branding?
to you? Innovation is the way forward. Some brands that failed to innovate
As a career marketer, have now died out even though when at their prime, they were
branding is everything unsurpassable. Innovation can come from all aspects of business
to me. It is an aura, operations, even at core product levels. One can divert from
a sense of bonding your core product and offer something completely new with the
and an affection, all trust that your established brand image will make the product a
in one. People have success. Consumers too have become very demanding and their
their own preferred requirements change frequently. Because of this, evolution in
brands and there isn’t the form of innovation is now becoming commonplace across all
a tangible reason industries.
behind this; unknown
to a consumer, a soft

The Entrepreneur Page | 68 The Entrepreneur Page | 69