Colin Ega, the chair in marketing at IEDC–Bled School of Management in Slovenia, one of the largest institutions of its kind in Europe, speaks in an interview to Wall-Street about the mistakes large companies make in their relation with brands, the reasons behind consumers’ shift from one brand to another and challenges marketing people take on amid recessionary times.
The moment he got off the plane in Romania, he went to a supermarket, a common practice when he travels abroad, the Irish-born professor Colin Egan (photo) said.
“I have noticed that Romanians spend around 5 seconds to choose a product. This shows that the brand is present in the mind of the consumer, and that’s where the real competition is, instead of the market. Marketers should focus exclusively on the consumer. Historically, brands and real estate properties are the only assets that increased”, said Colin Egan.
Wall-Street: What was your first impression when you arrived in Romania?
Colin Egan: It was a short visit, but what I’ve noticed was people’s openness to new ideas
Wall-Street: How easy is now to get a brand off the ground?
Colin Egan: I can say that it is much easier to build a global brand from scratch now than it used to be. And that thanks to the media and social media in particular. The positive side of the social media is the fact that you can have your brand visible on a variety of social sites such as Facebook. But there is a downside too: you can’t gain full control over social media. You can’t control users’ feedback.
Wall-Street: What the future holds for brands?
Colin Egan: It looks bright, because consumers love brands. Recession is part of life, part of an economic cycle, but it will end at a certain point. We must look into the future. We perceive brands like Google, Facebook that have a promising future ahead of
