Brand Power 

Reflections

Brand Power

Most of us don’t give much conscious thought to the effects of branding in our everyday lives, although the influence of brands is all around us. In the corporate world, however, brand power reigns supreme.

Witness the recent penetration of PepsiCo into the high-powered world of McDonald’s. For many years Coke was the only brand of cola to be found at McDonald’s restaurants worldwide. Now there are some cracks showing in Coca-Cola’s brand fortress; a choice of colas has been made available in a few select U.S. test markets. Pepsi lovers can rejoice.

Brand power and influence does not only affect consumers. It reaches into all sectors of business, the arts, popular culture, and the professions. Take the accounting profession in Canada, for instance. Here, too, there are competing brands. But we can take pride in knowing that the CGA brand is powerful – and is here to stay. On the world stage the CGA brand ranks highly and is increasingly influential. But we recognize that it’s not wise to rest on our laurels and take our brand position for granted, so we’ll never stop doing all we can to promote our brand and encourage brand loyalty.

Our September 2006 member survey provided some good news for the CGA brand. Eighty-seven per cent of members surveyed felt the CGA designation had contributed to their success. Further, 88 per cent of members surveyed are relying on their CGA designation in their career, and 96 per cent either strongly agree or somewhat agree that CGAs have the recognition and respect of the business community.

Still, there is more work to do on the evolution and promotion of the CGA brand. In the coming months, CGA-Canada will be working closely with the CGA affiliates coast to coast to nurture and advance the CGA brand. Together we will refine the characteristics of the CGA brand, articulate our “brand promise,” and work to implement refreshed brand messages consistently across the country.

Members are telling us loud and clear that they want us to work hard to promote the CGA brand. They want us to be innovative, bold, and collaborative in getting our brand message out. And they don’t want us to take anything for granted. We are delighted to take up this challenge and to keep the excellent reputation of the CGA brand growing and moving forward as it should.

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