As
hundreds of products and services based on Islamic values, from halal
foods to Islamic banking, grow at a phenomenal rate, the perception of
their image positioning becomes an even more complex global challenge.
Historically,
successful mega revolutions always relied on the incubation of very
simple ideas, creating mass appeal and the hassle-free propagation of
the master concepts leading to worldwide acceptance. But today, with
the occurrence of global image shifts headed toward Asia, even the best
of ideas become trapped.
Today,
it’s all about image leadership mandate, a process to carve out a niche
among the global opinion. Creating a globally acceptable message, with
built-in features so it becomes a self-propagating cyclonic brand
identity and an unstoppable force now demands special rules of
engagement.
This
is not achieved by logo-centric and slogan-happy branding, or by simply
attaching the word ‘halal’ or Islamic to any product.
To
nurture a revolutionary movement, the study of global image-landscape
is crucial. These complex issues are often perceived as being fully
accomplished as exercises of massive focus group studies or repeats of
traditional prolonged research processes, where outdated case studies
of some once-great western projects only producing outdated results.
Today,
this subject demands a commanding knowledge on how mass communication
and global media strategies are managed and how new fresh ideas are
deployed.
To
create a world-class image leadership mandate within any mega project
is to define, design and own a master blueprint and to possess the
tools necessary to scan the global landscape during its implementation.
For this very reason, there are no major globally recognised brands to talk about, which have arisen out of Muslim countries.
Today,
it’s all about the knowledge gap, as this highly-specialised
advanced-level of expertise, delivered with the greatest loyalty to the
master cause is absent from most of the high profile conferences in
Muslim countries, and is often completely missing from any serious
agenda debating this critical issue.
Competency
Unless
these levels of competency were to be properly addressed, the subject
of image will simply linger in the dark. The Oblivion Syndrome, a
business documentary, available on the internet, convinces one that
branding efforts are charging forward into global stardom, but in
reality, are slipping into decreased visibility, in other words, total
oblivion.
Despite
all the attention to these issues, respondents are often not taking the
bold steps to activate a process to immediately start altering the
situation.
The
image blame game of the past must be replaced by massive training and
grass roots incubation of image and brand savvy culture so that the
nations become confident in knowing the art and start enjoying the
benefit of its skilful application. There are a series of such
nationwide programmes already drafted that can alter the course under
the right leadership.
For
nations seeking a sharper image on the global stage, they must band
their exportable competencies and create the ambassadorial brands that
can go out and touch the customers of the universe, but they must play
these games with great care and with a deeper understanding of icons
under the established rules of engagement.
For
CEOs of major projects, take the Five Star Standard test available on
the internet today and open a serious discussion backed by professional
evaluations while looking at world-class solutions to this dilemma.