“Products are made in the factory, but brands are made in the mind” – Walter Landor, legendary German designer who founded Landor Associates in San Francisco in 1941

We have a special issue every year on the best brands in Oman, but this year the package comes to you with a difference. Our correspondents and columnists have extrapolated the various elements involved in branding to everyday business issues and what we have for you is a complete issue on brands. How much does a brand influence a prospective recruit’s plans to join a company to the legal issues behind copycats who use a valuable brand identity to sell competing products, brands to aspire to, the coolest convertibles – it’s all in here.

One interesting idea, all the more so because of its relevance in the Oman market right now, is that while brands are integral to a corporate entity’s success, the reverse is eminently desirable, but not vital. A brand can survive its parent company’s demise, in that the franchise then moves on to another healthier entity. Take our survey: Zain is still on top of everyone’s mind as the best known Omani brand, though it seems a matter of touch and go whether Oman National Dairy Products can survive its financial fiasco. ONDP without Zain is difficult to imagine, but Zain’s identity today may turn out to be strong enough for it to rise from the ashes. Assuming constant quality, the unique selling proposition lies often in the branding, not the product. What you are sold these days is a whole lifestyle, not a single product.

The emergence of brand ambassadors in Oman, of which Ali al Habsi as the face of Omanoil brought in considerable attention, echoes the trend elsewhere in the region and of course, the rest of the world. Local heroes are what the people of a nation relate to and advertisers here are finally taking note of this.

We hope you enjoy this issue and we look forward to your opinion of themed issues such as this in times to come.

Mohana Prabhakar
Managing editor