Competency Assessment for Branding Programs Development in Thailand's Higher Education

The ever-changing business environment resulting from changing consumer behaviors, fierce competition and advances in technology affect the strategic positioning of a brand. Maintaining healthy brands or embarking on a rebranding or repositioning strategy calls for a more creative set of branding management competencies in order to respond to the marketing challenges of the 21st century. This research paper attempts to assess brand management competences, attitudes and knowledge important in current business environment, to further accurately design branding-related curricula that truly reflect needs in the contemporary business and professional environment. Using a qualitative research approach, the data was collected from focus group interviews and questionnaires with seventeen management people from the private sector. The results identify the top-rated knowledge and/or competencies needed in branding a business, which are competence in research development, knowledge of brand strategic planning, ability to communicate added value in a clear way, knowledge of brand identity development, and ability to manage and keep the brand management process ‘alive’, respectively. The paper concludes with a discussion of the underlying key implications for both academia and business.