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The race for the global image repositioning is getting fiercely competitive as more and more countries are improving their softer image, claiming the right to produce good quality exportable brands for the international markets. Poised and confident, they want to play the marketing game on a global scale.
The West, in the meanwhile has almost abandoned manufacturing, ignoring research development and creating vacuums, which have resulted in global shifts, which have been moving rapidly towards Asia and other regions. As this tectonic shift continues, it will have opened doors among the highly entrepreneurial companies of emerging regions to capture new image positioning opportunities and, as they enter the game that was formerly reserved for select Western countries.

At a time where it's all about ultimate power demonstrated by the success of brand name identities in combative plays with other competing countries, a majority of developing countries have somehow failed the acid test of global branding stature. The Five Star Standard of Naming was established two decades ago to help young and old corporations devise sharper and better global image and brand identities, seeking a unique position in the global marketplace.

The big question of today is why only less than 1% of high maintenance brands in most developing countries have achieved Five Star Status, while the rest are too far below to ensure any significant global victory. Today, playing the global branding game demands following global branding rules, otherwise the sheer cost of promotion or the lack of global acceptability will eventually kill the project.

The principal concept behind this ranking standard is all based on ownership. Simply put, if you have a super brand, let the whole world see it. If you think that you have an exclusive and absolute 100% Ownership to that brand name identity, then you must prove it. Today, 99% of some of the most advertised and intensely promoted name brands cannot. Names like Rolex, Sony, Panasonic or PlayStation can. Such brand names are exclusively and absolutely 100% owned by their respective corporations, giving them global respect and an undisputed understanding of their ownership to customers all over the world, resulting in global power and a Five Star Standard (www.fivestarstandard.com)

The process of the Five Star Naming Standard awards earns the First Star for being easy and simple, a Second Star for being one-of-a-kind, a Third for being highly related to the business, a Fourth for being globally protected, and a Fifth for having an identical, matching dotcom. For those lucky few with a Five Star Standard, the brand feels globally secure and free to travel, while a Four-Star rank is seriously lacking. A Three-Star name is injured, while the Two and One-Star names are seriously damaged and dying.

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Naseem Javed, recognized as a world authority on corporate image and global name identities, is a harsh critic of casual and accidental naming. He is a dynamic speaker on corporate image and branding issues, and is also the author of Naming for Power. He founded ABC Namebank International, an image and branding consultancy over 25 years ago. Website: www.abcnamebank.com