The impact and purpose of a brand are constant, but the environment changes, and new technologies emerge that create new opportunities. At the same time, and inevitably, user and employee expectations grow, along with demands for brands to remain relevant and successful. This is how Branka Bajt, the brand director at Hrvatski Telekom, summarized the essence of branding. She also notes that while research indicates that the greatest value of brands lies in their intangible worth, in the digital age, we all seek the tangibility of brands that fulfill a concrete purpose, not just a specific task.
How do you build the HT brand? What message do you convey in this way?
– That’s a million-dollar question; the answer is not simple. The journey of building, upgrading, and continuously maintaining one of the favorite brands is not short, quite the opposite. A strong brand is an indicator of a strong organization and quality service, and at the same time, it is an expression of the trust that users place in it. I oppose the thesis that in cases where a company has a large market share and high revenues, it is easy to build a brand and hard to jeopardize it. Quite the opposite, the more successful and larger the company, the greater the responsibility, and it becomes more challenging to maintain the brand’s leadership position, which means you must continuously be several steps ahead of the competition. Likewise, you can never be satisfied and sleep peacefully even if you are a leader in every aspect of the brand, as is the case with us. Telecommunications is an extremely dynamic industry, not just in Croatia.
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For success from a branding perspective, it is essential to consider all aspects of the business, but generally the entire market presence, starting with communication. To be clear, two things are fundamental without which it cannot go: the quality and innovation of services, which result in top user satisfaction. But for a brand, it is necessary to establish continuous interaction with its audience if it truly wants to be successful.
What makes the HT brand different in the market?
– Leadership and self-criticism. Leadership in the sense that we have always been the ones introducing significant milestones in the telecommunications industry. The first mobile network, MAXtv as the first digital television, the first 5G network, the first metaverse event… At the same time, we always strive to be better and look at what we can improve because there is always room for progress. A good example of this is our program ‘Sincerely. Together.’, in which we openly consider user comments, suggestions, and criticisms in direct interaction with users and then act accordingly. So far, we have analyzed over 400,000 comments, found 40,000 solutions in conversations with users, and based on those discussions, we have launched about 30 projects to be even better. According to user satisfaction, we are in first place in Croatia; moreover, we are among the top three companies in all of Deutsche Telekom Europe, but we do not shy away from the fact that we are not perfect; rather, we want to be better every day.
What are now the biggest challenges for brands?
– Many, we can call them traditional brands that have existed for a long time, face challenges with digital transformation. Brands must adapt their business to the digital environment to remain relevant and competitive. There are also constant changes in the media environment, where media that still predominantly have a somewhat traditional distribution rather than a communication mindset weaken their position, and brands must find new ways to reach their target audience. Consumers increasingly expect brands to be sustainable, environmentally responsible, and socially aware. But it cannot stop at an empty ‘declaration.’ Initiatives, positions, and actions are required, and if they are lacking, justified criticism follows. Then there is the issue of personalization. Although people like to belong to something larger, they also highly value their individuality, so users expect personalized experiences and tailored products and services. Brands must further keep up with rapidly changing trends and react quickly to remain relevant, with the ideal scenario being to set trends. There is impatience and financial pressure on brand sustainability in the form of often short deadlines in which results must be achieved, all amid increased competition. One of the more significant challenges is brand activism and the necessity for a brand’s strategic commitment to engage in social, political, and environmental issues to genuinely and tangibly impact society and make it better. It is the responsibility of brands to use their strength, importance, platform, and resources to raise awareness, educate the public, and promote change.
