Anyway, what I found really insightful and interesting about the article was that Choo emphasized the importance of establishing good rapport with the media, especially for those who wanted to market their brands globally. Attributing his success to glamour magazine Vogue’s eight-page spread about his shoes, Choo said that it was Vogue that first catapulted him to international fame. “After that article in Vogue, all the magazines and broadcast media wanted interviews with me,” he said.

Choo also said that it was crucial for businessmen to expand their circle of associates and friends in all areas as they needed support to boost their image, especially in the highly competitive Western market. He said that endorsement from celebrities and prominent figures had helped him and how it really helped that celebrities such as the late Princess Diana wore his shoes and was always photographed by the international media. Today, Choo’s clients include Madonna, Cherie Blair, Kylie Minogue, Naomi Campbell, Beyonce and Elizabeth Hurley.

So, what exactly can we learn from Jimmy Choo about branding ourselves? A lot, in my opinion! Here’s what I’ve learnt primarily from Jimmy Choo (and from other sources too):

• Good skills (or good “kung fu” as Choo put it), good publicity and good financing are the three main requirements to become a successful brand of your own.

• Gain industrial experience and build up your contacts as you do it. Choo started out selling his shoes at RM54 a pair for a whole year, all the while seeing his designs appear in various magazines, but not under his name or brand.

• Be determined and passionate about what you do, because that’s what will give you the ability to overcome obstacles such as rejection, a lack of funds or a decrease in interest or sales.

• Be thick-skinned when venturing overseas. Jimmy Choo and Lewre Lew(another Malaysian shoe designer, who consequently, is also the president of the Branding Association of Malaysia) had to go through countless humiliating moments when they were overseas, because many Western businessmen were not familiar with Malaysia.

• Be up front about the country of origin of your product or service. While some countries practice favoritism or biasness when it comes to purchasing overseas products or services, being honest about your brand’s quality should be good enough to help you sell it. If you try to lie about it, the market will find out soon enough!

• Put a public face to the brand, because people like a brand that they can fully understand and emphatize with. Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Steve Jobs are just some of the more famous entrepreneurs who lent a face to their brands and became highly successful!

• Ensure that the story of your brand is authentic. While interesting, Hollywood-style stories may entertain, if it’s not the real deal markets will quickly find out. And when they do, you lose all credibility and trust with your customers. You may even end up in jail for fraud!

• Communicate your brand to the right people! For instance, if your brand has a strong business to business image and presence, advertising to the masses may not be such a good idea. It could blow your budget, hit the wrong or irrelevant target audience and even alienate your loyal brand supporters.

Ultimately, building a successful brand takes time. However, if you put in the effort to get to know, talk to and liaise with the right people, from the media, your audience, your buyers and even your friends, you should be able to build a successful brand. And let’s face it, having a successful brand will take you places. Just look at what it did for Jimmy Choo!