Calling all Filipino entrepreneurs!

The Philippines' biggest retail conference, the 19th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (19th NRCE), is taking place this August in Pasay City.

Martin Roll, brand equity strategist and author of Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands, will be the keynote speaker for the event. Also presenting at the conference will be guest of honour Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman of Jolibee Foods Corp.

According to Roll, a vital element must come to play in order for Asian brands to take their rightful place among the world's most successful brands – the elevation of the chief marketing executive's role in management.

Brand building should be a top-to-bottom exercise, says Roll. The challenge of brand building should permeate all levels of a company because the upholding of brand identity is something that is carried out in all the processes and systems that company undertakes.

Sectors that can be conquered by the Asian brand, he adds, include IT, banking and finance, cosmetics, hospitality, fashion and food.