ESTABLISHING a brand was a very different task seven years ago, when Noah Lee joined Louken Group's brand agency A S Louken.

"Branding then was a lot more rigid," Mr Lee, now 33, recalls.

It was mainly about consistency, he explains - an approach suited for slower-moving times. "The evolution of a brand was not as fast."

And that was because "the digital component wasn't that crucial then", he adds.

Mr Lee started out as an assistant manager, helping to run branding projects and customer-centric initiatives.

Now, as a brand director, he only does work in branding. Yet in another sense, his job has expanded.

The rising importance of the digital space has led to new demands, he notes. One aspect of this is the proliferation of varied social media platforms, and the fast-moving nature of digital branding.

"You cannot just have a specific look and say, 'Hey, that's my brand'," says Mr Lee.

Instead of the simple consistency that was prized in the past, the challenge today is to build a brand that can present itself differently, as context requires, he adds.

For instance, graphics have to be more visually dynamic, and brand managers must think about the different use of graphics across different social media platforms.

Harder skills are also required today. Mr Lee has had to incorporate digital research into his work, and has picked up some tech basics when collaborating with Louken's digital team.

For instance, he has had to learn about Google Analytics and search engine marketing (SEM) - not just flinging around buzzwords, but getting into "how it really works".

"This is so that in planning the brand strategy, we have this at the back of our minds," he says.

From SEM and SEO (search engine optimisation) to UX (user experience) and UI (user interface), he is armed with the knowledge of an arsenal of acronyms.

This is also important so that, when working with the digital team or the client's technology division, "we are all able to speak the same language", he adds. Branding, after all, has to be about communication.

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