Kahnchana Hak's Journey into Strategic Branding

Branding is critical to decision-making processes for businesses, organizations and NGOs. The MSc in Strategic Brand Management at The American University of Paris prepares students to influence their employer’s strategic direction in roles such as CMO, brand consultant, managing partner – or even founder.

What brought you to AUP?

I’m from Cambodia, where I did my undergraduate studies, double majoring in business administration and science in business. I was looking for English-speaking graduate schools in France, and AUP’s MSc in Strategic Brand Management stood out. Studying branding hadn’t really been an option in Cambodia; we mostly studied business theory. I saw AUP as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and do something different.

What’s one thing that makes AUP unique?

The professors at AUP are very experienced and some are also entrepreneurs, such as Michael Behnke, who runs his own consultancy firm. They gave me room to explore new interests and grow on my own, discovering a new me. My professors helped me decide on my own project and made sure I was able to work with the products and services that most interested me, which turned out to be luxury fashion and beauty. 

MSc in Strategic Brand Management

"I’m interested in how branding can be used to encourage the fashion industry to act in a better way."

– Kahnchana Hak
What most appeals to you about working in fashion?

I’m interested in how branding can be used to encourage the fashion industry to act in a better way, for example by reducing the industry's consequences on the environment or by providing better pay to fashion workers. Fast fashion, for example, causes vast amounts of waste. A lot of clothes end up piling up like a mountain in landfills or being donated to developing countries, even if they aren’t appropriate sizes or materials to be useful.

Were you able to meet branding professionals through the program?

I really enjoyed the Branding Practicum, which was taught by industry professionals. One of the speakers was Robert Romanowski, Vice President of Visual Merchandising at Gucci. He came from New York, and he taught us how luxury brands visualize their products in shop windows. He took us to the Gucci store and explained how they use lighting and other display techniques to draw people in with window displays all over the world.

What do you think makes a strong brand?

For me, a strong brand has a clear mission and vision and a strong slogan. Brand managers also need to know how to market their product, and communicate the product’s quality, while connecting with consumers via their own culture. Coca Cola did a good job with this; for over a hundred years, they have been successful at adapting to most national cultures. Brands fail if they don’t have a sense of who they are or if they accidentally offend a nation’s culture.