China enters opportune time for building global brands
New report examines challenges across categories and countries
David Roth
CEO, The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia
[email protected]
Twitter: @davidrothlondon
Blog: www.davidroth.com
| I remember my impressions when I first visited China, in the1990s. As the marketing director for a large UK retailer I wascharged with creating our China entry strategy. After monthsof focus groups we concluded that Chinese consumerswould welcome our western brands and products. Weprepared for an immense and exciting opportunity.
What a difference 20 years makes.Today, western consumers areincreasingly looking to China for thenewest products and brands. BrandChina, formerly associated with lowquality, is becoming synonymouswith innovation, especially amongyoung people. This transition is mostapparent in technology, such assmart phones and home electronics.
The movement of ideas and productleadership across continents is notreversing its course. Rather, it isbeginning to move in all directions, asit has throughout most of history. Forthese reasons, this is an opportunetime for Chinese brands to reach newaudiences by expanding abroad andcompeting with their global and localcountry market peers.
To realize this potential, however,Chinese brands need to overcomemany challenges. First, Chinesebrands are still relatively unknownoutside of China, and buildingawareness, especially in developedmarkets, requires market insight andcommunications expertise. Second,New report examineschallenges acrosscategories and countriesawareness is only the start. Themessaging and media for gettingconsumers to consider a brand canvary significantly market-by-market.
That is why we have produced,in conjunction with Google thisgroundbreaking report, the BrandZ™Top 30 Chinese Global BrandBuilders 2017. We analyze consumerperceptions of Chinese and non-Chinese brands across nine productcategories and seven countries.Then we identify the gaps in Chinesebrand performance, and providerecommendations for building brandstrength.
We based the research on WPP’sBrandZ™ database, the world’slargest, consumer-focused source ofbrand equity knowledge and insight,and we partnered with Google, toleverage our proprietary BrandZ™resources with Google Surveys andGoogle search capability. The result ismust reading for any Chinese brandowner who is considering expandingoverseas or who is already overseasand contemplating the next moves.
The time is now
That’s how I’d summarize all theknowledge, original findingsand insights that we packed intothis report. The time is now. Thewinning Chinese exporters will actwith boldness and speed to buildvaluable brands, consistent in corevalues and meaningfully different ineach market served.
But I invite you to draw your ownconclusions. I suggest first readingthe introduction. It begins with anoverview of key findings, continueswith a historical context for China’sexport experience, and concludeswith 20 takeaways, practical ideasfor overseas brand building. Whenyou have more time, read throughPart 2 for consumer perceptionsof Chinese brands compared withglobal and local brands.
If you are wondering how allthis knowledge and insight getsapplied in the real world, go to Part3 for our interviews with c-suiteexecutives from six of the BrandZ™Top 30 Chinese Global BrandBuilders 2017. These confidentleaders share some of the elementsof their success. And they describehow the consumer perception ofBrand China is changing.
For additional knowledge aboutChina and Chinese consumers, Idirect you to our library of BrandZ™reports, including: BrandZ™ Top 100Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016;Unmasking the Individual ChineseInvestor; The Power and Potentialof the Chinese Dream; The ChineseNew Year in Next Growth Cities; andThe Chinese Golden Weeks in FastGrowth Cities. To download theseand other BrandZ™ reports, pleasevisit www.brandz.com. For theinteractive BrandZ™ mobile apps goto www.brandz.com/mobile.
At WPP, we’re passionate aboutusing our creativity to create andbuild strong, differentiated brandsthat deliver lasting shareholder value.To learn more about how to applyour experience and expertise tobenefit your brand, please contactany of the WPP companies thatcontributed expertise to this report.Turn to the resources section at theend of this report for summariesof each company and the contactdetails of key executives. Or feel freeto contact me directly. |