Branding and China

An astounding 98% of people in China experience the internet through their mobile phone, which instantly makes over 800 million users a formidable cohort for marketers to tap into. When combined with the steady growth of the Chinese middle-class, it is clear to see business opportunities in what is now the world’s biggest retail market.

Regular readers of Branding Strategy Insider know we welcome and answer marketing questions of all types. Today’s we hear from Karl, a business reporter with China Daily who asks these questions about the state of the discipline of brand management in Asia.

David Aaker thinks that it will be decades before Chinese companies are ready to develop strong brands capable of competing on the global stage. While I do not agree with his blanket assessment, I can personally vouch for one of the reasons he cites for his point of view. Unless senior managers at Chinese companies value the power of branding, then investment in brand and advertising will likely be wasted.

I suspect that everyone knows that copying is big business in China. Copying can range from specific products to entire stores (as in the case of Apple). But it took a visit to Qingdao to remind me that sometimes all you need is to leverage an existing brand’s equity to make money. You can just take a well-known brand name and stick it on your own product and package.

China’s extraordinary economic growth has been characterized by the production of high volume but relatively low value goods for export markets. This has allowed certain industries such as OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to flourish but times are changing.