Comments on: Building Chinese Brands http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/ Ethical and Delightful Design for Communications, Products, and Services Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:07:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Mario Vellandi http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/comment-page-1/#comment-52 Mario Vellandi Wed, 23 May 2007 16:34:58 +0000 http://vellandi.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/#comment-52 I remember that conversation you posted from Dr. Chan. One would think that it might seem quite difficult to build a brand with hypercompetition and copying going on everywhere. However, this condition gives greater importance then on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanxi" rel="nofollow">Guanxi</a>, and the power of forming relationships with retail buyers. I remember that conversation you posted from Dr. Chan. One would think that it might seem quite difficult to build a brand with hypercompetition and copying going on everywhere. However, this condition gives greater importance then on Guanxi, and the power of forming relationships with retail buyers.

]]> By: Valeria Maltoni http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Valeria Maltoni Tue, 22 May 2007 13:43:58 +0000 http://vellandi.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/#comment-51 Mario: Your readers might be interested in James McGregor's "One Billion Customers". It talks about Chinese culture, which ultimately is a very powerful ally if you understand it (or try to). Last year I met Shelly Lazarus, from Ogilvy & Mather, the agency that got China first. I also blogged about China and piracy by relating a conversation with Dr. James Chan -- which goes back to understanding culture and, yes, working on developing a very strong quality brand message. Here's the link http://conversationagent.typepad.com/conversation_agent/2007/05/piracy_an_inter.html Your point to regional and relevancy is well taken. Mario:

Your readers might be interested in James McGregor’s “One Billion Customers”. It talks about Chinese culture, which ultimately is a very powerful ally if you understand it (or try to). Last year I met Shelly Lazarus, from Ogilvy & Mather, the agency that got China first. I also blogged about China and piracy by relating a conversation with Dr. James Chan — which goes back to understanding culture and, yes, working on developing a very strong quality brand message. Here’s the link http://conversationagent.typepad.com/conversation_agent/2007/05/piracy_an_inter.html

Your point to regional and relevancy is well taken.

]]> By: Mario Vellandi http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/comment-page-1/#comment-50 Mario Vellandi Mon, 21 May 2007 15:16:38 +0000 http://vellandi.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/#comment-50 Note: Jalal (aka Jay) is a friend and although I spoke to him over the weekend, I will reiterate the main points of our conversation. Generalizations are just that; there is no one size fits all. A heavily extended brand name doesn’t limit financial success. Mitsubishi is in many ways like GE in Japan, with operations widely spanning electrical engineering and even a capital investment arm. Siemens is much the same, world renowned for its quality engineering in many different areas but especially in the fields of medical imaging. But what happens when the same brand name extends into categories where the company isn’t traditionally thought to be strong? Sure, the name still stands for “quality” and that’s great. But it’s also a weak conservative tactic because it isn’t unique and will never hold a strong position in the mind for that category. Some examples include for mobile phones: Nokia v. Siemens v. Sony-Ericsson. Although there are some exceptions, the Bottom line is: New categories deserve new names. I believe most of China’s homegrown future brands are going to flourish regionally and not nationally. The country is so big, there’s so much opportunity, and the distribution networks and infrastructure (outside port towns and superhighways) aren’t that great. Building a strong regional brand first is not only cheaper, but it’s also more relevant to the target audience. Note: Jalal (aka Jay) is a friend and although I spoke to him over the weekend, I will reiterate the main points of our conversation.
Generalizations are just that; there is no one size fits all. A heavily extended brand name doesn’t limit financial success. Mitsubishi is in many ways like GE in Japan, with operations widely spanning electrical engineering and even a capital investment arm. Siemens is much the same, world renowned for its quality engineering in many different areas but especially in the fields of medical imaging.
But what happens when the same brand name extends into categories where the company isn’t traditionally thought to be strong? Sure, the name still stands for “quality” and that’s great. But it’s also a weak conservative tactic because it isn’t unique and will never hold a strong position in the mind for that category. Some examples include for mobile phones: Nokia v. Siemens v. Sony-Ericsson. Although there are some exceptions, the Bottom line is: New categories deserve new names.
I believe most of China’s homegrown future brands are going to flourish regionally and not nationally. The country is so big, there’s so much opportunity, and the distribution networks and infrastructure (outside port towns and superhighways) aren’t that great. Building a strong regional brand first is not only cheaper, but it’s also more relevant to the target audience.

]]> By: Jalal http://www.melodiesinmarketing.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Jalal Sat, 19 May 2007 22:29:55 +0000 http://vellandi.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/building-chinese-brands/#comment-49 The article makes a good point, companies have much greater chances to sustain success and profits by building brands compared to competing on price. Though I'm not sure about the plan A and J theory, since there are many companies here is the US with broad and shallow focus and I'll give GE as an example same as there are many Japanese companies that have a deep and narrow focus such as Toyota... The article makes a good point, companies have much greater chances to sustain success and profits by building brands compared to competing on price. Though I’m not sure about the plan A and J theory, since there are many companies here is the US with broad and shallow focus and I’ll give GE as an example same as there are many Japanese companies that have a deep and narrow focus such as Toyota…

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