Branding in China: Global Inspiration or China Pride?
April 24 2012. Shanghai – CEIBS tonight hosted a ‘Go Logo! China’ seminar in which leaders in marketing and branding came together to share their knowledge of branding in China with CEIBS faculty, staff, and students. The speakers explored the question of whether marketers should develop a brand with a global emotional resonance, or whether they should focus on branding that uses China pride. Moderating the event was CEIBS Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean Lydia Price.
Prof. Lydia Price
CEIBS Vice President and Dean John Quelch made the opening speech, in which he introduced some important concepts of branding. Brands, he argued, provide quality assurance and risk reduction – consumers have many choices now, so brands are a way for consumers to know which products are reliable and of good quality. In this way, a brand is a like promise that should be delivered. He also explained that brands have functional components (an iPad may be superior to other brands of tablets), and emotional components (the feel of the iPad, the pleasure of owning it, and being a participant in the Apple brand may be superior to other brands). Dean Quelch also used the example of Starbucks to describe a company that has successfully injected an emotional element into the brand; when people go to Starbucks, they are paying for the experience as well as the coffee. He added that there is always a creative tension for whether a brand should be global or local, and he pointed at HSBC (“the world’s local bank”) as a company that has developed both globally and locally.
Dean Quelch
Following Dean Quelch’s presentation, Jens Meyer, the Vice President Marketing-Sport Performance of Adidas Group Greater China spoke. Mr. Meyer explained that Adidas has adopted a “Glocal” approach. Emphasising the need for making a brand relevant for consumers, he argued that it is important for companies to localise their marketing strategies. He offered some suggestions, based on Adidas’s strategy in China:
l Localised marketing campaigns – in the April/March 2011 “adidas is all in” campaign, they worked with Chinese and Western athletes. Putting a Chinese star athlete in a campaign with David Beckham elevated the Chinese athlete to the rank of global star, and this campaign received a lot of coverage.
l Address distinct consumer insights – a campaign targeting women in the Western market emphasised the hard work, sweat, and effort of training. A campaign targeting Chinese women used a lighter colour palette and focused on the fun and socialisation of exercise. Both address the different cultural norms for each market.
l Address moments of national pride – the Beijing Olympics provided an excellent opportunity for marketing based on Chinese national pride.
l Building a foundation – Adidas has initiated activities to connect sports organisations with Chinese schools, etc.
l Marketing effectiveness and efficiency – this includes working with Chinese celebrities (not just athletes) to promote lifestyle products like Adidas clothing and other branded items.
Mr. Jens Meyer
Mr. Meyer concluded by encouraging marketers to find true consumer insights, to be authentic and consistent, to focus on the long-run, and to find the right reasons for entering a new market.
Founder of agency Cato Wunderman and leading marketing expert, Mac Cato, next shared his expertise with the audience. Author of Go Logo! and most recently Go Logo! China Mr. Cato’s books analyse celebrated and successful brands. He asserted that product superiority and low price are no longer enough – brands must make an emotional bond with the consumer. L’Oreal’s “Because I’m Worth It” campaign, said Mr. Cato, is a brilliant example of this.
He then introduced two major global branding categories:
l Societal – these encompass belief systems, religions, philosophies. There is rarely proof of their efficacy, but they evoke strong emotional responses.
l Commercial – these are identity systems represented by names, logos, etc. and they evoke emotional responses for commercial purposes.
Mr. Mac Cato
In closing, Mr. Cato stressed the importance of giving something back to the consumer, asserting that this emotional connection is the key reward that brands can offer.
Following Mr. Cato’s lecture, Prof. Price invited Alison Mary Ching Yeung (Founder and Creative Director of Mary Ching), Kunal Sinha (Chief Knowledge Officer, Ogilvy & Mather China), Monica Lee (Managing Director, The Brand Union China), and Jason Ren (Publisher of Little Thing magazine) to the stage for a panel discussion on the question of global vs. local and emotional branding.
Ms. Ching Yeung spoke about her company, Mary Ching, which specialises in luxury shoes and accessories. The branding strategy is based on a fusion of Chinese aesthetics and craftsmanship with English eccentricity. Ms. Ching Yeung explained that there is often a chicken and egg situation in terms of whether to be a global or a local brand – the local market wants to see the brand on the international stage, while the international market wants to see the brand doing well locally. Mr. Ren then shared some details about his magazine Little Thing. When the magazine was started in 2008, there was nothing like it on the Chinese market. By utilising innovative designs, such as pop-ups, they have been able to appeal to a wide audience. Ms. Lee added that it is important for a brand and marketing campaign to tell a compelling truth, but to tell it in a different way. She emphasised that brands must maintain consistency in order to remain successful over time. Mr. Sinha then addressed the idea of emotional branding, arguing that emotions like love and belonging are too common in branding. He said the idea of China pride is compelling because it is not so ubiquitous, and gives consumers a new, exciting emotion to rally around. He also suggested that an emotion like rage could be harnessed, citing Jamie Oliver’s successful campaign against junk food as an example.
Closing the event was Mr. Noureddine Bakkali, Founder and Managing Director of Hongbox. He spoke about how many Chinese brands, such as Li Ning and 361˚ are building a solid image and reputation, and are strong competitors against Western brands. Because of this, he advised that Western companies wishing to establish a brand in China should be really committed to the Chinese market – it is a long term project, he said. He ended by saying that the brand experience in China is still not up to a high enough standard, and that Chinese consumers deserve more from brands.
Mr. Noureddine Bakkali
Writer: Rachael McGuiness
(本文转载自 ,如有侵权请电话联系13810995524)
* 文章为作者独立观点,不代表MBAChina立场。采编部邮箱:news@mbachina.com,欢迎交流与合作。
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