Branding China

Everything else aside the BIGGEST problem with China in my own personal view is the issue of branding! I'm getting way OT here but I strongly believe this to be the case. While everyone in the world knows about China, the don't really know who or what China is about (right or wrong) thus the negative perception. The best way to promote oneself is in the from of branding. China is probably one of the few BIG countries that is not known for any sort of specific identifier.

True or not, the fact is most people identify with what's made or originate from a certain country and China severely lacks that. Wheater it's militaryly related or not the fact is no one can identify products or influence via china 'originated' products.

When someone thinks of McDonald's, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Boeing, Microsoft, Google, Starbucks, Apple etc they are inherently identifying with Americana. When people think of Toyota, Sony, PS3, Honda etc they think Japanese. Everyone knows who QE II (the queen not the carrier!) is but most folks on Earth couldn't tell the difference between Xi Jinping and Mao. Huawei, Sinopec etc are probably one of the biggest companies in the world that nobody has ever heard of but everyone has heard of Exxon, BP, shell etc.....When people think Ferrari, Lamborghini, Armani they think Italian. China has none of that and to me that is the BIGGEST obstacle China must overcome in the future to have some sort of branding that even the most remote tribes can identify with China. When you lack a 'brand' that perception is usually replaced with negativity because there is a void. It's human nature and it is a very powerful one also.

Perception is EVERYTHING!

Sorry for the OT but this issue of 'branding' or in China's case the lack thereof is why most folks have a negative perception of China and view China as a negative regardless of what she does and all her actions are prone to suspect.

I thought this would be an interesting subject so I moved kwaigonegin post here.

I myself had a typical no -nothing view of China before I started reading about 21st century China as I wanted to discover as much info as I could about China. Most Americans in my opinion have no clue what China is all about.

Having one's brand recognized is only part of improving PR. Even Chinese brands that *are* recognized are attached to a negative perception, just look at Huawei.

I also think that it's a little too early to say anything much about Chinese brands. We know they're not well known now, but certain brands have recognition in their respective circles. Those interested in cell phones and read tech blogs will find mention of Huawei on Engadget and Gizmodo. Those interested in cars will be somewhat familiar with names like Geely or Great Wall.

Even established brands don't have the mind share you might think. Some around my community didn't know That Toyota was Japanese. And how about the misconception that Nokia is a Japanese brand when it's really Finnish?

bd popeye said:

I thought this would be an interesting subject so I moved kwaigonegin post here.

I myself had a typical no -nothing view of China before I started reading about 21st century China as I wanted to discover as much info as I could about China. Most Americans in my opinion have no clue what China is all about.

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you're 100% correct and I think a lot of it has to do with what I said. Not just the US but most countries outside of Asia knows very lil about China other than the typical 'chinese' stereotypes which most times is well ... stereotype!

kwaigonegin said:

Everything else aside the BIGGEST problem with China in my own personal view is the issue of branding! I'm getting way OT here but I strongly believe this to be the case. While everyone in the world knows about China, the don't really know who or what China is about (right or wrong) thus the negative perception. The best way to promote oneself is in the from of branding. China is probably one of the few BIG countries that is not known for any sort of specific identifier.

True or not, the fact is most people identify with what's made or originate from a certain country and China severely lacks that. Wheater it's militaryly related or not the fact is no one can identify products or influence via china 'originated' products.

When someone thinks of McDonald's, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Boeing, Microsoft, Google, Starbucks, Apple etc they are inherently identifying with Americana. When people think of Toyota, Sony, PS3, Honda etc they think Japanese. Everyone knows who QE II (the queen not the carrier!) is but most folks on Earth couldn't tell the difference between Xi Jinping and Mao. Huawei, Sinopec etc are probably one of the biggest companies in the world that nobody has ever heard of but everyone has heard of Exxon, BP, shell etc.....When people think Ferrari, Lamborghini, Armani they think Italian. China has none of that and to me that is the BIGGEST obstacle China must overcome in the future to have some sort of branding that even the most remote tribes can identify with China. When you lack a 'brand' that perception is usually replaced with negativity because there is a void. It's human nature and it is a very powerful one also.

Perception is EVERYTHING!

Sorry for the OT but this issue of 'branding' or in China's case the lack thereof is why most folks have a negative perception of China and view China as a negative regardless of what she does and all her actions are prone to suspect.

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The fundamental problem with the Chinese brand has to do with an irreconcilable hostility in much of upper western, particularly american, political class to the nature of it ruling party. No amount of deft publicity could possibly overcome the fact western world sees china not only as a competitor, but as a political entity whose economic and geopolitical success would for the first time since the end of cold war put a rival, threatening, and intolerable political system on equal footing with the western system in term of claim to preeminence in the world.

kyanges said:

Having one's brand recognized is only part of improving PR. Even Chinese brands that *are* recognized are attached to a negative perception, just look at Huawei.

I also think that it's a little too early to say anything much about Chinese brands. We know they're not well known now, but certain brands have recognition in their respective circles. Those interested in cell phones and read tech blogs will find mention of Huawei on Engadget and Gizmodo. Those interested in cars will be somewhat familiar with names like Geely or Great Wall.

Even established brands don't have the mind share you might think. Some around my community didn't know That Toyota was Japanese. And how about the misconception that Nokia is a Japanese brand when it's really Finnish?

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Respective circles are not good enough.. it has to be a worldwide name recognition. Like I said China has to have people or names that even the most remote tribe or uneducated person knows about. A big part of that I think can be done vie the entertainment industry. China needs a Hollywood to have 'brand' recognition. Outside of very very few names like Jet Li, Jackie Chan etc most of Chinese actors and movies are unheard of outside of limited Asian countries.

IMHO China needs to have 5 diversified product lines that is easily identifiable by at east 90% of the population on Earth to truly gain worldwide recognition and be a truly influential superpower. They need a product line in the world of consumer electronics or technology (i.e Sony, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook etc), automobile (Ford, BMW, toyota, Honda), food related (Mcdonald's, KFC, Pepsi, Marlboro, 711 etc), fashion (Gucci, Louis Vuiton etc) AND they definitely need brand recognition in the entertainment industry! (Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, Beatles, John Wayne, Elvis Presley etc)

Secondary 'branding' that is almost as important is sports. There are not a lot of well known Chinese sports players or teams. A few that stands out is Yao Ming but again that's only because of NBA which is an American brand. There is no Chinese Michael Jordan, Venus Williams, David Beckham, Pele, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt etc.

the good news is as china becomes wealthier I think many of these things may come naturally and when these 'chinese branding' dilemma is overcome sometime in the future I think the general negative perception of China will slowly turn to a more favorable one from a world perspective.

kyanges said:

Even established brands don't have the mind share you might think. Some around my community didn't know That Toyota was Japanese. And how about the misconception that Nokia is a Japanese brand when it's really Finnish?

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yup its finnish.
As I see it Chinese branding in the US is not quite as easy to establish. Chinese brands are in the US competing with American brands ironically often making there products in China. the US and Europe are flooded with developed known brands. not just American but European, Korean and Japanese. these nations have long established lines and deep rooted ties to there image. Chinese brands tend to be younger and more or less image less. just the other day for example I saw my first add for a Huawei phone. I have known about them have seen them, but never had a image of them.
[video=youtube_share;gk1mwS8h4-Y]http://youtu.be/gk1mwS8h4-Y[/video]

TerraN_EmpirE said:

yup its finnish.
As I see it Chinese branding in the US is not quite as easy to establish. Chinese brands are in the US competing with American brands ironically often making there products in China. the US and Europe are flooded with developed known brands. not just American but European, Korean and Japanese. these nations have long established lines and deep rooted ties to there image. Chinese brands tend to be younger and more or less image less. just the other day for example I saw my first add for a Huawei phone. I have known about them have seen them, but never had a image of them.

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I know it's Finnish. I have my 920 sitting right next to me. .

A coworker of mine is using a Huawei W1.

kwaigonegin said:

Respective circles are not good enough.. it has to be a worldwide name recognition. Like I said China has to have people or names that even the most remote tribe or uneducated person knows about. A big part of that I think can be done vie the entertainment industry. China needs a Hollywood to have 'brand' recognition. Outside of very very few names like Jet Li, Jackie Chan etc most of Chinese actors and movies are unheard of outside of limited Asian countries.

IMHO China needs to have 5 diversified product lines that is easily identifiable by at east 90% of the population on Earth to truly gain worldwide recognition and be a truly influential superpower. They need a product line in the world of consumer electronics or technology (i.e Sony, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook etc), automobile (Ford, BMW, toyota, Honda), food related (Mcdonald's, KFC, Pepsi, Marlboro, 711 etc), fashion (Gucci, Louis Vuiton etc) AND they definitely need brand recognition in the entertainment industry! (Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, Beatles, John Wayne, Elvis Presley etc)

Secondary 'branding' that is almost as important is sports. There are not a lot of well known Chinese sports players or teams. A few that stands out is Yao Ming but again that's only because of NBA which is an American brand. There is no Chinese Michael Jordan, Venus Williams, David Beckham, Pele, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt etc.

the good news is as china becomes wealthier I think many of these things may come naturally and when these 'chinese branding' dilemma is overcome sometime in the future I think the general negative perception of China will slowly turn to a more favorable one from a world perspective.

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I agree that it isn't enough. I mean that it's the level of recognition achieved so far. Like you say, after some time, they'll break out of those circles into the mainstream.

The problem now, in my opinion, was that many people had linked China with cheap imitation products. And that is a sad truth. In my country, where ever I talk about China and products from China (even those that are Chinese like the Xiaomi handset) the first reaction of the people are... "OMG! That is another imitation of (whatever product)." or "Will it explode in your face" or "You can only use it for a couple of days." and something like that.

It is generally the distrust of the Chinese product or Chinese on the whole that actually caused this issues. And in my opinion, up till now... the Chinese companies hadn't really been putting in the amount of marketing and projection of soft power to overseas yet. In a show I watched in China... the biggest attraction to the Chinese (in term of viewership in mainland China) are all the WWII serial which features how heroic the Chinese soldiers fought against Japanese invaders... and you can be sure these type of shows don't have much market internationally.

(examples of how people misunderstand or hate the Chinese... and these people are Asians and most probably overseas Chinese, seen in one of the forum I have visited.

hanzohattori said:

They want to establish a trade route with aliens.. and cheat them (probably)
Poor aliens

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kei1309 said:

soon all alien spacecraft captured by the US Military will have the "Made In China" stamp on the bottom

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ed9119 said:

ong.... pirated dvd's on sale on the moon

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d2xpeter said:

human population is growing exponentially on earth....guess only people from 2 countries on earth would be able to migrate to the moon once the population here exploded. LOL

They already "chop" half of the moon each.

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As seen in the above quotes, it seriously reflect on the mentality of people when they think of the Chinese and accomplishment of the Chinese.)

Also China had a massive population and a massive market. Most companies didn't see the needs to push their products overseas as they have heaps of growth potential within China itself. Taking fashions as an example, a company could introduce their newly designed cloths or fashion statement in thriving first line cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing first, and let it be 'hot' for the first couple of months, then moved these fashion inward. For a 'new fashion' to be outdated in the entirety of China would easily means a couple of years down, and each fashion line can be very very profitable that way.

In order for the Chinese brand to be more internationally recognised and not as much misconception or linkage to negative comments or thinking, the only way to do it was not just individual effort by different Chinese companies. It would be the overall image of the country. The projection of soft powers, the attitude of individual Chinese tourists, the cutting down of cheap imitations (I mean this thing do happen... even the names or logos of some companies looked alike others more well known brands), and reliability of the Chinese product (which I think is about there). Only when all these had been established, then would Chinese brands started to be more recognize in international markets.

Here's a discussion on Chinese brands and made in China products. This is discussion is from like 2009 around the time of the Chinese made in China ad on CNN.