On July 1, PR Newswire and the Zhejiang Provincial Brand Building Promotion Association hosted a brand salon on the topic of “Chinese enterprises communicating and marketing their brands in foreign countries”. Professionals from Ogilvy & Mather, PR Newswire and Geely, as well as brand marketing executives from over 100 hundred companies across Zhejiang and surrounding provinces and neighboring cities, gathered to discuss branding strategies and tactics for Chinese firms who wish to reach and resonate with overseas audiences.
(On site)
Lyndon Cao, Director of Global China Practice at Ogilvy & Mather, analyzed the opportunities and challenges for Chinese companies seeking to market their brand overseas in terms of background, strategies and tactics. He pointed out that with the worldwide growth of the middle class, coupled with rapid urbanization in many countries, the transformation of Chinese society and the rise of the mobile internet as the primary form of communication for an ever-increasing percent of the world’s population, large segments of that population worldwide will become part of the general consuming public for the first time between now and 2020, opening up huge new markets for Chinese-branded products. What Chinese firms need to do now is adopt the “price/performance ratio plus” route, going beyond the traditional “price/performance ratio”. Lyndon encouraged Chinese players to step away from their “internal battle” for overseas markets, and to look at the world from a more holistic viewpoint. Chinese companies are advised to accelerate any enhancement of their brands, to challenge and even surpass the efforts and performance of current market leaders as they move to internationalize their brand by way of digital and social media. He added that reaching out to overseas markets and building international brands is an important component of any Chinese company’s strategy to re-gain competitiveness.
(Lyndon Cao, Director of Global China Practice at Ogilvy & Mather)
Li Jing, Director of Business Development, China at PR Newswire, first analyzed several common methods Chinese companies use when selling in foreign markets, including the establishment of proprietary networks, channels of acquisition, attendance at exhibitions, online marketing, media communication and government-level public relations, observing that media communication is the best choice for optimizing one’s marketing efforts while having better sustainability. Then, Li Jing explained the “4C” concept for Chinese brands’ overseas communications: Cultural Differences, Message Chain, China Value and Brand Commitment. Based on this concept, Chinese companies seeking to expand abroad need to have a deep understanding of the cultural differences between China and other countries and, at the same time, leverage the “integrating point and sphere” media communication method. This will permit overseas audiences to gain an understanding of China as a part of the value of the brand in a timely and transparent manner while sticking to sustainable methods of communication as the channel to increase the frequency of exposure and build up brand awareness. Combining all of these steps into a comprehensive strategy will allow overseas audiences to remember the brands. He also detailed several projects where PR Newswire assisted Chinese firms in communicating their brands in overseas markets.
(Li Jing, Director of Business Development, China, PR Newswire)
Chen Peng, Brand Management Director at GEELY INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD, showcased several examples of the firm’s overseas marketing efforts, explaining the automaker’s viewpoints on and approaches to the cultural differences when marketing in different countries and regions. Chen also shared some of their practical marketing experiences in foreign countries.
(Chen Peng, Brand Management Director at GEELY INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD)
Xu Weirong, Deputy Chairman and Secretary General of the Zhejiang Provincial Brand Building Promotion Association, said, “It is time for Chinese companies to move from product exporting to brand exporting.” He hopes to boost the growth and development of Chinese brands through the brand salon.
(Xu Weirong, Deputy cChairman and Secretary General of Zhejiang Provincial Brand Building Promotion Association)
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