Old and Famous Chinese Brands

Via Tony Tsai:

"China forbids foreign investment in "old and famous Chinese brands"
Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei says that old and famous Chinese brands are not allowed to introduce foreign investment. If they do so, they will be deprived of the fame of being an "old and famous Chinese brand". He says there are only about 1,000 old and famous Chinese brands in China compared with more than 10,000 in 1949. He says the China should protect those old and famous brands. He points out it is an important duty of the government to protect China's national brands. According to the current regulations, an old and famous brand must have been established before 1956."

Arab Brands?

"There are no strong, Arab brands. Dates could have been the best brand. When you think chocolate, you think Switzerland and Godiva, ... But which brand do you think of when you say 'date'?"

So states my friend Mr. Abed Bibi, Managing Partner Wolff Olins, based out of Dubai. Bold statement while being true. Read further insights from Abed at Media Week Middle East here from pages 12 to 13.

I would like to provide a counter point with one specific example, Arabs are the only ethnic group that continues to wear their customary clothing when engaged professionally or politically even outside of the region. That is identity in itself.

Abed does believe Dubai to be a brand, while stating:

"Dubai is a lot more than what's the largest or the biggest. It's about the people, the traditions, the culture, the values, the hospitality..."

I would add something more tangible for the consumer of Dubai i.e. its visitors, its citizens, its laborers, etc. - Dubai is a megalopolis (and growing) without the crime or close to none. This cannot be stated of just about any other major city in the world. Powerful!

Country Branding

I just read the "Country Brand Index 2008: Insights, Findings & Country Rankings" - download PDF here, from the FutureBrand folks. I found their study great for taking on such a challenge - I found their methodology exceptional in taking complex topics as culture, environment, destination, etc. and rinsing them through the qualitative parts such as emotions, perceptions, etc.

FutureBrand's Country Brand Platform - Sec 1:1 of the report

(click for a larger view)

The CBI-08 report has snippets of treats for the visualization of data and information - Tufte would be proud.

At the same time I felt a touch of bias simply due to the heavily Western panel of experts (see page 14 & 15 in the report) and the same for the sources (see page 61).

Even though an article on the above report in the Economist states:

"As someone with a non-marketing background, I find the notion of branding an entire country rather reductive. You end up talking in such broad terms (viz. the view of Australia in the first paragraph) that the themes tend towards the stereotypical or even the meaningless."

I believe the buzz, or marketing hype associated with brands does impact consumer decisions that are meaningful to economic development. An example not to be overlooked is UAE, with approximately 12% or less original Emirati populace, massive investment in second and vacation homes from Europeans, South Asians, Australians and South East Asians (Singapore, Honk Kong), it is but one example of what a brand can do.

Two more points from the report that I found insightful:

(1) "Countries in Momentum" (see page 26) provides a clear indication of the developing countries (with two exceptions from developed countries) gaining momentum under the headings of Emerging, In Vogue and Rising while the developed countries with two exceptions falling under the headings of Declining and Maintaining. I believe this provides a glimpse of the future of these countries for the 21st century.

(2) "Country Branded Products" (see page 32) shows the reinforcement received by product brands due to their country's brand. A realization must not be lost here that country brands can cause havoc on product brands - see the Middle East boycott of Arla as a recent example here.

In summary, I found the report with great mechanics while emphasizing and leveraging the positive. For an astute mind, this report offers great data to digest. I caution against the overly optimistic tone of some of the conclusions (see (2) above). Reality on the ground can be a surprise.