the key successful branding in china

Managing Researcher Shaun Rein in Business Week suggested the key to successful branding in China. His research is quite honest. There is some truth that Chinese consumers switch brands frequently, because they have massively more choices than they had even a decade ago. Curious consumers need to experience to establish their loyalty. There are some successful brands that Chinese consumers are loyal to because those brands target their needs and understand the market. Brands such as Tencent QQ instant message service, Belle shoes, Taobao e-commerce service are incredibly successful. The White Rabbit candy had built trust with Chinese consumers much as Tide had in the U.S.

He suggest that to foster brand loyalty in China, companies need to learn from these successful examples and focus on three critical points: Define their brand position, understand and relate to their consumer base, and target China's younger generation, which has the product sophistication to be tomorrow's loyalty leads.

China is the world's second-largest auto market. Buick took advantage of this growth and leveraged the position it created and selling low-end models into $12,000 price range. The middle-class are upset because Buick quality has been watered-down as they see Buick as a luxury brand. Buick made the mistake for not clearly defining its brand for consumers. Is it low end or high end? As a counterpoint to Buick, BMW has sacrificed short-term sales and chose to maintin its premium positioning for affluent consumers. BMW is now seeing massive growth and gain its loyalty.

Clarins and L'Oreal are two popular brands around the world. Their images in China are very different. L'Oreal is very successful, and they have developed brand loyalty to both male and female consumers. L'Oreal's image in China is more luscious than it does in the western world. Clarins had made a mistaking by making an advertising campaign that typical Chinese male cannot relate. Clarins used metrosexual models that presented an image most Chinese men could not relate. L'Oreal has chosen Korean movie stars for its male brand. These Korean stars exhibit a look and style that Chinese women wish their boyfriends would exhibit. Clarins chose to lauch campaigns with blond girls on sailboats when these popular images do not attract Chinese consumers. Shaun's study argued that Chinese concerned about safety as consumers in the U.S. Brands like Midea, Haier, and Unilver has established as good quality.

To develop a brand successfully in China, it's not enough to take short-term path and sell to every possible market.

Rein, Shaun. The key successful branding in China. 1st April 2010 http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/sep2007/gb20070925_202489_page_2.htm