2013-03-14

China Daily: Product quality control the key in brand building

Oswald Chan, Li Tao

China Daily: Product quality control the key in brand building

March 14, 2013 - 10:11am http://www.chinadailyapac.com
Chinese corporations must convey appropriate brand messages and launch stringent product quality control to make brand-building successful amid the huge market potential of the Chinese consumer market.

It is, nevertheless, not an easy job today given the fierce market competition from other Asian and international companies which are all chasing for a piece of profit from the world’s second-largest economy, making brand-building even more crucial and important for domestic Chinese companies, said Howard Lam Pong-yuen, EMBA program associate director at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Speaking on the sidelines of roundtable panel discussions on “Strategic Brand Building in China,” organized by China Daily and the CUHK Business School’s EMBA Program on Monday, Lam said many consumers these days may only “know about” and “understand” Chinese brands, but they still may not be able to “like”, “act upon” or stay “loyal to” these brands. Therefore, Chinese companies must be more proactive in brand-building ventures.

“Chinese companies must understand the unique tastes and demands of the consumers from the angle of the consumers in order to create compelling brand-building messages,” he said.

Lam, who was formerly Coca-Cola China’s Olympics consumer marketing general manager, cited a TV commercial produced by Coca-Cola China for the Olympic Games in China in August 2008 as an example. He said the US brewage maker designed the MTV content with a mixture of different Olympic song singer versions, brand cues through red color images and the use of celebrities so that the Coca-Cola company can execute brand association to different viewers through the TV commercial.

The advertisement won world-wide acclaim due to its successful marriage of different elements to cater to the specific tastes of Chinese people for a special occasion. And once consumers’ tastes and demands have been gauged, one brand building technique that can be employed is to create “exchanges of content” among multiple parties in brand-building messages, Lam added.

“Chinese companies must find their own unique way in telling their brand development stories,” Lam noted. “Chinese enterprises should gradually establish their brand images through influencing the country’s opinion leaders first.

“Cultural and language homogeneity in China and the ease of logistics allow brand-building messages to be easily conveyed across the whole country. I’m totally optimistic that more Chinese companies can successfully build up their corporate brands,” Lam said.

He is optimistic that more Chinese corporations, especially small-and-medium size enterprises, will make it to Fortune Global 500 if they cultivate their brand images successfully.

Although brand building is all about changing consumers’ perception, Chinese companies should also pay attention to product quality enhancement, as only one single incident of product recall would wipe out all their efforts in brand building. Hence, product quality control is also vital along with the brand-building process, Lam said.

Other speakers at the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable also shared their views on Chinese brand-building strategies domestically and internationally.

Jack Lee, Lenovo Group corporate vice president, who oversees the Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea region business, outlined the importance of multinational companies securing a big slice of revenue from overseas markets.

He said not only have the group’s M&A activities brought financial benefits to the company, they have added great value to the Lenovo brand in various economies.

Zhang Xiaoke, managing director of ZTE (HK) Ltd, said the company will allocate more resources on business-to-customer (B2C) marketing and continue to work with operators in joint marketing events and activities.

The telecommunications equipment maker will seek to expand its brand awareness by holding large-scale events, including concerts and sport games, which will also emphasize the adoption of social media in communicating with the public.

Source: http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/product-quality-control-key-brand-building

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