Chinese brands still have a long way to go in terms of building a strong reputation outside of their home market.
In a survey of the most valued brands in Asia conducted by research agency TNS, China's consumer giants were conspicuous by their absence. None of the brands from the mainland made the top 100 list in any markets overseas, including the Chinese-speaking markets of Taiwan and Singapore.
TNS surveyed 3,300 consumers aged 15 to 64 from 10 different countries across Asia by asking them to rank the brands for its Campaign 2011 Asia-Pacific Top 1000 list.
The highest rated Chinese company was home appliance maker Qingdao Haier, ranked No.5 among respondents in China and 102 overall. Bank of China was No. 45 for Hong Kong, 55 in China and 168 overall. The other notables from the consolidated list include Lenovo at 121 and Baidu 165.
Japanese electronics brand
“Sony has a very strong reputation in the region. Despite the crisis it’s having now, people know that Sony means good quality,” says Atifa Hargrave-Silk, editorial director of Campaign Asia-Pacific, sponsors of the survey.
Sony's PlayStation Network has recently been the victim of several attacks by hackers who managed to bring the system down for a month and gain access to 100 million users' personal details.
Thomas Isaac, commercial director of TNS, says it's important for companies to set consistently high professional standards before moving to the innovation phase. And this is where many Chinese brands haven't been helping themselves.
Since the tainted milk powder scandal came to light in 2008, the number of product safety scandals has only been increasing. The list already includes food, drinks, clothing, toys and electronics.
“Quality always comes first,” says Silk. “First of all, they have to get the product right.” The mainland brands have to overcome the quality hurdle to build a better reputation overseas. There is no shortcut.
In recent years, the Chinese government has been pushing a global advertising campaign for “Made in China” to change perceptions, but the companies themselves still lack effective marketing.
“Chinese brands don’t have many marketing specialists within the organization,” says Silk. She believes part of the reason why Japanese companies are successful in overseas markets is because they have strong international divisions.
Also Read
There are no comments yet