Vladimir Djurovic

"Brand identity" encompasses a brand's core idea, values and personality, as well as the way it looks, sounds and feels. In order to create an identity that is easily understood by customers, every brand must be driven by a powerful and unified core idea, and take actions that are consistent with that idea. Failure to "walk the walk" can lead to indifference, confusion or worse, aversion.

As environment-friendly cars become an increasingly important market segment, more and more companies are heavily investing in R&D to come up with tomorrow's winning technology. In China, many foreign automotive brands have begun to create innovative taglines and slogans in Mandarin.

A successful tagline is more than a memorable catchphrase—it acts as a bridge between a brand name and its identity, solidifying this connection in the minds of consumers. In many ways, finding the right tagline mimics the process behind brand naming—research, strategy and creative work can all contribute to achieving the perfect end result.

With China having 384 million internet users, much of the competition for customers and brand loyalty will play out online. The investment prestige brands make in their own digital competence could be a deciding factor in their ability to survive and thrive in China, and is likely to become increasingly important as the market matures.

When you get a cold, the coughing, sneezing and other unpleasant symptoms often make taking medication a necessity. Although there are many traditional Chinese remedies, fast and effective Over the Counter (OTC) pills are increasingly popular in China.

In previous articles we have discussed semiotics as a powerful tool for product innovation and analyzing advertising. Using semiotics, brands can take advantage of codes to help them succeed in the marketplace.

Once a company has formulated their brand strategy and spent time establishing it within the company through brand engagement activities, they are then ready to begin the process of brand implementation. In this article, we will give an overview of the white goods industry in China and identify the brand implementation strategies being used. We will then discuss the importance of building brand strength in this growing market.

The first decade of reform and opening up in China saw large multi-national companies pave the way with big investments in all aspects relevant to their industries. Famous quotes such as "the risk not to be in China is bigger than the risk to be in China" from Heinrich von Pierer, the CEO of the Siemens AG from 1995 to 2005, were typical of a time when large capital investments were deemed necessary to enter the Chinese market1.

In their efforts to maintain high levels of economic growth and guarantee the continued development of western provinces and rural areas, China’s economic policy makers have realized that western consumers, especially American consumers, can no longer be counted on to purchase all consumer goods coming out of the manufacturing heartlands of the eastern coastal regions of the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas.

Building a brand is not a simple task. Sometimes brands promote themselves visually through a strong identity and flashy advertising. Others take a step back, conduct market research, and clearly map out their brand positioning. Some brands enter the market with a strong presence and disappear overnight; others last for a lifetime.