ANA Marketing Maestros

'From Made in China to Invented in China'

By: Irina Skaya

Tuesday I attended the ANA Global Learning Series on China, and the reoccurring theme across all four presentations—Chinese-made counterfeited goods—ties in well with my last blog post. Apparently Chinese-made knockoffs go beyond Gucci and Fendi. U.S. television shows like Sex and the City and Web sites like Google and YouTube also have Chinese versions. But what advertisers should be aware of when considering global marketing are copy-cat agencies. Believe it or not, but there are three copycat Ogilvy agencies in China.

Wait…wait…don’t be so skeptical of the way the Chinese conduct business. According to Alex Gordon, founder of Sign Salad, ‘Precision of copy does not compensate for the original but signifies creativity.’ That’s right—the Chinese business owners do not see counterfeited goods as an organized crime, but a master piece. I am not mentioning the above to scare off anyone who wants to do business in China, but rather note the caution of doing business there without the right resources, local vendors, and the Chinese government on your side. You need all three. Janet Carmosky, CEO of The China Business Network, even said unlike the U.S. that has a transactional business mindset, the Chinese are all about relationships or ‘Ghanxi.’ She stressed, “The Chinese created the, ‘We know where you live’ capitalism.”

Whatever the business model in China is, it works for them—the country's tech boom has created a paradigm shift from made in China to invented in China (Sandberg, executive editor, The Hardvard Business Press). The reason behind the high-tech growth is China is graduating three times the number of engineers than any other country in the world. Many of the growing digital media start-ups bring us back to the rising tide of copycats; the majority of whom were educated in the U.S. and returned to China around 1999 to take advantage of the economic explosion. Around Y2K, they began creating copycats of U.S. Internet companies like eBay, Yahoo!, Facebook, MySpace and Craigslist.

Don't forget, the Chinese don't have bad intentions when "copying and pasting;" after all, it's all about creativity. Speaking of creativity, which is a number one characteristic of an ideal agency in China, I’d like to share with you this creative commercial for Coco-Cola, one of the biggest multinational marketing veterans and power brands in China. 

Coca-Cola Red Go China TV Commercial

Besides Coca-Cola, other high-profile multinational marketers that have had success in China are Nike, GE, Nokia, Procter & Gamble and Volkswagen. In conclusion, doing business in China is tough—‘although nothing in China is available, everything is possible’ (Janet Carmosky, CEO of The China Business Network).

Technorati tags: chinese marketing counterfeited Chinese-made goods Sign Salad The China Business Network R3 Tech boom in China

All Brands Are Not Equal

By Mark Fogelberg

“Brands are important assets requiring proactive and consistent investment, management, and measurement.”

Interbrand's recently released report on the top global brands showcases the differences among brands and how these differences can amount to a huge valuation disparity. The rankings, a barometer of successful brand management, offer great data into leading brands. It also includes the element of how to quantify a brand’s total value including the intangible assets.

The brands ranked cross geographies, cultures and market segments to build the equity of their business. Great brands create demand, sell products, drive shareholder value, make for proud employees, and more. And the strategies used to propel these brands can make for fast economic growth – a company already owns the assets; it’s the execution of the brand strategy that creates incredible valuations. Interbrand evaluates brands as assets by forecasting the current and future revenue directly attributable to the branded product.

It’s a brilliant read and I encourage all marketers to download the complete survey. The methodologies and significance of the rankings are detailed on pages 44-46. Ways to analyze whether companies are investing adequately or whether marketing strategies are fully exploiting a brand’s potential are also defined.

Global Marketing News from the WFA

By Will Waugh

The ANA is a member of the World Federation of Advertisers, a tight knit group of advertising associations based in Brussels. That's right, an association of associations. If I remeber the latest number, our members represent somewhere along the lines of 60% of the world's ad spend.

I receive their monthly newsletters from my counterpart there who also happens to be a Will - Will Gilroy. I have included the links because there is some interesting information you don't neccesarily read regularly. For me, it is my primary outlet outside of the US-centric marketing bubble many of us live in. It's also some good reading.

WFA responds to Romanian consultation on food advertising

Malaysian Health Minister considers food advertising restrictions

South Korean Government outlines restrictions on food advertising

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner backs advertising self-regulation

US marketers allocate 15% of budget to new mediaArbitron and Nielsen formalise Apollo agreement

Ofcom releases final statement on advertising to childrenMerrill Lynch responds to IPA’s predictions for future drivers in advertising

China adspend continues strong growth: 20% rise in 2006

US Government and Dreamworks launch ads to address child obesity

Google unveils revenue of $3.2 billion for Q4 2006

Technorati tags: marketing global