'Made in China' - challenging traditional brand perceptions

28 October 2014

Creative agencies in China

Gianluca FracassoI left Nottingham University Business School in 2011 with a degree in tourism marketing and took the decision to move to Shanghai, right at the heart of the Chinese economy, as I had a keen interest in working into travel or communication. There I found myself in the middle of a very hectic scenario, in the era of post-2010 Expo China. Because of the fast-growing pace of the Chinese economy, its events industry and branding, those early days witnessed a vast plethora of creative agencies of various typologies and scales blooming in Shanghai. It felt electrifying to be in that moment, as part of the consolidation of creative industries and advertising in China.

During my first experience as a project manager, I started collaborating with small-scale agencies serving foreign brands in China. We had the chance to work with major international airlines such as Thai Airways, Star Alliance, Qatar Airways. The objective was to support their branding activities in China with PR and advertising campaigns, as China is expected to become the world’s biggest market for tourism firms by year 2020.

From international to local

After three years spent in Shanghai serving international clients, the focused of my work has now shifted towards consulting for Chinese brands, which are usually considered to be less competitive. Yet, it must be acknowledged that as the domestic market is still forming and many Chinese corporations have reached maturity, it actually feels quite rewarding to work on some major “local” brands (such as Haier, Baidu or Tencent), on a mission to overcome the communication gap with the big international players and trademarks. In line with the growing domestic demand, many Chinese manufactures which traditionally focused on export markets for third parties, now feel the strong need to create their own trademarks for Chinese consumers.

Interestingly, recent industry surveys also confirm that the global perception of Chinese brands is going through a fascinating transformation, with a shift towards an image of quality, modernity, hi-tech. Particularly in industries such as electronics, fashion and automotive, Chinese brands are in fact showing a steady increase in quality output. In the electronic goods market, “Made in China” trademarks already rank #5 after the likes of Japan, USA, German and South Korean manufacturers. Even in more highly technical and western-dominated industries such automotive, China is providing some novel example of strong branding in support of good quality, such as the Israeli-Chinese car sensation of Qoros, a brand entirely conceived in China, though designed and engineered by a dream team of international talents.

In terms of internet and eCommerce, the paradigm recently set by Alibaba has certainly provided also a respectable sample of new standards for “Chinese corporation going global”, able to perform well under the international spotlights. On a overall global ranking indeed, Chinese brands have been said to be able to compete in the top ten nationalities of manufacturers for branded products, behind Swedish brands but already ahead of South Korean counterparts.

Thus, we have to become accustomed to the idea of “Made in China” as a positive branding association, as China is increasingly able to produce original solutions rather than creating replicas of western products. With such premise, now my role is to travel all over China with our consulting team, in order to advise Chinese Presidents, CEOs and Brand Managers on how to strategically empower their brands in the local market. It can be considered a very pioneering work in this sense, and it requires a good mix of creativity, strategy and a flexible approach to Chinese clients.

Making bonds

One of the most intriguing aspects of living and working in China is also the possibility to reconnect with many of the life-long friends I made in the UK. Because of the strong presence of our Business School network in Ningbo, I can regularly be in touch with old classmates; notably, some of them have now become entrepreneurs and business owners. For instance, a Malaysian friend with whom I used to share drinks in our dorm is now the founder of a thriving eCommerce start-up in Shanghai.

Networking and the nurturing of relationship is certainly an accustomed practice inside and outside the work place in China, where a human touch is always essential to make business smooth and truly enjoyable. In the connected society we live in, I encourage everyone to treasure friends, mentors and colleagues met on the way, and I feel once more privileged to share many of our achievements with our alumni community all over the globe.

Gianluca Fracasso is Brand Strategist at Zheng Bang Brand Design & Consulting, the biggest branding & communication agency of China.