Asian brands yet to attain true global status as Western ‘mega brands’ dominate
Asian brands aren’t yet making their mark on the global landscape, but China and India in particular are poised to launch the next batch of global brands as their marketing processes develop.
A mere eight Asian companies appeared in the league of the 100 most valuable brands, compiled by Interbrand, despite the region’s booming economy and manufacturing expertise.
The Asian brands that did make it into the league – Toyota, Honda, Samsung, Canon, Nintendo, Hyundai, Panasonic and Lexus – are all from Japan and South Korea. Of these, only Toyota appears in the top ten (at number six).
Why are there so few globally recognised brands from this region, which accounts for 20% of global gross domestic product according to Nomura?
Marketing experts say it could be because it takes years of development for companies to acquire a reputation for quality, which is followed by creating a name for softer qualities, such as design.
Some of the more successful Korean companies have large operations in Europe or America, giving them a grasp on global customers’ needs.
Companies elsewhere in Asia that aren’t yet at this stage struggle for recognition outside of their home countries, according to Han Jin Kyung, research director of the Centre for Marketing Excellence, Singapore University.
Some marketing analysts expect the number of well-known Asian brands to surge, especially in China and India, where companies can develop in their big domestic markets before moving overseas.
A special report on Asian brands in the Financial Times also revealed that the balance of power for the global car industry is shifting to the east. While more cars were sold in China than anywhere else last year, only one-third of them were Chinese brands. This reflects a lack of confidence in domestic brands – and car manufacturers worldwide are watching out for a globally competitive Chinese car brand to launch.
Similarly in the cosmetics industry, European and US groups have been more successful than Japanese companies at reaching China’s mass market, thanks to effective global brand marketing.
“L’Oreal, Proctor and Gamble, and Unilever are strong in this ‘masstige’ (mass prestige) market because they have global mega brands, like Ponds and Pantene. But Japanese companies don’t have such globally big brands,” said Takayuki Kito, partner at strategy consultants Roland Berger.
Meanwhile in Vietnam, the trend is for upwardly mobile youth purchasing aspirational, and generally Western, brands. But while foreign brands have been dominant, consumer trends analyst TNS predicts that interest in home-grown Vietnamese brands will grow as their marketing processes develop.
Tags: Global Brand
June 2nd, 2010 at 11:28 am
Thanks for the article.
I see a common pattern in global advertising which emphasize the age old formulas of brand awareness + differentiation … at the expense of brand building and added value differentiation.
So for example, Why would I want to buy a KIA jeep/car? Is it because Rafael Nadal (claims to) drive one, and asks the viewer, reader, listener, “Who’s next?”? What does Rafael know about cars anyway?
In this case, the stretch from celebrity personality to product image is too far (away), too long, and too disjointed…
So the ad provides for fast awareness build (and some level of irrelevant differentiation) but not much else. This seems to be the case for 80% of all global ads in my view.