Ogilvy China Launches CMO Study
Ogilvy China today launched a report that explores the current state of brand building among Chinese companies going global. The report builds on in-depth interviews with 40 CMOs of major Chinese companies and insights from Ogilvy experts in Chinese and global brand management. The interviews were conducted between April and August 2019.
As more and more Chinese companies strive to expand their global footprint, the China CMO study, titled Globalizing in a New Economic Reality: Making Chinese Brands Matter Globally, underlines key challenges currently facing their overseas expansion and presents 7 principles for building sustainable brands on the global stage.
“We believe Chinese brands have tremendous growth potential globally.” says Chris Reitermann, Ogilvy’s Chief Executive of Asia and Greater China. “An early commitment and focus on a brand strategy that guides all overseas efforts will enable Chinese brands to develop a more sustainable business abroad. We also see an opportunity where Chinese brands can marry their domestic strengths with global best practices to succeed in foreign markets.”
While Chinese home-grown brands have made great strides in trying to gain brand recognition overseas, they still have a long way to go to outshine their global competitors. Research participants identified local policy, cultural differences and lack of talent as the top 3 obstacles facing their overseas operations. While different in nature, these challenges all stem from one overarching cause: lack of brand-building investment. The study underlines the value of building a consistent brand platform to secure license to operate, establish trust with local stakeholders and foster a corporate culture that attracts top local talent.
Following the global expansion of many of its Chinese clients, Ogilvy has established a China Brand Practice to facilitate local market entry in key geographies. The teams are staffed with members sent from Ogilvy China as well as global and local branding experts. After operating a New York hub for several years, the firm recently opened a European hub in Berlin and is planning to launch a Middle East location in early 2020.
