The recently published 2012 BrandZ report on the Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands found that the value of the top 50 Chinese brands has grown by 16 percent to US$325 billion, representing more than five percent of the Chinese economy. Combining both financial data and opinion gathered from interviews with over 35,000 Chinese consumers, the survey also indicated China’s shift from maker to innovator, the phenomenal rise of online and FMCG brands, and an increasingly brand savvy group of middle class consumers. The list includes China Mobile, the world’s largest telecommunications operator; the four major Chinese banks; and a number of consumer brands, such as Mengniu, Sunning and Lenovo. (Find out more by clicking here)

Although there remains considerable debate as to which of these brands, if any, can become established as global brands, many Western competitors are beginning to realise the long-term threat from their new Asian competitors. In the face of stagnant economic growth in Europe and the US, and the lingering Euro-zone crisis, it is the Asia-Pacific region where many organizations are looking to try and substitute declining revenues elsewhere. The increasing power of Chinese brands within the Asia-Pacific region, not to mention other rapidly developing regions such as Africa, raises several questions for Western businesses intent on growing market share in new international markets:

• How can Western brands compete effectively with strong Chinese brands in local Chinese markets?

• Should premium-, mid- or low-end brand positioning be adopted in developing markets such as China?

• How should Western brand propositions be adopted for the local Asian market?

• What measures should be taken to defend brand position and market share in home markets from Chinese competition?

• Which Chinese brands represent the most significant competitive threat?

• How can social media in China be exploited to build brand presence?

As Western corporations tackle these important issues, it is clear that the challenge of Chinese brands is only set to grow in the future. However, while this rise represents a challenge, many Western firms are also looking to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Chinese brands. As Chinese brands aspire to compete more effectively with their global competitors on the international stage, the demand for high quality suppliers, product components, and consultancy services has never been greater. While marketing to Chinese businesses brings its own set of particular challenges for the uninitiated, over the past few years Western firms have begun adapting to China’s unique environment and have made inroads selling to some of China’s largest firms. As Chinese brands continue on their relentless march forward, it will be those firms that are able to grasp the characteristics and requirements of Chinese organizations that are likely to see the greatest success in the long term.

In summer 2011, Asia Research, the publication for the market research industry in Asia, carried out an attitudinal survey of the Asian market research industry. Conducted online with 260 respondents from clients, agencies and support industries from 12 countries across the continent, we are pleased to present a summary of the findings of the 2011 State of the Market Research Industry in Asia report on our blog today:

On balance, stakeholders are positive about the prospects for the Asian market research industry, with 64% considering there to be more opportunities (most of which are in the area of technology) than threats compared to just 14% who view the threats (among them price pressure, inability to attract talent to the industry, poor quality fieldwork, and lower respondent co-operation rates) to be greater than the opportunities.

In general, both clients and agencies agree that clients are more price-driven than they were five years ago. Despite this, expenditure in research is expected to rise.

While inability to attract and retain talent is viewed as the biggest threat after pricing pressure, increasing staff salaries is not seen as a leading concern, implying that agencies expect a relatively good supply of candidates and it is common practice in Asia to source candidates internationally (a third of people who took part in the survey were expatriates).

Over the next five years, fairly significant changes are expected to occur in the industry, with more than 60% of respondents believing there will be at least ‘very different products, services, and types of organizations’.

Despite the importance of product innovation and new technology, stakeholders think that ‘investment in staff training and development’ will give agencies the biggest competitive advantage in the next five years. This reiterates that although technology will have an enabling role, at heart market research continues to be a people business. It’s a good thing, therefore, that 84% of stakeholders stated that they ‘enjoy working in market research’, with just 2% disagreeing with this statement!

Find out more by visiting Asia Research.

B2B International is pleased to announce the dates of its upcoming training courses in Shanghai: On Thursday, 22 September 2011, we will be running a Market With Intelligence course, and on Friday, 23 September 2011, we will host a course on Value-Based Marketing.

As with all our courses, these full-day, hands-on training workshops will enable attendees to not only learn the theory of marketing, but – crucially – to apply the learnings to their own businesses. A brief summary of the course schedules is shown below, but more information can be found here “Shanghai Marketing Training Courses”.

To book your place online, please click here.. If you have any questions, please call your nearest B2B International office or email shanghai@b2binternational.com

Market with Intelligence – Thursday, September 22, 2011

This course introduces you to the key principles of market research and how research tools can be used to grow your business. Topics covered include:

• Introduction to market research
• Obtaining qualitative insights for business decision-making
• Obtaining quantitative insights
• Turning the results of research into action

Value-Based Marketing – Friday, September 23, 2011

Our value-based marketing workshop explores the key marketing principles and how you can make them work for you, including:

• Market intelligence and value-based marketing
• Market analysis, mapping and segmentation
• Competitive intelligence
• Creating customer value
• Pricing for value capture and profit

In a recent article for Marketing Week, MaryLou Costa looks at the growth of China’s own brands and how they can become not only number one in China, but if can they also enter the western markets?

China is proving to be a ripe market across a range of sectors, but is this market so self serving that brands will have to elbow their way in?

When it comes to the growth of China’s economy, the stats speak for themselves. You’ll be able to read more in next week’s cover feature, out on Thursday, but news broke in February that China had become the world’s second largest economy and was on track to become the biggest in the next 10 years.

This is certainly big news for brands in terms of the opportunities that exist in the new consumer power of the Chinese shopper – or should I say the various Chinese shopping markets, as dictated by the cultural and climatic differences across this vast landscape.

Chinese incomes are rising and in turn, so is demand for branded products. According to research firm Millward Brown, in 2010, 53% of Chinese consumers shopped with a short list of brands compared to only 41% in 2006. Only 39% reported that their purchase decisions were driven by price in 2010 compared with 47% in 2006.

And according to statistics from TGI’s Brand Building in the BRICs report, car ownership in China increased 200% from 3% to 9% between 2000 and 2010, while credit and debit card ownership also jumped 115% from 40% in 2000 to 86% in 2010.

TGI has also introduced us to the Super Consumer, the top 10% of the country’s earners who are more likely to purchase and engage with global brands and are thus a prime audience. For example, 52% of China’s Super Consumers have been to McDonald’s compared with 31% of the average population.

But, before brand marketers rush to book the next flight to Beijing, they should be warned that Chinese brands aren’t exactly unaware of what’s happening in their own backyard. The Chinese might not be renowned for being experts in innovation or brand building, challenged by culture steeped in tradition and businesses fraught with complicated structures. But to their credit, they are fast learners, and Chinese brands are quickly getting in on their own game.

In Millward Brown’s annual BrandZ global brand valuation ranking, seven Chinese brands made the list in 2010, while in 2006, just one was present. Delving even further into the world of Chinese brands, the BrandZ ranking was done exclusively for China for the first time in 2006, and results were released earlier this year for 2011.

In its simplest form, the list spells out who will be the biggest competitors for Western brands coming out of China. On the list might be ones you’ve heard of, such as mobile manufacturer ZTE, which has built its business around supplying low cost handsets not only to the Chinese but to the growing African mobile market. PC manufacturer Lenovo is also looking to grab a bigger slice of the PC market, and in an interview with Marketing Week, admits that it is now time for its brand to take centre stage in its expansion strategy.

Chinese footwear brand Li Ning is giving the likes of Nike a literal run for its money, as the brand’s namesake, Olympic gymnast Li Ning himself has shown that he isn’t scared to push the boundaries of branding. During the Beijing Olympics, Li Ning swooped down on wires into the stadium to light the torch, much to the chagrin of official sponsors Adidas, who had paid $200 million for the privilege.

Millward Brown’s Chinese BrandZ list also mentions Mou Tai liquor and Chang Yu wine, areas that traditionally would be dominated by Western brands, but are growing in strength amongst local brand loyalists.

But by the same token, marketers shouldn’t be quaking in their boots at this information, but simply take it in their stride. While Chinese brands are tuning into the power of branding, they aren’t branding experts yet. In Millward Brown’s discussion paper, Tom Doctoroff, CEO of JWT Greater China, claims it will be a decade yet before Chinese brands will “represent China proudly on the global stage”.

So now you know, and it won’t take you a decade to formulate your plans for China, will it?