Branding strategies for Chinese businesses going overseas

[Photo: from VCG]

Branding is all of the ways a company establishes an image of itself in its customers' eyes, to borrow just one out of many of its definitions. Decades ago branding was defined as a name, slogan, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements that identify products or services of a company. Today brand is a bit more complex, but even more important in today's world of marketing.

Over the past couple of months, we've seen several big brands got in hot water for their controversial advertisements. Are their ads inappropriate? If so, what have they done wrong? 

Joining us on board today in the studio is Maneesh Choudhary, Deputy Managing Director of Kantar Millward Brown China, a company that helps Chinese businesses to build their brands.

Questions discussed in the interview: 

1. There are multiple definitions about branding and sometimes there's even a lot of confusion about branding. So what is branding in your eyes?

2. Why is branding important?

3. What is good branding?

4. Why do big brand names sometimes make mistakes? Do you see this as a branding issue?

5. How do you look at their emergency PR work in such incidences?

6. What are the most important things when a business starts to think about branding?

7. With the popularity of social media, branding has gotten a lot more complicated. How does branding work in the social media age? What are some of the common strategies of contemporary branding?

8. China has a lot of very good businesses. Despite of their success on the domestic market, they don't always enjoy the same brand influence overseas. What do they lack for them to prick open foreign markets and make their own footings there? Do you have any good examples in helping Chinese firms' branding overseas?

9. Are there any common pitfalls in branding a business?

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI]