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December 20, 2011

Chinese Brand Name Just Doesn't Travel Well

Today is a grim day in the world of brand naming.

I was tempted to write about the final demise of the Saab brand name, because I have followed the story for a few years now.

What actually caught my eye was another piece of bad news.

Despite an endorsement from Shaq, the Chinese apparel company Li Ning Co. failed to break into the American market.

The company is named after the towering Chinese athlete you may have seen at the last Olympic games. Their aggressive bid to take up headspace with the American consumer seems to have fallen short.

The fact is, beyond Chinese borders, Chinese brands are a challenge to establish. Studies show that 83% of consumers outside of China are unable to name one Chinese brand or company.

China's most valuable 50 brands have a combined value of $325 billion. Compare that to Apple's $153 billion, Google's $111 billion and IBM's $101 billion. Yup. Those three companies alone have more brand value.

The Asia Times, published an article entitled, China's Brands in the Shadows, which quoted a marketing professor referring to the top Chinese brands as "invisible dragons."

There are many reasons for this. From a lack of creativity in the "command-control" structure of Chinese companies to the typical North American reluctance to attach value to things "Made in China" despite the popularity of companies like Apple and Nike who sell Chinese made products.

Another problem may be China's inward looking marketing.

But I might add that there are clear naming problems here.

Think about it. Would you buy sneakers from a brand called Li Ning? It sounds like Lining. As in, "the sidelines."

The country's biggest Internet service portal is called Tencent. Yeah, Ten Cent.

And China's largest casual clothing retailer? Metersbonwe. Try saying that ten times fast or slow.

Technorati Tags: Li Ning, China, Branding, Naming, Brand Value

Posted by William Lozito at December 20, 2011 8:18 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Company Naming | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming | Retail

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