Helping Chinese Brands Go Global

Navigator is a research institute built by the International Communication Committee (ICC) of the China Advertising Association devoted to assisting Chinese brands go international. Its first activity was held at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, aimed at helping the internationalization of Chinese brands.

Top-Ranking Mentors

Lu Wenlong, executive director of the ICC, introduced the research institute and analyzed the three deficiencies that Chinese brands need to address when going international: first, China owns a few global brands and they rank low; second, the reputation of Chinese brands overseas is found lacking; third, the originality of China's marketing theory is insufficient.

According to Lu, a series of activities will be organized to serve Chinese brands going international, including a China-U.K. brand, economic, and trade forum jointly held by the ICC and the U.K.’s Department for Business and Trade in London. There will also be the process of the collection of excellent cases of Chinese brands going international jointly launched with Xinhuanet. The research institute will also visit leading brand enterprises at home and abroad, and support more Chinese brands to enter the international market with practical actions.

At the event, Dr. Cao Hu, global partner and China and Singapore CEO of Kotler Marketing Group, Ye Jizeng, deputy general manager of Wanglaoji Health Industry Co., Ltd. and president of Guizhou Wanglaoji Ciningji Industry Development Co., as well as representatives of Huawei's business lines, shared strategies and practices of going international from various perspectives. The research institute also appointed distinguished guests as mentors.

Global Strategies

Cao pointed out that Chinese enterprises go through four stages of going international: stage one, carry out normal international trade of products; stage two, distribution channels begin to internationalize; stage three, invest in international localization operations, and stage four, enterprises become global brands. At present, most domestic enterprises are at the second stage, and localized operation in the international market is the next challenge.

According to Cao, from a global perspective, there are also new development drivers for enterprises to go international. First, the shift of the economic center and brand center is happening simultaneously, and it is going through the process of shifting from Europe, the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea, to China. Second, the rapid update of new technological products and new business models has led to the transition from functional products to intelligent products, where intelligence, connectivity, and performance value have become key.

Cao also put forward effective solutions to the seemingly daunting challenges surrounding going global. In the face of the continuous update of international trade rules, enterprises must build flexible and efficient supply chains and adopt innovative and localization strategies to achieve sustainable growth in the international market. Drawing on the U.S. brand reputation lists, he emphasized the importance of brand stories and values, and proposed 10 major characteristics of international marketing in the digital intelligence era, encouraging enterprises to self-evaluate and innovate.

Road to Internationalization

Huawei’s Petal Ads is a smart marketing platform based on the HarmonyOS ecosystem. As a paid display service provided by Huawei for pan-ecosystem partners, Petal Ads aims to help high-quality partners establish a bridge of sincere communication with Huawei device users, deliver information to users, and provide high-quality services. In the process of helping domestic brands to market globally, Petal Ads also advocates experience as a service, empowering enterprises expanding overseas with the capabilities and experience accumulated in decades of global operations. It can help them better adapt to the consumer experience, cultural environment, and channel layout of overseas destinations. Utilizing this platform allows Chinese companies to better stand out from the global competition.

Ye Jizeng shared Wanglaoji's experience in going international. As the top brand in the global natural plant-based beverage market, the global influence and brand value of the time-honored brand should not be underestimated. Its products have been exported to more than 150 countries and regions around the world, showing the unique charm and brand value of traditional Chinese medicine culture. Wanglaoji has adopted a diversified strategy overseas, including online and offline integration, precise customer targeting, brand localization, and product and marketing innovation.

Wanglaoji has made the U.S. a key strategic export market since 2013. Currently its products are available in chain supermarkets such as Costco and H Mart, as well as e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Yamibuy, and Wee.

Wanglaoji opened its first overseas herbal tea museum in New York this April and plans to build 55 more around the world. The museum has established a closer connection and interaction with local consumers and aims to revitalize the U.S. market.

In the process of accelerating its international branding strategy, Wanglaoji has released WALOVI, its international English brand .in the U.S. in April. It aims to enter the international market with a new image and positioning, and further strengthen the awareness of overseas consumers, highlighting a new trend of Chinese time-honored brands going global.

Create the Future Together

Members of the senior management from various enterprises participated in this activity. They include Wang Dong, chief operating officer of Cheerwin Group, Qian Jin, chairman of Dongfang Meichen Media, Zhang Gong, general manager of CTV Golden Bridge International Media, Wang Jiawen, head of product marketing of MINISO, Chen Ru, head of cross-border business of Breo, Lin Shanshan, head of brand marketing of JMGO, Xu Xinji, head of marketing center of Jiangxiaobai Distillery, Huang Huanyu, general manager of Ouying Electronic, Chen Lan, head of corporate strategy/international development business of Kotler China, Yang Feiyue, deputy general manager of Qilu Yidian, Li Peng, general manager of operation center of Shandong Cultural and Tourism Group, Zhang Jing, director of comprehensive management center of Southern Weekly, Zhang Qian, co-founder of NaturElan, Zhou Wei, marketing director of Sinokle Technology, Chen Shu, partner of Wangong Digital, Li Shuming, deputy secretary general of ICC, Sun Zhe, deputy secretary general of ICC and people from Huawei's related businesses.

They believed that this activity not only enhanced the understanding of the importance and strategy of brands going international, but also provided valuable experience and inspiration for Chinese enterprises to successfully go international.

The Navigator branding activity aims to provide convenient learning and practice opportunities for Chinese brands to go international by linking leading brands, platforms, and research institutions in various industries. It aims to build a platform for in-depth communication among and common growth of enterprises through high-end activities.

Its program includes in-depth visits to leading cross-border e-commerce platforms such as TikTok, Amazon, Shein, and AliExpress, as well as visits to companies such as Haier and Yili that have achieved remarkable progress in the international market. These activities will provide members and enterprises with more diversified learning and communication opportunities, help them understand the latest developments in the international market, and gain valuable experience from successful enterprises.