Helping Chinese Brands Go Global

NAVIGATOR is a research institutebuilt by the InternationalCommunication Committee（ICC） of the China AdvertisingAssociation devoted to assisting Chinesebrands go international. Its first activitywas held at Huawei's headquarters inShenzhen， aimed at helping the internationalizationof Chinese brands.

Top-Ranking Mentors

Lu Wenlong， executive director of theICC， introduced the research institute and analyzed the three deficiencies thatChinese brands need to address whengoing international： first， China ownsa few global brands and they rank low;second， the reputation of Chinese brandsoverseas is found lacking; third， theoriginality of China's marketing theory isinsufficient.

According to Lu， a series of activitieswill be organized to serve Chinesebrands going international， including aChina-U.K. brand， economic， and tradeforum jointly held by the ICC and the U.K.s Department for Business and Tradein London. There will also be the processof the collection of excellent cases of Chinesebrands going international jointlylaunched with Xinhuanet. The researchinstitute will also visit leading brandenterprises at home and abroad， andsupport more Chinese brands to enterthe international market with practicalactions.

At the event， Dr. Cao Hu， globalpartner and China and Singapore CEOof Kotler Marketing Group， Ye Jizeng，deputy general manager of WanglaojiHealth Industry Co.， Ltd. and president ofGuizhou Wanglaoji Ciningji Industry DevelopmentCo.， as well as representativesof Huawei's business lines， shared strategiesand practices of going internationalfrom various perspectives. The researchinstitute also appointed distinguishedguests as mentors.

Global Strategies

Cao pointed out that Chinese enterprisesgo through four stages of going international：stage one， carry out normalinternational trade of products; stagetwo， distribution channels begin to internationalize;stage three， invest in internationallocalization operations， and stagefour， enterprises become global brands.At present， most domestic enterprisesare at the second stage， and localized operationin the international market is thenext challenge.

According to Cao， from a global perspective，there are also new developmentdrivers for enterprises to go international.First， the shift of the economiccenter and brand center is happeningsimultaneously， and it is going throughthe process of shifting from Europe， theU.S.， Japan， and the Republic of Korea， toChina. Second， the rapid update of newtechnological products and new businessmodels has led to the transition from functional products to intelligentproducts， where intelligence， connectivity，and performance value have becomekey.

Cao also put forward effective solutionsto the seemingly daunting challengessurrounding going global. In theface of the continuous update of internationaltrade rules， enterprises must buildflexible and efficient supply chains andadopt innovative and localization strategiesto achieve sustainable growth in theinternational market. Drawing on the U.S.brand reputation lists， he emphasizedthe importance of brand stories andvalues， and proposed 10 major characteristicsof international marketing inthe digital intelligence era， encouragingenterprises to self-evaluate and innovate.

Road to Internationalization

Huaweis Petal Ads is a smart marketingplatform based on the HarmonyOSecosystem. As a paid display serviceprovided by Huawei for pan-ecosystempartners， Petal Ads aims to help highqualitypartners establish a bridge ofsincere communication with Huawei deviceusers， deliver information to users，and provide high-quality services. In theprocess of helping domestic brands tomarket globally， Petal Ads also advocatesexperience as a service， empoweringenterprises expanding overseas with thecapabilities and experience accumulatedin decades of global operations. It canhelp them better adapt to the consumerexperience， cultural environment， andchannel layout of overseas destinations.Utilizing this platform allows Chinesecompanies to better stand out from theglobal competition.

Ye Jizeng shared Wanglaoji's experiencein going international. As the topbrand in the global natural plant-basedbeverage market， the global influenceand brand value of the time-honored brand should not be underestimated. Itsproducts have been exported to morethan 150 countries and regions aroundthe world， showing the unique charmand brand value of traditional Chinesemedicine culture. Wanglaoji has adopteda diversified strategy overseas，including online and offline integration，precise customer targeting， brand localization，and product and marketinginnovation.

Wanglaoji has made the U.S. a keystrategic export market since 2013. Currentlyits products are available in chainsupermarkets such as Costco and HMart， as well as e-commerce platformslike Amazon， Yamibuy， and Wee.

Wanglaoji opened its first overseasherbal tea museum in New York thisApril and plans to build 55 more aroundthe world. The museum has establisheda closer connection and interaction withlocal consumers and aims to revitalizethe U.S. market.

In the process of accelerating its internationalbranding strategy， Wanglaojihas released WALOVI， its internationalEnglish brand .in the U.S. in April. It aimsto enter the international market with anew image and positioning， and furtherstrengthen the awareness of overseasconsumers， highlighting a new trendof Chinese time-honored brands goingglobal.

Create the Future Together

Members of the senior managementfrom various enterprises participated inthis activity. They include Wang Dong，chief operating officer of CheerwinGroup， Qian Jin， chairman of DongfangMeichen Media， Zhang Gong， generalmanager of CTV Golden Bridge InternationalMedia， Wang Jiawen， head ofproduct marketing of MINISO， Chen Ru，head of cross-border business of Breo， LinShanshan， head of brand marketing of JMGO， Xu Xinji， head of marketing centerof Jiangxiaobai Distillery， Huang Huanyu，general manager of Ouying Electronic，Chen Lan， head of corporate strategy/international development business ofKotler China， Yang Feiyue， deputy generalmanager of Qilu Yidian， Li Peng， generalmanager of operation center of ShandongCultural and Tourism Group， Zhang Jing，director of comprehensive managementcenter of Southern Weekly ， Zhang Qian，co-founder of NaturElan， Zhou Wei， marketingdirector of Sinokle Technology，Chen Shu， partner of Wangong Digital，Li Shuming， deputy secretary general ofICC， Sun Zhe， deputy secretary generalof ICC and people from Huawei's relatedbusinesses.

They believed that this activity notonly enhanced the understanding of theimportance and strategy of brands goinginternational， but also provided valuableexperience and inspiration for Chinese enterprisesto successfully go international.

The Navigator branding activity aimsto provide convenient learning and practiceopportunities for Chinese brandsto go international by linking leadingbrands， platforms， and research institutionsin various industries. It aims tobuild a platform for in-depth communicationamong and common growth ofenterprises through high-end activities.

Its program includes in-depth visitsto leading cross-border e-commerceplatforms such as TikTok， Amazon，Shein， and AliExpress， as well as visitsto companies such as Haier and Yili thathave achieved remarkable progress inthe international market. These activitieswill provide members and enterpriseswith more diversified learningand communication opportunities， helpthem understand the latest developmentsin the international market， andgain valuable experience from successfulenterprises.