Catarina's World

Everything and everyone is a product. A country, city, company, product, service and a person. And how the market perceives the product determines its value. It’s sounds cynic, I know. But if you want to be valued and sought for on the market you have to on a continuous basis make sure your brand is in demand and sells.

Does Chanel have a higher turnover in the developing world than in the West? Most likely. But since it’s a private company the information is not available.

Innovating and updating your brand

When a product is a success all of a sudden the brand matures, growth slows and it comes under pressure from competitors. Europe and the US at the moment are good examples. That’s the time to start innovating and spending again if you want to defend your market position. If not, don’t complain if you lose out to your competitors.

Nothing ever stays the same – not even Cornflakes

You may object that some brands, like Cornflakes, or Chanel for that matter, have been around for a long time. But what we buy today is very different from the same product 50 years ago, not least when it comes to packaging and design. If your brand is out of date you will have to make an investment and innovate yourself.  How you want to be perceived depends on what market you are aiming for.

The West needs to get their attraction back

When it comes to countries and continents, Europe and the US have matured and competitors are moving in. But the West seem to take their current status for granted and are not doing enough to defend their market position. What happened to innovation and making their markets more attractive to investors, not to mention more business friendly?

The West is losing out

The market is irrevocably global. That does not mean the concept represent the best of worlds. But the West will continue to lose relative power as a result. It’s ironic isn’t it that thanks to its generosity in exporting the secrets of success, China and other emerging giants are catching up.

Developing nations are not going to cede power to the US and Europe out of gratefulness. So the West needs to face up to reality –  their brand is losing out. It’s time to innovate and make it profitable for businesses again to stop them moving to other parts of the world. If not, the West will gradually trade places with the developing world. 

Photo credit: Panoramas / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

The release of what Jackie Kennedy recorded on tape 47 years ago became headline news all over the world . Seems that people are always going to be fascinated about the Kennedys and the mystery surrounding the time in politics called Camelot and maybe above all the mystique surrounding the assassination of the young handsome president 48 years ago in Dallas.

Their daughter Caroline decided to release Jackie’s thoughts and memories earlier than her mother had wished to coincide with the 50 year anniversary of her father’s inauguration as president. An interesting thing is that it’s not just America that’s still captivated by JFK and Jackie but also the rest of the world. So devote two minutes to watching how AlJazeera in Qatar broadcast it to their audience, mainly in the Middle East.

Friends of mine who knew JFK always say that he was so charming women fell in love with him and men went out of their way to please him. The fascination with him as a person actually started long before he became president. He simply had what it takes to captivate people he came across which may account for some of the glamour attached to him and his family. And it didn’t hurt that he married a woman who knew how to keep the legend of Camelot , and her own mystique, alive and create headlines long after they were both gone.

Jackie expert on branding

It’s probably no coincidence that Jackie was a photo journalist before she got married. She really knew what to do in order to create a high value brand. By not giving interviews when she was alive she kept the mystique about herself and consequently JFK alive. And by behaving that way she contributed to turning herself and her late husband into icons. She actually did such a good job the American people forgave her for marrying Onassis. How can you not forgive an icon?

Can’t help wondering what kind of president John F. Kennedy would have been remembered as if he hadn’t been assassinated? Seems for instance he was going to pull out of Vietnam. What would have been his legacy? Would he and Jackie still be icons today if the shooting in Dallas hadn’t taken place?

Does,not only America, but the world need icons to look up to that they believe embody success, beauty, fame and wealth? People who represent what they dream of? Young, healthy, happy – maybe personifying “the American dream”? Or is it just like tabloid news, the fact that rich and famous people have worse problems than they have make ordinary people happy? To think that at least their husband wasn’t assassinated can be a comfort to some. Would JFK have been the icon he is today if he hadn’t been assassinated? What’s your opinion? Will the Kennedys always fascinate people or will future generations forget and find new icons to fill their place?

(Video: AlJazeeraEnglish/You Tube)

An increasing number of Western brands are launching new products, or even brands, catering to consumers in emerging markets.

Are you developing products catering to the needs and likes of well to do Chinese customers?

That’s where the money is right now, and Western brands are still favored over local ones.The combination of perceived quality with a bit of local tailoring, love or exclusivity is hence an intelligent way of finding new customers.

Products tailored to their needs and wants

Like all consumers, Chinese, Indian, Brazilian, Russian and Middle Eastern consumers are keen on products tailored to their needs, wants and desires, either for practical reasons or simply because of cultural pride.

Affluent Chinese prefer foreign brands

This phenomenon is spawned by the fact that economic and consumption power is shifting towards emerging markets. And considering that, according to McKinsey, affluent Chinese consumers prefer foreign brands to Chinese ones it’s clear that it’s worth while for Western companies to focus on Chinese customers. Add to that the fact that China’s retail sales may outstrip those of the United States already in 2016 and it makes even more sense to cater to the new Chinese middle class.

Shift to emerging markets

China’s wealthy shrugged off the recession. Actually only 8% of them changed their luxury shopping behavior in 2009 (46% of Americans and 51% of Europeans, however did) . Forty four percent of China’s wealthy instead increased their spending during the global downturn.

Global growth moving to BRIC

About 80% of global growth is likely to take place in emerging markets. The figure could go even higher if India were to facilitate imports of luxury goods. Not to mention if commodity prices go even higher which will increase wealth in Russia. So there is a need for Western companies to create both uniqueness and make consumers in emerging markets feel they belong. For companies who manage to do so, the new rich in BRICs offer a world of opportunity.

Some Made for China products

Trendwatching, one of the world’s leading trend firms have singled out some products created by Western companies for Chinese customers. Levi’s dENIZEN, a new jeans brand for Asian/Chinese customers with slimmer fits. For wealthy customers in Shanghai Dior offer very expensive Shanghai Blue Phones. Shang Xia is Hermés’ Chinese brand of ready-to-wear and decorative arts inspired by Chinese culture. When Cloé celebrated five years in China they created a limited edition of Marchi handbags to mark the occasion. The limited edition of BMW’s orange metallic M3 Tiger was very popular in China. Not least since it was released to coincide with the Chinese year of the Tiger.

Apple’s “Designed in California, Made for China”

In Apple’s Shanghai store staff started wearing red t-shirts with that slogan in Mandarin. A play on the words on the back of all iPhones “Designed by Apple in California, assembled in China”. And the Chinese loved it.

Introducing cheaper brands in China

Honda (Li Nian), Nissan (Venucia) and GM (Baojun) are creating and introducing less expensive cars for China since many customers in emerging markets still have less to spend than their counterparts in the West.

So have you jumped on the Made for China bandwagon yet? Or are you aiming for the Indian, Russian, Brazilian or Middle Eastern markets instead – or – as well? If so, what markets have been most successful for you? What new products have proved to be hits in the different countries? If not, can you really afford to ignore the new emerging middle classes?

(Photo: PhotoXpress – chinatiger)

Shouldn’t the EU brand convey the message that Europe is one of the most powerful players in the world? If so, I simply cannot understand the choice of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton for the two top jobs? Bland and unknown leaders like that far from give the image of a leading power. No matter how competent they are they simply fail to convey the right impression. They actually make the EU look irrelevant and I seriously doubt that other world leaders will choose to meet with them instead of key European leaders such as Angela Merkel, and Nicholas Sarkozy.

Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt surrounded by the new EU president Herman Van Rompoy to his right and new Foreign Affairs supremo Lady Ashton to the left. Will electing such bland people turn out to be a smart branding move for the EU?

If so, the idea of the EU to finally speak with one voice globally falls flat since the new EU President and Foreign Affairs Supremo will make no difference whatsoever. They will not, as intended, make the EU as a union more powerful and accessible to world leaders.

The EU needed to elect a president who is a well known and flamboyant leader to attract attention and get its message across. It’s actually hard to see President Herman Van Rompoy becoming headline news for anything short of Europe declaring war on someone.

For years it was talked about Tony Blair becoming president of the EU. And whatever you think of him, you have to admit that he fits the profile of a high powered leader that would make EU policies headline news. Someone like that would be an asset to the brand by forwarding its interests.

But oh no, he didn’t appeal to left wing members in Brussels who consider him too conservative. The EU really managed to live up to its bureaucratic reputation when the wrangling between different blocks resulted in a choice of bland people that will, at best, have a neutral impact on the European Union brand. Simply cannot understand why Europe doesn’t want someone competent with star quality to represent them on a global scale? Someone high powered that leaders in other parts of the world would pay attention to. The kind of horse trading that resulted in the choice of Mr Van Rompuy and Lady Ashton is the EU at its worse. Not only Tony Blair, but all flamboyant candidates were actually rejected.

Imagine that Europe waited six years for the Lisbon Treaty to be ratified and a EU president only to get one that is so grey it makes our part of the world look ridiculous. Shouldn’t the EU compete on the global market place and get the best possible deals for its members? How is that going to be possible for an organisation that doesn’t even understand the need to have a flamboyant president that people are interested in and hence listen to? Is the EU going to be just one big bureaucracy that the rest of the world ignores it and keeps on dealing directly with the leaders of the different member states instead? That would be a pity since all the small EU states will loose out big. Not least the socialist ones that seem to have been a main reason faceless people were elected for the top jobs since nobody feels threatened by them. Seems the EU choose to forget that it’s the flamboyant visionary bosses that change the world. Instead leaders in Brussels opted for the image of keeping its head down. Doesn’t bode good for the future of the European Union.

(Photo: Flickr Foreign and Commonwealth Office/se.2009/eu)