The Ajisen Ramen move to disassociate itself from its Japanese origins came in response to the August 15 landing of Chinese activists on disputed islands—called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese—which was retaliated by a similar landing by Japanese nationalists a few days later.
Japan is also involved in another dispute with South Korea over islets known as Dokdo in the Koreas and Takeshima in Japan. Internationally, they are also called the Liancourt Rocks.
Protesters all over China and South Korea have called for a boycott of Japanese products and some have demonstrated violently against Japanese-brand cars and shops since last month.
Steve Garton, managing director of Ipsos Media CT in Greater China, said the influence of ethnic nationalism is an inevitable hotbed for conflicts. To the people of each region, it is almost like a personal injury inflicted on them simply because it harms their identities.
"There is no logic to the rage and anger expressed," according to Bob Pickard, president and chief executive officer of Burson-Marsteller Asia Pacific. The result is an unfortunate toxic effect on brands, even though the political crisis has absolutely no connection to them.
"The national nervous system of these countries are accelerating pre-established conceptions," Pickard said. "Brands operating within these countries cannot avoid this, but can immunise themselves in future by transcending their brand images across borders."
Pickard believes brands like Samsung, Starbucks and Huawei are examples of brands that are outgrowing their brand origin, thanks to much augmentation in their marketing investment.
The simplistic solution, in such cases, is to aim to become a global brand. "You know you are global, and not just 'a Korean electronics giant' or 'a Chinese handset manufacturer' when you are the number one player in your category by sales in as many regions in the world," he said.
One condition to achieve such brand prowess and to be known in an unaided way in brand recall, is the decentralisation of decision-making, such as the relocation of headquarters from Europe to Asia—a move made by companies such as Nissan and P&G recently.
Ajisen has saved some of its shopfront windows in this manner, by insisting the brand is owned by Hong Kong businessmen. And of course, people still need to eat so that they can smash more windows later.
Nonetheless, this disassociation strategy may not work for luxury brands which generally do not want to veer away from links to their national origins and heritage. "It is a convenient branding shorthand for consumers."
There is no clear answer, but what Pickard could offer was that companies affected by nationalism or protectionism should stick to their brand narratives as usual, and put into effect crisis communications and social listening apparatus.
"Do not get intertwined in national politics and jockeying, beyond your scope of business," he said.
