The study titled: ‘Top 25 emerging Asian brands’ identified the 25 Asian emerging brands that have the potential to be the next global players. Uniqlo, followed by Tsingtao and Baidu made up the top three.
According to the opinion of brand experts, some of the brands indentified in the top 10 indeed have the potential to go global, but some may have to work a bit harder at it. Important for these brands to note is that, brands that end up travelling well tend to share three characteristics, Nico Stouthard, Director of global marketing consultancy firm Effectivebrands, opines.
The brands need to appeal universally, be purposeful, and must think in terms of total experience for the customer. “If you think about Uniqlo, it clearly appeals to fun quality for the masses, something that we can all understand and appreciate,” says Stouthard.
The fact that these brands carry national characteristics has also helped to push them on to the world stage, experts say. Citing Singapore Airlines as a good example. The brand which is now global, epitomises the Singapore spirit of efficiency and beauty.
Brand Union’s Asia-Pacific head, Alan Couldrey, says that the fact that these brands have a story to tell, also adds to their strength. “They have a brand narrative, and the more that is rooted in something real in their home market it’s easier to go overseas.”
Both experts agreed that heritage and longevity definitely had a huge part to play. “Your heritage determines to a large extend who you are,” says Stouthard. “The longevity is test of how relevant you are over time.”