WTO membership will push China to build up brands

China will be a gold mine for the development of successful brands in the new century, with its entry into World Trade Organisation moving along smoothly. As marketeers seek business opportunities in the market, Chinese consumers are themselves on the lookout for new total brand experiences, according to Rodney Fitch Asia managing director Terry Waterhouse. In the next 25 years, Mr Waterhouse reckoned "tremendous change" will occur in China's consumer market. Only well managed brands will live on, while others wil die. These changes will also spark the rise of consumer power in the new century as WTO membership will result in a wider choice of local and international brands, said Mr Waterhouse. Retail marketing will play a crucial role in offering consumers total branding experiences, according to Mr Waterhouse, whose company was founded by one of the leading retail brand designers in the UK, Rodney Fitch. Branding, he stresed, was not just about and advertising campaign. It Also involved the retail aspect as brands should also communicate with the consumers through store decoration and graphic design as well. He said a successful international brand can transcend geographical borders and can create a communication platform on which multiple products can leverage the strength of a single corporate brand around the world. Citing the Virgin brand, Mr Waterhouse said its credibility in the world market had allowed the corporation to create a global branding platform, without the need to replicate branding tactics in various markets. The latter point was pertinent in China. With Chinese consumers becoming more conscious about brands and have developed aspirations unique to their culture and experience, repeating a branding model will not necessarily ensure success in China.

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