2016 China Top100 EN

BRAND VALUE RISES 13%
DESPITE TURBULENT YEAR
CONSUMERS PURSUE THE CHINESE DREAM

AS BRANDS EXPAND MOBILE STRATEGIES
TOP 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016
WELCOME
In turbulent times,
brand strength
protects and
propels the winners
Consider these circumstances. An economy slows to 6.9 percent GDP growth from annual
growth of 10 percent or more during much of the past decade. The stock market reaches a
record high in June, loses about a third of its value by the end of summer, but ends the year up,
actually outperforming the S&P 500. These events are the very definition of market volatility.
And they describe the context for the 2016 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands.
David Roth
CEO
The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia
David.Roth@wpp.com
Twitter: davidrothlondon
Blog: www.davidroth.com
The events of Chinas past year

provided the perfect crucible for testing
the fundamental principle behind all
of our BrandZ work, which is that
brand strength provides the fortitude
to endure the most extreme market
fluctuations and emerge successfully.
In these circumstances, would you
expect brand value to decline? Or do
you think brand value might creep up
slightly? Despite the difficult economic
challenges, the value of the 2016
BrandZ China Top 100 rose a healthy
13 percent.
Lets adjust the lens so that we are not

focused on last year alone, but on a
larger timeframe that encompasses the
more than three decades since China
embarked on economic reform, when
the swells of industrial expansion lifted
a lot of brands. Even as the current
turbulence tossed some brands, the
ballast of brand strength stabilized
many others.
Heres one demonstration of brand
strength: The MSCI China, a weighted
index of Chinese stocks ended 2015
10.7 percent lower than its level in
2010. Compare that result with the

performance of a stock portfolio
comprised of brands from the BrandZ
China Top 100 with the highest scores
in Brand Contribution, a BrandZ
measurement of brand strength. Over
the same period, the portfolio of Brand
Contribution leaders rose 103.5 percent.
Lets pull back the lens even further
so we can begin to see the outlines
of future brand growth in China.
Today, the BrandZ China Top 10
still accounts for almost two-thirds
of total ranking value, a legacy of the
production-driven economy and the
central role of state-owned brands.
However, the BrandZ China Top 10
only grew 3 percent in value, while the
growth rate of brands 11-to-100 was
over 30 percent.
These faster-growing brands
predominately are market-driven, as
are nine of the 10 brands that entered
the BrandZ China Top 100 for the
first time. In other words, as China
rebalances to a consumption-driven
economy, the faster growing brands are
those that depend less on government
and more on effectively meeting
consumer needs in ways that are
Different and Meaningful.
THE UNPARALLELED CHINA

RESOURCES OF WPP
Which raises the question, how does
a brand best compete in this rapidly
changing Chinese market? Thats where
we can help. This sixth annual edition
of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands represents a fraction of
the knowledge, insight, and expertise
available from brand experts at WPP
companies in China.
WPP is the worlds communications
services leader. Our companies have
been engaged in China for over 30

years. Today, 15,000 people, including
associates, work across China in Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou and many other
cities. We provide advertising; insight;
branding and identity, direct, digital,
promotion and relationship marketing;
media investment management, retail
and shopper marketing; and public
relations and public affairs. Its all part of
our global presence in 112 countries.
By linking all this talent, creativity, and
wisdom, we amplify global trends and
insights that help our clients in useful
and unique ways. We call this powerful
perspective horizontality. It includes
our unrivaled Brand resource library,
which we invite you to access. Along
with the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands, the library
includes these titles: the BrandZ
Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands;
the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands; the BrandZ Top 50
Most Valuable Latin American Brands;
Indonesian Brands; and Spotlight on
Myanmar - the Leapfrog Nation.
Youll also find insights about the
Chinese market in these BrandZ
reports: Unmasking the Individual
Chinese Investor; The Power and
Potential of the Chinese Dream; The
Chinese New Year in Next Growth
Cities; and The Chinese Golden Weeks
in Fast Growth Cities. To download
these and other BrandZ reports,
please visit www.brandz.com. For the
interactive BrandZ mobile apps go to
www.brandz.com/mobile.
The backbone of all this intelligence
remains the WPP proprietary BrandZ,
the worlds largest, customer-focused
source of brand equity knowledge
and insight. It is big data at its biggest,
with 4.5 billion individual data points.
Using the BrandZ brand valuation

methodology of Millward Brown, a
WPP company, we analyze relevant
corporate financial data and strip away
everything that doesnt pertain to
the branded business. Then we take
a critical step that makes BrandZ
unique and definitive among brand
valuation methodologies.
We conduct ongoing, in-depth
quantitative consumer research with
more than 200,000 consumers
annually, across over 50 markets, to
assess consumer attitudes about, and
relationships with, over 100,000 brands.
Our database includes information
from over three million consumer
interviews. It reveals the power of the
brand in the mind of the consumer
that creates predisposition to buy
and, most importantly, validates a
positive correlation with better sales
performance.
At WPP, were passionate about using
our creativity to create and build strong,
differentiated brands that deliver lasting
shareholder value. To learn more about
how to apply our experience and
expertise to benefit your brand, please
contact any of the WPP companies
that contributed expertise to this report.
Turn to the resource section at the end
of this report for summaries of each
company and the contact details of key
executives. Or feel free to contact me
directly.
Sincerely,
David Roth
CEO
The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia
David.Roth@wpp.com
Twitter: davidrothlondon
Blog: www.davidroth.com
TOP
100 1
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
100
29
TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE

CHINESE BRANDS
99
98
Five of the Top 10 brands

are market-driven
13%
LETV
$2.8 billion
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 32
Technology
81%
$1.9 billion
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 40
Technology
73%
32
FIRST TIME:
TOP 100
TOTAL VALUE
INCREASED
$411 million
State-Owned
Brand Value Rank 80
Insurance
70%
$3.3 billion
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 26
Retail
68%
$389 million
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 82
Home Appliances
59%
$273 million
State-Owned
Brand Value Rank 95
Home Appliances
59%
$2.5 billion
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 33
Home Appliances
54%
$15.5 billion
State-Owned
Brand Value Rank 10
Insurance
53%
$11.5 billion
State-Owned
Brand Value Rank 13
Alcohol
51%
$724 million
Market-Driven
Brand Value Rank 63
Home Appliances
49%
Market-driven brands comprise

over half the value of the
BrandZ China Top 100.
95
$57.2 BIL.
$47.6 BIL.
$34.3 BIL.
$26.8 BIL.
$19.7 BIL.
$18.5 BIL.
TECHNOLOGY
Market-Driven
TELECOM PROVIDERS
State-Owned
RETAIL
Market-Driven
BANKS
State-Owned
TECHNOLOGY
Market-Driven
BANKS
State-Owned
TECHNOLOGY
Market-Driven
2
2%
3
-20%
4
-1 %
6
-6%
5
-13%
BANKS
State-Owned
7
NEW
8
5%
$15.6 BIL.
$15.5 BIL.
INSURANCE
Market-Driven
INSURANCE
State-Owned
9
41%
10
53%
35
93
94
1
24%
$16.2 BIL.
34
$82.1 BIL.
33
96
97
31
$525.6 BILLION
TOP 10 RISERS
30
BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016 Total Brand Value
92
NEWCOMER BRANDS
OVERSEAS REVENUE
Technology - Market-Driven
91
Top 100 Rank
Retail - Market-Driven
15
90
Jewelry Retailer - Market-Driven
Airlines - Market-Driven
93
Top 100 Rank
99
Top 100 Rank
68%
86
61%
3
Brands
4
Brands
Total Category Value
$1.6 Bil.
$2.0 Bil.
50%
10
Brands
44%
6
Brands
Airlines
Travel
Agencies
Cars
Technology
Home
Appliances
Alcohol
Furniture
39%
39%
38%
32%
31%
30%
29%
10
Brands
7
Brands
11
Brands
1
Brand
5
Brands
2
Brands
3
Brands
$2.0Bil.
$11.5 Bil.
$2.6Bil.
$141.1 Bil.
$8.5 Bil.
$20.8 Bil.
$462 Mil.
Hotels
Healthcare
11%
83
$1.1 Bil.
Education
Banks
5%
3%
3%
3%
3
Brands
2
Brands
6
Brands
9
Brands
$1.4 Bil.
$15.0 Bil.
$98.8 Bil.
Retail
Oil & Gas
Catering
Apparel
3
Brands
4
Brands
2
Brands
1
Brand
3
Brands
$70.9 Bil.
$61.0 Bil.
-1%
-2%
$23.4 Bil.
$342 Mil.
Baby Care
Soft Drinks
NEW
NEW
1
Brand
1
Brand
$1.3 Bil.
$460 Mil.
-15%
-29%
$398 Mil.
-46%
46
81
$5.8 Bil.
Telecom
Providers
45
Download the Mobile app

www.brandz.com/mobile
10
Food &
Dairy
44
3
Brands
82
5 CATEGORIES NEW 2 NEW CATEGORIES
43
$40.6 Bil.
84
$14.4 Bil.
Insurance
$ Total Brand Value
42
61%
Real
Estate
Brand Value $1.5 billion

Market-Driven
Technology
41
85
Jewelry
Retailer
50%
40
Personal
Care
87
88
CATEGORY VALUE CHANGES
Brand Value
$18.5 billion
Market-Driven
Technology
Brand Value $3.8 billion

State-Owned
Technology
39
Revenue % from International Business
16 CATEGORIES
62%
Cars - State-Owned
98
89
81
69
38
76
Personal Care - Market-Driven
52
37
Top 100 Rank
31
Mizone
Soft Drinks - Market-Driven
Baby Care - Market-Driven
Youku Tudou
Technology - Market-Driven
Real Estate - Market-Driven
36
Three brands derived at least half of their revenue from overseas business.
www.brandz.com
80
47
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
INTRODUCTION
SIX CRITICAL
OBSERVATIONS
FOR BUILDING
BRAND VALUE
14 OVERVIEW
60 1. CONSUMER INSIGHT:
20 BRANDZ CHINA
TOP 100 STOCK

PORTFOLIO
24 TOP LINE RESULTS
Top 100 rises 13%
in difficult year
Market-driven brands now
over half of ranking value
Consumer mood is
optimistic; priorities changing
Chinese brands close Brand
Power gap with MNCs
36 THE CHINESE DREAM

40 ECONOMY,
DEMOGRAPHICS, AND
CONNECTIVITY
42 CROSS CATEGORY
TRENDS
50 TAKE AWAYS
54 OUR INSIGHTS
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
90
92
96
REPUTATION:
Decline in Corporate Reputation
impacts both multinational
and Chinese brands
76 5. DIGITAL
COMMUNICATION:
Consumers are on mobile, but
engaging them is challenging
80 6. CREATIVE QUALITY:
Big ideas turn media into magic
82 OUR INSIGHTS
RESOURCES
108 THE CHINA TOP 100
200 MARKET SEGMENTATION
228 BrandZ Valuation Methodology
RANKING
Sports Marketing
115
98
PHYSICAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITY
Top 20 in Brand Contribution

Newcomers
Top 20 in Global Revenue
BRAND AS CAPITAL ASSET
Top 20 Risers in Brand Value
By Doreen Wang, Global Head

of BrandZ, Millward Brown
102
THE NEW NORMAL
THE CHINA TOP 100

BRANDS IN BRIEF
144 THE TOP PERFORMERS
By Leon Zhang, Director,

Millward Brown Vermeer
72 4. INNOVATION:
Drives brand value and greater
market penetration
E-COMMERCE
By Oceanne Zhang,
Director of Retail Insights and
E-Commerce, Kantar Retail
Chinese brands must

communicate Difference
68 3. CORPORATE
BRAND BUILDING
PERSPECTIVES
By Jason Yu, General Manager,

Kantar Worldpanel China
Price matters, but consumers

now seek quality and premium
64 2. DIFFERENCE:
DIGITAL
THE CHINA
TOP 100
158
By Charles Laporte Aust, Vice President

and Jacco ter Schegget,
President, OgilvyOne China
188
CATEGORY UPDATE
By John Kristick, Global CEO and Jin

Wei Toh, Regional Head, APAC
ESP Properties
Youth Marketing
232 BrandZ Reports,

Apps and iPad Magazines
234 WPP Companies
Senior Marketing
236 WPP Company
By Theresa Loo, Chief Knowledge

Officer and Lily Xiong, Associate
Research Director, Ogilvy & Mather
China with Zod Fang, Director, GroupM
Knowledge China and Liu Yu,
Vice President, GeTui
210 CHANGING MEDIA
LANDSCAPE
Categories in Brief
Managing Change and

Complexity
Maneesh Choudhary, Head of Client
Service and Solutions and Jenny Ma,
Group Account Director, Millward
Brown Beijing
Edward Cheng,
Corporate Vice President,
Tencent
E-commerce and M-commerce
Wang Zhenghua,
Chairman, Spring Airlines
Social Media
192 OUR INSIGHTS
and Definitions
By Lucy Yu, Business Development

Director, Millward Brown
Category Overview
Q&A WITH SENIOR

EXECUTIVES OF TOP
100 BRANDS
230 BrandZ Eligibility
Contributors
242 WPP Company

Brand Building Experts
244 BrandZ China Top 100 Team

and Acknowledgments
246 About WPP

247 Brands Valuation Contact Details
248 WPP in China
249 BrandZ Online and Mobile
By Nils Roehrig, Chief Digital Officer,

GroupM China
By Sam Flemming, Founder & CEO,

Monica Zhao, Head of Research
Innovation, Kantar Media CIC and
Theresa Loo, Chief Knowledge Officer,
Ogilvy & Mather
Agency Response
By Patrick Xu, CEO, GroupM China
224 OUR INSIGHTS
PEOPLE SEE THE CHINESE DREAM

OF A BETTER LIFE ON THE NEAR HORIZON.
01
OVERVIEW
BRANDZ CHINA TOP 100 STOCK PORTFOLIO
TOP LINE RESULTS
THE CHINESE DREAM
ECONOMY AND DEMOGRAPHICS
CROSS CATEGORY TRENDS
TAKE AWAYS
OUR INSIGHTS
INTRODUCTION
12
13
01 > Introduction
OVERVIEW
Value rises 13%

despite slower
economy and
stock market slide
OPTIMISTIC CONSUMERS MOBILIZE
TO PURSUE CHINESE DREAM
The BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands
2016 increased 13 percent
in value, a lower increase
than the previous year, but
a strong performance at a
time when Chinas economy
slowed and the stock market
fluctuated with extreme highs
and lows. In this choppier
period, brand strength
became an even more critical
success determinant.
14
A stock portfolio comprised of the

BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands demonstrated the
impact of brand strength. It significantly
outperformed the MSCI China, a
weighted index of Chinese stocks,
increasing over time and protecting
gains even during the stock market
tumult, when the MSCI lost value.
(Please see related story.)
In a historic inflection, the majority
of value in the BrandZ China Top
100 shifted to market-driven from
state-owned brands. The technology
category, especially mobile Internet
brands, rose in prominence, as
the stimulus of Chinas economic
growth continued to rebalance from
production to consumption.
For the first time, market-driven brands

produced over half the total value of the
BrandZ China Top 100, 51 percent,
and five of the Top 10 brands were
market-driven. Just two years ago only
two of the Top 10 were market-driven.
Signaling enormous potential, brands
ranked 11-to-100 grew over 30 percent
in value, while the Top 10 grew only 3
percent. Currently, the Top 10 produce
almost two-thirds of total value.
Similarly, nine of the 10 brands that
joined the BrandZ China Top 100 for
the first time were market-driven.
In addition, Chinese brands achieved
parity with multinational brands
in Brand Power, the BrandZ

measurement of brand equity. Brand
Power parity means that Chinese and
multinationals are in many ways equally
competitive. And the trend favors
Chinese brands. In 2010, multinationals
scored 115 in Brand Power and
Chinese brands scored 89. Today both
score 100, which is average.
Technology, a category comprised

of market-driven brands, accounted
for 27 percent of BrandZ China Top
100 value. Two years ago, technology
produced just 16 percent of value.
At that time banks accounted for the
largest segment of brand value, 30
percent. Banks now contribute less
than a fifth.
TECHNOLOGY AND
MOBILE DRIVE VALUE
Two technology brands, online

video provider Letv, and NetEase, the
developer of Internet technology and
games, registered the largest yearon-year brand value increases, 81
percent and 73 percent, respectively.
Four technology brands were among
brands that derived a major portion
of revenue from overseas business:
The rising value contribution of

market-driven brands is also reflected
in the relative proportion of value
contributed by the 23 categories
examined in the 2016 BrandZ
China Top 100 ranking.
telecommunications giant Huawei;

Lenovo, a world-leading computer
and mobile technology company;
smartphone maker ZTE; and Tencent,
the Internet portal.
Three of the five market-driven brands
in the Top 10 are in the technology
category, including Huawei, which
joined the BrandZ China Top
100 for the first time. The other
technology brands in the Top 10 are
Tencent, Chinas most valuable brand,
which rose 24 percent in brand value
after almost doubling in value a year
ago, and the search engine Baidu. In
addition, online marketplace JD.com,
a strong challenger to Alibaba,
entered the ranking at number 15.
15
01 > Introduction
OVERVIEW
Meanwhile, Alibaba, number three in

the BrandZ China Top 100, continued
to expand its ecosystem with the
acquisition of the video entertainment
brand Youku Tudou, which joined the
BrandZ China Top 100 for the first
time, at number 52. BrandZ lists
e-commerce brands, like JD.com
and Alibaba, in the retail category, but
these brands illustrate the impact of
technology, and specifically mobile
engagement with consumers.
Of Chinas 668 million Internet users,
89 percent, 594 million users, accessed
the Internet with a mobile device, as
of June 2015, according to the China
Internet Information Center (CNNIC).
Brands increasingly rely on mobile to
engage with Chinese consumers and
assist their efforts to realize the Chinese
Dream of a better life for themselves
and their families. Consumers spend
over two hours a day on their mobile
devices, according to Millward Browns
AdReaction study.
CONSUMERS OPTIMISTIC
DESPITE TURBULENT
MARKET
Despite the slower economy and
the erratic stock market, Chinese
consumers remained optimistic that
they would achieve the Chinese
Dream over the next decade, and they
continued to spend both on necessities
and even on big-ticket items. Some
postponed buying a car or home, but
few canceled those purchase plans.
Reflecting greater consumer buying
power and sophistication, shopping
patterns changed. The growth rate of
FMCG sales declined as consumers
shopped less frequently. They sought
to save money on items viewed as
commodities, while for other items,
16
particularly in personal care and

healthcare, consumers willingly paid a
premium when justified.
Research by WPP revealed these
consumer trends, which impacted the
brands and categories examined in
the BrandZ China Top 100 ranking.
A BrandZ report investigated
the attitudes and behaviors of the
consumers who were also small
investors in the China stock market.
Kantar Worldpanel examined changing
shopping patterns. (Please see consumer
mood story.)
Consumers were also more skeptical
and impatient with products of low
quality or unacceptable safety standards.
Corporate Reputation in China declined
from a score of 101, around average, to a
below average score of 97, as measured
by RepZ, a BrandZ metric. The decline
in Corporate Reputation touched both
local Chinese brands and multinational
brands operating in China. (Please see
Corporate Reputation story.)
However, consumers sustained their
optimism even as GDP growth slowed
to 6.9 percent, the Shanghai Composite
Index lost about a third of its value during
the summer of 2015, and external forces
also battered the economy, including
the drop in crude oil prices, which ended
2015 at $37 a barrel.
The government reinforced consumer
optimism. Following government
intervention, the Shanghai Composite
Index rebounded, and ended the year
up over 12 percent, beating the S&P 500.
Consumers also have faith in realization
of the Chinese Dream of a more
prosperous, equitable, and internationally
respected nation, as first articulated by Xi
Jinping three years ago.
17
01 > Introduction
OVERVIEW
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
ADVANCE THE CHINESE
DREAM
rollout of 4G and the move to 5G. The

2015 World Internet Conference, held
in China, drew attention to China as an
Internet technology leader.
President Xi and the Chinese

government introduced several
domestic and international measures
to advance the Chinese Dream. The
Belt and Road initiative is intended to
connect China with nearby and more
distant trading partners. It references the
Silk Road, the network of trading routes
that laced China and the surrounding
territories starting with the Han Dynasty
around 2,000 years ago.
In his speech at the World Internet

Conference, and in his personal
diplomacy, Xi has demonstrated
determination to raise the international
profile of China and facilitate trade.
Since taking office in 2013, Xi has visited
over 30 countries, in part to strengthen
strategic commercial relationships with
countries and regions, including India,
Russia, the UK, the US, and Middle East.
The government also accelerated

development of a virtual network with
Internet+, the plan to prepare China for
economic growth in a post-industrial,
connected world of mobile devices, big
data, cloud computing and the Internet
of Things. Chinas three state-owned
telecom providers accelerated the
To stimulate domestic consumption, the

government introduced cross border
e-commerce zones with lower tariffs
on imported merchandise. Chinese
consumers enjoyed lower online prices
and faster delivery for imported goods.
The first cross border e-commerce
zone was established in March 2015, in
Implications
for Brands
Hangzhou. The government plans to set

up zones in Shanghai, Guangzhou and
10 other cities.
In another step to stimulate economic
growth, the government rescinded
Chinas one child policy. Larger families
are expected to impact just about every
category of products and services,
including food and dairy, education, real
estate, and baby care. The introduction
of the baby care category in the
BrandZ China Top 100 this year is a
preview of the anticipated growth.
Government limitations on extravagant
official entertainment or gift giving,
aimed at curtailing corruption, continued
to impact certain categories, like alcohol.
But many of the most successful brands
have effectively repositioned and now
reach a wider audience, through broader
distribution channels with more modest
pricing.
With all these changes, China remains a
They prefer to watch video ads on TV. But
singular opportunity for brand growth
they spend more than half of their screen-
but a more complicated and competitive
watching time on mobile devices, primarily
opportunity. Growth is slower and the
smartphones.
greatest potential is deeper in the country

and harder to reach. Using the Internet,
Finally, the geography of Chinese brand
particularly mobile, brands are engaging
competition is changing. An encounter with
with consumers in smaller cities, towns and
a Chinese brand can happen anywhere in
villages, and strengthening relationships
the world. Ten years ago, only one Chinese
with customers in the coastal cities. These
brand, China Mobile, ranked in the BrandZ
dynamics affect all brands regardless of
Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. Today,
ownership.
14 Chinese brands are included in the Global

ranking, and that number is expected to rise
For multinational brands, being foreign is no
as Chinese brands build global presence.
longer an adequate differentiator because
For example, Haier, the home appliances
local Chinese brands have caught up in
brand, is expected to firmly establish in the
Brand Power, the BrandZ measurement
US with the acquisition of General Electrics
of brand equity. And Chinese brands, both
appliance division.
state-owed and market-driven, have invested

heavily to build Salience and be easily
Brand success in China requires high
recalled when a consumer is in a purchasing
awareness, meaningful differentiation,
mind frame. But Salience alone is insufficient
compelling creative work and an integrated
without being Different in a Meaningful way.
media plan, with traditional and mobile
Chinese brands need to build Difference.
components, to reach Chinese consumers at

the right time with the appropriate message
Photo by David Roth
18
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit to the United Kingdom in October 2015.
At the same time, communicating and
in the most effective medium. More than
engaging with consumers has become more
ever, brand builders need the combination
challenging because of changing media
of strategic thinking and effective execution
habits. Over half of all media investment will
of a chess champion or, even better, a
be spent on digital in 2016, GroupM predicts.
master of XiangQi, the Chinese board game
And reaching consumers can be tricky.
invented during the Han Dynasty.
19
01 > Introduction - Overview
STOCK PERFORMANCE
Stock portfolios of
the most valuable
Chinese brands
outperform market
The extreme fluctuations of
Chinas stock market in 2015
provided a stress test for the
resilience of brands and the
correlation between brand
strength and shareholder
return on investment.
During the early part of the year, the

stock market rose sharply as investors
pursued opportunities to make rapid
profits. This activity continued to
drive up stock prices until the bubble
burst, on June 12. Following an initial
recovery and government intervention,
the market fell sharply again, on
August 24.
Between June and September, the
Shanghai Composite Index lost about
a third of its value, before recovering
some value by the end of the year.
The MSCI China, a weighted index
of Chinese stocks ended 2015 10.7
percent lower than its level in 2010.
In sharp contrast, the BrandZ China
Top 100 Portfolio ended the year 43.1
percent above its 2010 level. This stock
portfolio consists of all the brands in
Chinese Brands.
A separate stock portfolio of the

brands in the BrandZ China Top 100
with the strongest Brand Contribution
was up 103.5 percent since 2010.
Brand Contribution is a BrandZ
measurement of brand strength, the
influence of brand alone on earnings,
with other factors stripped away.
In other words, $100 invested in the
MSCI China in 2010 would be worth
only about $90 today. That $100
invested in the BrandZ China Top
100 would be worth $143, and it would
more than double to $204 in the Brand
Contribution Portfolio because of
the brand strength of the component
stocks.
These results demonstrate several
important realities: (1) brand strength
provides stability, even in the most
volatile market conditions; (2)
investments brands made to build
value are measurably rewarded in the
stock market; and (3) valuable brands
deliver superior shareholder returns.
Valuable brands deliver superior shareholder returns

BrandZ China Portfolios vs. MSCI China July 2010 to January 2016
180%
160%
140%
120%
103.5%
100%
80%
60%
43.1%
40%
20%
0%
-10.7%
-20%
JUL 2010
JAN 2011
JUL 2011
JAN 2012
JUL 2012
JAN 2013
JUL 2013
JAN 2014
JUL 2014
JAN 2015
JUL 2015
JAN 2016
BrandZ China Brand Contribution Portfolio (Brands in the China Top 100 ranked highest in Brand Contribution. Brand Contribution is a BrandZ measurement of brand strength)
BrandZ China Top 100 Portfolio (All China Top 100 brands)
MSCI China (a weighted index of Chinese stocks)
Source: BrandZ / Millward Brown, Bloomberg
For extensive analysis of attitudes and behavior influencing the

Chinese stock market and the impact on brands, please see
Unmasking the Individual Chinese Investor,

a new BrandZ research report, available at brandz.com.
20
21
A MBITIONS A ND ENERGY SOA R W ITH POSSIBILITIES

I N T H E M O R E M A R K E T- D R I V E N E C O N O M Y.
01 > Introduction - Top Line Results
TOP 100 GROWTH
Top 100 value

rise keeps pace
with rate of Top
100 Global brands
13%
BrandZ Top 100 Most

2016 Total Brand Value
$525.6 BILLION
24
The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016 increased 13
percent in value to $525.6 billion. Although the increase is lower than the 22
percent rise a year ago, brand value rose despite the countervailing forces of
Chinas slower economic expansion and extreme stock market fluctuations.
Chinas GDP growth slowed to 6.9 percent

in 2015, down from 7.3 percent the prior
year, according to Chinas National Bureau
of Statistics. The Shanghai Composite lost
about a third of its value between June and
September before recovering by the end
of the year. Brands were not immune to
this volatility, of course, but inoculated with
high Brand Power the most valuable brands
survived and even thrived. Brand Power is
the BrandZ measurement of brand equity.
A comparison of the stock market

performance of MSCI China, a weighted
index of Chinese stocks, and the BrandZ
Portfolio of the Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands, shows that in January 2016,
the MSCI was down 10.7 percent from its
2010 level, while the BrandZ China Top
100 Portfolio was up 43.1 percent. A related
China BrandZ Top 100 stock portfolio
comprised of brands with exceptional brand
strength more than doubled in value over
the same period.
The BrandZ China Top 100 grows

13 percent
And the China Top 100 keeps pace with

Global Top 100
The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016 increased 13
percent in value to $525.6 billion, after growing 22 percent a year earlier.
The 13 percent growth rate of the BrandZ China Top 100 was comparable
to the 14 percent brand value change of the BrandZ Global Top 100.
33%
India Top 50
$379.8 +22%
Billion
$464.2
Billion
2015
+13%
$525.6
Billion
2016
14%
Global Top 100
13%
China Top 100
2014
LatAm Top 50
2014 to 2016 BrandZ China Top 100 Value Change
2%
BrandZ ranking growth rates

Source: BrandZ / Millward Brown
These results demonstrate that brand strength

provides stability, even in the most volatile market
conditions; investments brands make to build value
are measurably rewarded in the stock market; and
valuable brands deliver superior shareholder returns.
While market volatility and global economic forces,
including the low prices for crude oil, pressured
certain brands and categories, they also opened
opportunities for smaller, entrepreneurial brands, able
to perform with more agility than some of the State
Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
Implications
for Brands
Economic and stock market fluctuations
The China BrandZ Top 10 grew only 3 percent in

value, as it transitions to market-driven brands, while
lower ranks, filled with market-driven brands, grew
sharply in value; brands ranked 11-to-50 increased 36
percent and 51-to-100 increased 34 percent.
are inevitable in a market-driven economy.

However, brands do not inevitably need to rise
and fall extremely with the economic cycles. A
strong brand, or brand equity, strengthens the
brand immune system and helps moderate the
Considered in a worldwide context, the 2016 China

BrandZ Top 100 13 percent increase is comparable
to the 14 percent brand value rise of the BrandZ
Global Top 100. It was faster than the growth rate
of the BrandZ Latam Top 50, but slower than the
BrandZ India Top 50, which experienced exceptional
growth, driven by a robust economy, consumer
empowerment, and financial sector strength.
impact of economic swings.

Even when external forces impact competitors,
resilient, strong brands can grow in value, gain
market share, achieve strong financial results,
and deliver superior returns to investors.
25
MARKET-DRIVEN BRANDS
Market-driven
brands now exceed
half of ranking
value for first time
Market-driven brands
comprise over half the brand
value of the BrandZ Top
100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands for the first time since
the ranking was introduced
in 2011. In addition, the China
Top 10 is now evenly split
between market-driven and
state-owned brands.
These developments demonstrate

how Chinas economy is changing in
fundamental ways as the government
invites more market competition to
enable private enterprises, encourage
consumption, create wealth, and
distribute it more equitably. The
BrandZ results also signify the
growing importance of brands.
rebalancing the economy. This

process is not completed overnight,
even in China, however the results of
the BrandZ China Top 100 indicate
how extensively change is happening.
Market-driven brands now comprise 51
percent of the BrandZ China Top 100
brand value, compared with only 29
percent, in 2014.
Since 1978, when Deng Xiaoping

first introduced market reforms,
Chinese consumers have experienced
a government-driven economic
transformation that created or
improved products and services in
most sectors of the economy. Today,
Chinese consumers want more. The
brand choices they make will help
shape the countrys prosperity over the
next period of economic change.
Over those three years, the amount

of BrandZ China Top 100 value
driven by State Owned Enterprises
(SOEs) declined to 49 percent from 71
percent. Similarly, five of the Top 10
brands are market-driven in the 2016
BrandZ China Top 100, compared
with only two brands in 2014. And five
of the Top 10 are SOEs, compared
with eight three years ago. Perhaps
more important than changes over
the past three years, is the potential for
even greater change throughout the
BrandZ China Top 100 ranking.
It is only around three years since

Xi Jinping articulated the idea of
26
Market-driven brands are 51 percent

of Top 100 Value
And half of the Top 10 are

market-driven
Market-driven brands comprise over half of the value of the BrandZ

Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands for the first time.
The BrandZ China Top 10 is now evenly split between

market-driven and state-owned brands.
71%
29%
2014
2014
53%
47%
2015
2015
49%
51%
2016
2016
State-Owned
Market-Driven
State-Owned
Market-Driven
Share of China Top 100 value by ownership
Number of brands in China Top 10

27
MARKET-DRIVEN BRANDS
Value is still concentrated at the top

of the ranking. The Top 10 produce
64 percent of the value. However,
the value growth rate of the Top 10
is declining, while value growth rate
is increasing dramatically throughout
the rest of the ranking. The value of
the BrandZ China Top 10 increased
by only 3 percent; but the brands
ranked 11-to-50 rose 36 percent in
brand value, and brands ranked 51to-100 rose 34 percent.
Market-driven brands, which grew
22 percent in brand value, drove this
distribution of value throughout the
ranking, primarily. But Competitive
SOEs grew 20 percent in brand
value. Competitive SOEs are stateowned brands in consumer-facing
categories, like food and dairy, where
brand equity is an important success
determinant. In contrast, Strategic
SOEs grew only 3 percent in brand
value. These brands, in categories
like oil and gas, are closely aligned
with the government and involved
with policy implementation.
This contrast, between higher value/
slower growth brands toward the top
of the ranking and lower value/faster
growth brands toward the bottom,
means that over time the BrandZ
China Top 100 should begin to
resemble the BrandZ Global Top
100 where the Top 10 account for
only 35 percent of value, which is
much more evenly distributed.
Brands below Top 10 grow faster in brand value
SOEs decline in Different
The rate of Top 10 value growth is declining, while throughout the rest of the BrandZ China Top 100
ranking the rate of value growth is increasing dramatically.
Between 2014 and 2016, SOEs declined 14 points in Different, from a score of
119 to 105. SOEs are still better than average, a score of 100, in Different. But if
the steady decline continues, SOEs will become more vulnerable to marketdriven competitors.
22%
13%
Total Value
28%
3%
Ranking 1 - 10
10%
36%
Ranking 11 - 50
18%
34%
Ranking 51 - 100
State-Owned
Market-Driven
-2
+1
DIFFERENT
-14
-0
SALIENT
+12
+10
MEANINGFUL
Change in Brand Power component scores 2014 to 2016

2014 vs. 2015

2015 vs. 2016
BrandZ China Top 100 Brand Value year-on-year change by ranking range
And value is distributed more evenly in the Global 100 vs.

the China 100
Implications for Brands
Brand value is concentrated at the top of the BrandZ China Top 100, compared with the BrandZ
Global Top 100, where value is more evenly distributed throughout the ranking. However, fast-growing
market-driven brands are driving rapid value rise lower in the BrandZ China 100 ranking, while value is
growing at a fairly even pace throughout the Global ranking.
43%
22%
35%
19%
BrandZ Global
Top 100
2014 vs. 2015
14%
8%
5%
31%
3%
BrandZ China
Top 100
2015 vs. 2016
64%
36%
These results suggest that the
And SOEs, now under greater
These challengers have an
Chinese market is more open
pressure, need to project
important opportunity. Often
to competition, but they do
more than Salience to remain
fast-growing, energetic
not say that success is assured.
competitive. SOEs also need
brands lower in the ranking,
Challenging well-known, well-
to rebuild Difference, which
they receive less media and
established SOEs still requires
eroded over time because
investor attention than the
having a product or service
SOEs won with dominance,
better-known, higher value
that benefits the consumer
not Difference. It is critical for
brands. With communications
in a Different and Meaningful
SOEs to differentiate now, in
and promotion investment
way, along with investment to
a rebalancing economy, with
these brands, with important
communicate those benefits
more competition from market-
stories to tell, could draw more
and build Salience.
driven challengers.
attention from media, investors,

and customers.
34%
Ranking 1 - 10
Ranking 11 - 50
Ranking 51 - 100
% Brand value year-on-year change

28
29
CONSUMER MOOD
Optimistic
consumers spend,
but priorities
begin to change
Faith in government to fix

problems drives optimism
in stock market
Investors who feel optimistic about Chinas stock
market offer believe the government is trying to
improve the economy.
59
58
52
22
1
The government is trying to improve overall economy
The government is issuing new trading policy
The system of the stock market is turning transparent
and mature
The government will rescue the stock market
performance
Others
Why do you feel optimistic about Chinas stock market?
Chinese consumers had many reasons to feel pessimistic last year. But they
did not. Despite the slowdown in economic growth and extreme stock market
fluctuations, Chinese felt optimistic about the economy and the stock market.
These factors only had a modest effect on spending, even for big-ticket purchases.
The rate of spending on fast moving
consumer goods (FMCG) is declining
because consumers are becoming
more pragmatic and sophisticated
as shoppers. Consumers sought
discounts in the FMCG categories
they viewed as commodities. In other
FMCG categories, especially related
to personal health, consumers were
willing to pay a premium. With growing
disposable income, Chinese consumers
also are spending more on travel and
entertainment.
Kantar Worldpanel analyzed the

FMCG shopping patterns of Chinese
households.
These findings are contained in

two recent WPP reports. BrandZ
research examined the attitudes and
behaviors of Chinas individual investors
toward the end of 2015, after the
stock market declined precipitously.
Around three-quarters of Chinese

individual investors also feel optimistic
about the economy. Two-thirds of
the optimists believe that Chinas
economy is in transition and will
become healthier. A somewhat smaller
Almost three-quarters of Chinas small

investors feel optimistic about the
stock market based on faith that the
government will continue to drive
economic growth and correct any
stock market difficulties along the way.
These attitudes are fairly consistent
across age, gender, income, city of
residence and investment experience.
And faith in government

drives optimism about the
economy
group, 60 percent, is confident that the

government is trying to improve the
economy. And for 55 percent, Chinas
increased international stature reassures
them about the nations economy.
Their optimism is reflected in the vitality
of the retail industry, which grew at a
monthly rate of 10 percent or more
during 2015, according to Chinas
National Bureau of Statistics. Retail
spending also is indicative of Chinas
economic growth driver shifting from
production to consumption. Although
the 6.9 percent annual GDP growth in
2015 was less than half of GDP growth
at its peak, in 2007, consumption
now contributes a greater proportion
to GDP, which is also comprised of
investment and net exports.
The pessimists, a minority, worry that
economy is declining, inflation is rising,
and housing prices are high. Some
expressed concern about Chinas
declining volume of exports. Not

surprisingly, high housing prices was
a greater source of pessimism among
younger people, ages 18-to-30.
Because of the general optimistic
frame of mind, over 80 percent of
investors surveyed in the BrandZ
report said that the stock market
volatility would have little or no effect
on their spending. They expected
to limit cutbacks for necessities and
moderate spending for luxuries and
entertainment, if necessary.
They also planned to continue spending
for telecommunications services and
education. Big-ticket spending was well
protected, too. Few people planned to
cancel the purchase of a car, home or
vacation because of the stock market
setbacks. Most may postpone purchase
of a home, but few will cancel these
plans. Vacations are most sacrosanct.
Of the three quarters of investors who are

optimistic about the economy, two-thirds believe
that Chinas economy is in transition and will
become healthier.
Chinese investors feel

optimistic about the stock
market
67
60
55
Almost three-quarters of investors say they are

fairly or extremely optimistic about Chinas stock
market, despite the sharp drops in overall value.
2%
41
11%
22%
2%
46
62%
China is in economic transition, and the economic

environment will become healthier and better
The government is trying to improve the economy
The international status of China is improving
Economic solutions and policies to strengthen
Chinas economy are being implemented
National leaders visits to other countries will bring
more business opportunities
Why do you feel optimistic about Chinas economy?
Extremely Optimistic
Fairly Optimistic
Dont know/No idea
Only somewhat
Pessimistic
Extremely Pessimistic
Source: BrandZ
How do you feel about Chinas stock market performance?

Source: BrandZ
30
31
CONSUMER MOOD
This optimism and determination to

maintain spending habits happened
in the context of the increasing
affluence and sophistication of Chinese
consumers and the refinement of
consumption behavior. Chinese are
shopping less but spending more on
each trip because they increasingly are
concerned not with price alone, but
value and quality.
The change in shopping behavior is
clear in FMCG spending, where the
rate of growth has declined from 11.8
percent in 2012 to 3.5 percent in 2015,
according the research by Kantar
Worldpanel. The research divides
the 26 FMCG categories studied into
two groups: those with prices rises

exceeding inflation and those lagging
inflation.
The results identify 16 categories with
prices rises exceeding inflation, in which
consumers are willing to pay a premium,
and 10 categories that lag inflation,
in which consumers expect to pay a
promotional price for a commodity
product. For example, consumers will
pay a premium for bottled water, but
expect to buy carbonated soft drinks
on promotion. Of FMCG brands that
increased market penetration, meaning
they added new buyers, 64 percent
sold products at premium or even super
premium prices.
The stock market swings had

little effect on spending
Over half of Chinese investors said the stock
market correction will have little effect on
spending, and 28 percent expect no effect.
28%
19%
Yes, it has
strong impact
Yes, but it is
small impact
No impact
53%
How did the two stock market drops affect your regular
shopping behavior?
Consumers are optimistic and continue to spend,
to pursue their aspirations regardless of changes in
but they spend differently. How consumers spend
the economy and stock market.
on essentials varies by FMCG category. And it

is important for brands to understand whether
Opportunities are available to both Chinese
their customers are willing to pay a premium for
and multinational brands. But Chinese brands
perceived value or instead are willing to purchase
are gaining advantage. They have achieved
only on promotion.
parity with multinationals in Brand Power, the

BrandZ metric of brand equity that correlates
Source: BrandZ
Even big-ticket spending plans continue
Premium brands gain

market share
Few investors plan to cancel the purchase of a car, home or vacation because of the stock market
setbacks. Most may postpone purchase of a home, but few will cancel these plans.
15%
20%
36%
48%
44%
and leisure have an opportunity to accelerate
share an average of 10 percent in 18 of the 26
growth as consumers shift their spending
FMCG categories studied in the report by Kantar
from filling needs to satisfying wants. Chinese
Worldpanel. Multinationals grew share in only
consumers, especially in the larger cities, continue
eight categories, averaging gains of 3 percent.
5%
9%
49%
32%
Vacation/
Recreation
House/
Apartment
Car
with market share. Chinese brands gained market
Of FMCG brands that increased market penetration,

added new buyers, 64 percent sell products at
premium or even super premium prices.
13%
37%
Outside of FMCG, brands in categories like travel
Losing
Brands
38%
Make planned purchases

Postpone planned purchases
Cancel planned purchases
55%
7%
How did the two stock market drops affect your plans to purchase these items?
Source: BrandZ
28%
Winning
Brands
40%
24%

Super Premium (Price Index >150)

Premium (Price Index 120-150)
Medium (Price Index 80-120)
Low (Price Index <80)
Winning brands increased penetration (gained new buyers),

losing brands decreased penetration.
Price Index = Brand Average Price/Category Average Price X 100
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
32
33
CHINESE VS. MNC BRANDS
Chinese brands
now equal
multinationals
in Brand Power
Examining these components reveals

that Chinese and multinationals score
the same in Brand Power for different
reasons. Chinese brands now exceed
multinational brands in Salience, but lag
multinationals in Difference. Chinese
and multinational brands are about
equal in Meaningful. (Please see Part
2: Six Critical Observations for Building
Brand Value.)
Chinese brands made this competitive
progress in part because of the
increased knowledge and sophistication
Chinese consumers describe multinational brands with characteristics like sexy and different,
and view Chinese brands as friendly and kind.
Adventurous
Wise
Assertive
Brave
Straightforward
Chinese brands have achieved parity with multinational brands in Brand Power, the
BrandZ measurement of brand equity. Over the past six years, Chinese brands
strengthened in Brand Power, while the multinationals weakened.
Sexy
Desirable
Playful
The Brand Power score is derived from three

components: Meaningful, consumers feel an affinity
for the brand or think it meets their needs; Different,
consumers view a brand as unique in some way, even
trendsetting; and Salient, consumers think of the brand
quickly when a purchase opportunity arises.
in building Brand Power. They have
Friendly
Idealistic
Fun
Generous
Over the past six years, Chinese brands have strengthened in Brand Power, while
the multinationals weakened.
And the Chinese brand archetypes are

less assertive than the multinational
89
2010
101
104
101
100
100
96
99
2013
2014
2011
2012
100
1%
Chinese Brands
Multinational Brands
Chinese
Brands
Brand Power is the BrandZ measurement of brand equity;

Brand Power average score = 100
19%
Multinational
Brands
7%
22%
Consumer view of Chinese and multinationals across nine categories
need to build on their Salience and

communicate how they are Different.
Seductress
Sexy
Desirable
9%
17%
10%
multinationals will need to communicate
Idealistic
Different
Creative
with consumers more effectively. They
Rebel
communication that catches the
Rebellious
attention of Chinese consumers.
Maiden
For multinationals, however, it may be
Innocent
Kind
time to stress not how they are Different,
need to rebuild Salience with marketing
but rather how they are the same as

Friend
Chinese brands in the sense that they
Friendly
Straightforward
understand the Chinese consumer, and
34
Multinationals need to halt the slip in

the Brand Power. Like Chinese brands,
Dreamer
21%
8%
2015
multinational brands, which are

weakening in Salience. Chinese brands
When those 20 brand personality characteristics are combined

into brand archetypes, consumers view Chinese brands as the
Friend, for example, while multinationals become the Rebel.
1%
grown in Salience and now surpass
Chinese Brands
Consumer view of Chinese and multinational brand characteristics across 16 categories.
115
Implications
for Brands
Chinese brands have momentum
Different
Chinese brands reach Brand Power parity

with multinationals
115
And when those 20 characteristics

are combined into BrandZ brand
archetypes, Chinese brands become
the Friend or the innocent Maiden,
for example, while multinationals
become the Rebel or the Seductress.
The less aggressive character of
the Chinese brands makes being
perceived as Different more difficult.
Creative
Rebellious
Innocent
In Control
sexy, desirable and different, and the

Chinese brands as friendly, caring
and kind.
Caring
Kind
Brand Power parity means that Chinese and

multinationals are in many ways equally competitive. And
the trend favors Chinese brands. In 2010, multinationals
scored 115 in Brand Power and Chinese brands scored 89.
Today both score 100, which is the average score.
They have been less effective

communicating their distinctiveness,
however. In BrandZ research,
Chinese consumers described Chinese
and multinational brands according
to 20 personality characteristics. They
described multinational brands as
But consumers view Chinese brands as less Different
Trustworthy
Brand Power correlates with market share. Chinese brands

gained market share an average of 10 percent in 18 of 26
FMCG categories studied in a Chinese shopper report by
Kantar Worldpanel. Multinationals grew share in only eight
categories, averaging gains of 3 percent.
of Chinese consumers who

increasingly select brands for their
value. Chinese brands overall have
improved products and services and
have effectively communicated in a
way that builds awareness.
will help consumers build better lives for

themselves and their families.
35
01 > Introduction
THE CHINESE DREAM
Individuals
sustain confidence
in realizing the
Chinese Dream
In November 2012, Xi
Jinping described a vision
of a nation, strong at
home and internationally
respected, whose citizens
enjoy the benefits of greater
prosperity. He called this
vision the Chinese Dream.
Over the past four years, the Chinese

Dream has become more deeply
embedded in national life, not simply
as a useful government slogan, but also
as an idea embraced by the Chinese
people as the expression of their hopes
and expectations. This conclusion
comes from BrandZ research into the
attitudes and behaviors of the Chinese
consumers who invest in the stock
market.
Confidence in the Chinese

Dream is strong despite
stock market
Even following the two steep stock market
declines in 2015, almost two-thirds of individuals
who invest in the stock market feel confident or
extremely confident that they will achieve the
Chinese Dream during the next decade.
5%
The research, conducted after the two
deep stock market declines in 2015,
found that these individuals remain
optimistic about the stock market, the
economy, and the possibility of realizing
the Chinese Dream. The research
follows an earlier BrandZ examination
of the Chinese Dream called, The Power
and Potential of the Chinese Dream. (For
more details, please visit brandz.com.)
21%
30%
42%
2%
Extremely confident
Fairly confident
Dont know
Only somewhat confident
Not confident at all
How confident are you that in the next 10 years you will
achieve your expectation of the Chinese Dream?
36
37
01 > Introduction
THE CHINESE DREAM
Consumers are likely to favor brands

that help advance the Chinese Dream
by offering quality products and services
that improve lives. These offerings not
only help realize the Chinese Dream,
they elevate the view of China as a
producer and marketer. This burnished
image of Brand China facilitates overseas
business growth.
The new research report, Unmasking the
Individual Chinese Investor, finds that the
top three aspirations of Chinese have
not changed much since the earlier
research, in 2014. They are: a good life
for my family; live in a powerful country;
and be healthy. The desire for a good
life increased in importance. Almost
two-thirds of Chinese investors called
it the single most important aspect of
the Chinese Dream, compared with 54
percent of respondents in 2014.
And the Dream resonates, especially
among young people, according to
the recent report. (For more details,
please visit Brandz.com.) Compared
with 2014, people are more likely to say
that the Chinese Dream, as articulated
by the government, represents their
own opinions. In 2014, two-thirds of
respondents said they believed that
the Chinese Dream strengthens social
cohesion. Now, three-quarters of
respondents agree with that statement.
Similarly, in 2014, 65 percent said that
the Chinese Dream is the dream of the
Chinese people. Now three-quarters
agreed with that statement. (Note:
The respondent groups differ.) Almost
two-thirds are confident that they will
achieve the Chinese Dream during the
next decade. Less than a third are only
somewhat confident about achieving
the Chinese Dream. And only 5 percent
completely lack confidence in realizing
the Chinese Dream.
A good life for self and family remains most important

The priorities of the Chinese Dream remain fairly consistent over time for Chinese individuals.
A good life for the family tops the list for almost two-thirds.
65%
54%
51%
50%
39%
39%
36%
31%
29%
25%
19%
14%
13%
12%
11%
9%
3%
A good life for my family

Live in a powerful country
Be healthy
Sustainable economic development
Financial security
Have the same opportunities as everyone else
Good opportunity
To be able to retire comfortably
Pursuit of happiness
Be successful at work
Individual freedom
A good job
Home ownership
Rags to Riches
Be richer
Achieve more than parents generation
Become famous
Fundamentals of the Chinese
their relative importance is
These brands demonstrate that
Dream have not changed over
somewhat fluid. The importance
their mission is not only about
the past four years. People want
of home ownership has declined
making a profit. Rather, in making
to become wealthier and able to
somewhat, for example, possibly
a profit, these brands create the
afford more creature comforts.
because more people now own
products and services that enable
But attitudes toward aspects of the
homes and those that do not may
Chinese individuals and families
Dream seem to be impacted by
be waiting for a better time to buy.
to improve their lives, and China
events and personal experience.
to develop as a stronger, more

Consumers are likely to view more
While the components of the
favorably brands that align with the
Chinese Dream remain consistent,
Chinese Dream, at least implicitly.
prosperous and equitable nation.
2015: Select five components of the Chinese Dream that are most important to you.
As the Chinese Dream evolves from political slogan to

personal conviction
Chinese Dream has become a unifying theme now more
deeply embedded in national life, not simply a useful
government slogan, but also as a theme embraced by the
Chinese people.
76%
75%
73%
73%
72%
72%
70%
68%
68%
68%
64%
Chinese Dream strengthens the social

cohesion
Chinese Dream is the dream of Chinese
people
Chinese Dream makes me feel confident in
the development of this country
Chinese Dream makes the country more
energetic
Chinese Dream makes me feel confident in
my future
Chinese Dream and my personal dream are in
concordance
Chinese Dream has brought positive changes
to our social environment
Chinese Dream attracts people from other
counties to come and fulfill their own dreams
Chinese Dreams values extend beyond
national boundaries
Chinese Dream is the dream of the
government
Chinese Dream is demonstrated by Chinas
social system
2015: To what extent do you think these descriptions of the Chinese Dream represent your opinions?
Source: BrandZ
Photo by David Roth
38
39
01 > Introduction
ECONOMY, DEMOGRAPHICS,
AND CONNECTIVITY
RUSSIA
GDP
GDP PER CAPITA
EXPORTS2
US $10.355 TRILLION
US $7.590 BILLION
US $2.3 TRILLION
(Over half the US GDP and over

two times larger than Japans)
(somewhat less than Bulgaria)
(2014, number one worldwide,

followed by the EU and the US)
LAND AREA2
TOTAL
POPULATION
9.6 MILLION SQ. KM.

(3.7 MILLION SQ. MI.)
MONGOLIA
(Worlds fourth largest nation,

slightly smaller than the US)
55-64 years
12%
11.4%
URBAN POPULATION
14.2%
12.7%
NEI MONGOL
(Percent of total population)
10.6%
9.6%
9%
60%
9.5%
7.7%
9.2%
KYRGYZSTAN
7.8%
XINJIANG
6%
50%
7.3%
6.9%
20%
GANSU
3%
20%
27%
37%
BEIJING
0%
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
1991
2001
2011
2012
2013
US $7,000
US $6,000
$5,574
US $5,000
US $3,000
US $2,000
$1,740
2005
$2,082
2006
$6,265
SHAANXI
HENAN
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
48.5%
32.2%
China
19.2%
US
18.8%
HUNAN
US
Brazil
India
Russia
15.6%
$289.1 $131.8
$96.9 $33.9 $22.9
BANGLADESH
Billion Billion Billion Billion Billion
JIANGXI
GUIZHOU
Brazil
India
36.8
NORTH 27.3
31.1
KOREA
US
Russia
UK
37.8
39.1
40.4
TIANJIN
SOUTH
KOREA
TOTAL MOBILE
INTERNET
USERS
SHANGHAI
668 MILLION
594 MILLION
RURAL
INTERNET
ZHEJIANG
USERS
TOTAL
SMARTPHONE
USERS
186 MILLION
480 MILLION
88.9%
Internet Users
on Mobile
48.8%
Internet
Penetration
FUJIAN
YUNNAN
GUANGXI
MYANMAR
VIETNAM
40
Brazil
HUBEI
SICHUAN
FOREIGNBHUTAN
DIRECT INVESTMENT
(2014 % of GDP)2
INDIA
2015
TOTAL
INTERNET
JIANGSU
USERS
$4,515
XIZANG
$3,800
GROSS NATIONAL SAVING

EU
China
JAPAN
NEPAL
India
17.08%
JILIN
$6,992
CHONGQING
China
2014
ANHUI
2007
0-14 years
SHANDONG
QINGHAI
$7,590
US $8,000
$3,441
13.82%
SHANXI
GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH
$2,673
15-24 years
2015
HEBEI
US $4,000
RUSSIA
47.95%
LIAONING
10%
1981
11.14%
MEDIAN AGE2
40%
30%
HEILONGJIANG
25-54 years
54% 56.1%
53%
52%
51%
10.01%
65 years and over
1.37 BILLION
GDP RATE OF GROWTH

15%
POPULATION BY AGE2
LAOS
GUANGDONG
Figures are from the World Bank for 2014 unless otherwise noted.
The 2015 population, GDP growth rate, and percent of urban population are from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
1
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) as of June 2015
2
CIA World Fact Book, 2015 estimates unless noted
41
01 > Introduction
Mobile transforms
Chinese market,
as brands face
challenges of growth
MOBILE
MOBILE USE
SEEMS AS
NATURAL AND
NECESSARY
AS BREATHING
42
Mobile has become an

integral part of everyday life
for Chinese consumers. On
mobile, they talk, text, shop,
order food, hail taxis, book
travel, trade stocks, pay
for products and services,
deposit money into their
bank or transfer money
to friends. These activities
happen on mobile in other
countries and regions, but
not to the same extent.
In most places mobile
is an option; in China it
seems autonomic. It is an
expression of the Chinese
Dream and a pathway to
its fuller realization. About
half of all e-commerce in
China happens on mobile
compared to just over a fifth
in the US and around a third
in the UK.
Millward Browns AdReaction

study, and mobile is the
place to engage them. But it
is also important for brands
to understand why mobile is
such a large phenomenon,
how to best use mobile, and
when mobile may not be the
best medium. Numbers tell
much of the story. Internet
users in China reached 668
million in June 2015 and 549
million of those users, almost
90 percent, accessed the
Internet on a mobile device.
The implication for brands

is clear: consumers are on
smartphones at least two
hours a day, according to
These numbers alone

would appeal to any brand
marketer, but there is more.
The total number of Internet
In other words, the number

of Internet users in China
is more than twice the
population of the US and
almost the population of
Europe, and most of those
individuals are walking
around with a smartphone.
users represents less than

half of Chinas population
of over 1.3 billion. And
penetration is relatively low
in rural China, where the
Internet users make up just
over a quarter of Chinas
total Internet users. A big
brand opportunity is about
to become bigger.
MEDIA
NEVER A SIMPLE
MEDIA MARKET,
CHINA NOW
IS MORE
COMPLICATED
Like many national markets, China is

not homogenous. But it is distinct in
several ways. First, the population of
over 1.3 billion is dispersed in cities and
villages across a landmass almost the
size of the US. Initially, it was sufficient
to reach the rising middle class in the
coastal cities. But now buying power,
and interest in brands, is increasing
throughout the country.
Second, many countries have a
generation gap, a normal difference
in attitudes between the young and
their parents. In China, this difference
is exaggerated because parents
experienced a different China than the
one in which their children grew up.
Parents remember scarcity and limited
access to western goods. Anyone

over thirty has experienced relative
abundance and overwhelming online
shopping options.
Third, reaching these varied audiences
rural, urban, younger and older is
tricky. Smartphones are becoming
ubiquitous, but TV remains the
preferred medium for watching ad
videos, especially in rural China. The
only certainty is the primacy of digital,
which now accounts for about half
of all media spending, up from only
11 percent in 2010. The shift to digital
will accelerate even more as the
government drives its Internet+ agenda
aimed at transforming the character of
the economy from industrial China to
connected China.
43
01 > Introduction
GOING
GLOBAL
BRANDS
EMPHASIZE
GLOBAL STATURE
RATHER THAN
CHINESE
PROVENANCE
For Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

products, being Chinese is the key product
advantage, of course. But Chinese brands
expanding internationally increasingly emphasize
their global ambitions rather than their national
provenance. This is often the case in the
appliance and technology categories, which are
accelerating their shift to global brand builders
from their earlier role as Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs), makers of products that
were marketed under western brand names.
Haier, the manufacturer of white goods and
other appliances is in the process of acquiring
the appliance division of General Electric.
Hisense appliances are widely available in
the US. Huawei sold 100 million branded
smartphones in 2015, many of them in Europe.
Smartphone maker ZTE sponsors five NBA
teams in the US. It is 10 years since Lenovo
purchased the IBM personal computer division,
and two years since its purchase of Motorola
Mobility from Google. Today, 68 percent of
Lenovo revenue comes from outside China.
The international presence of Chinese brands
includes other categories, such as cars, where
export proceeds region by region, first to
emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa or
Latin America. The car brand Changan, which
appears for the first time in the BrandZ China
Top 100 this year, is expanding exports. The
government of China is aggressively facilitating
trade with initiatives like the One Belt, One
Road to create a network of trading partners,
a modern version of the Silk Road. In the
meantime, Chinese Internet brands, like Alibaba
and JD.com, and Chinese social networks like
WeChat, are raising international awareness of,
and access to, Chinese products.
Tencent, the Chinese Internet portal and gaming
leader, is exporting its online games, trying
to build a large and revenue-driving global
audience. A Chinese conglomerate recently
bought Brookstone, the US retailer of consumer
electronics and gadgets. The brand will become
another sales channel for Chinese brands,
perhaps featuring niche products from Chinese
start-ups like those producing smart watches to
compete with Apple and Samsung.
44
45
01 > Introduction
STAGES OF
GROWTH
GLOBAL AMBITION
REQUIRES
CLARITY OF
BRAND IDENTITY
As a brand grows and pursues
new opportunities it becomes
important to periodically do
an identity check, to see how
much the brand has shifted
from its original core idea or
mission, and to what extent
the evolved brand matches the
needs and desires of existing
and prospective customers.
In general, the more faceted
a brand becomes, the
more difficult it becomes to
summarize and coherently
communicate the brand idea.
Companies like Alibaba and
Tencent, which have built large
platforms, or ecosystems, with
many components, face this
challenge of clearly articulating
a unifying idea. It is a symptom
of success.
As they manage brand
portfolios in the virtual world,
Alibaba and Tencent face
some of the challenges that
organizations like Unilever and
P&G confront in the physical
world. Global ambitions of the
Internet giants add urgency
because clarity is a prerequisite
for success when introducing
a brand to consumers outside
of the home market.
46
INTERNATIONAL
BRANDS
CONSUMERS
DESIRE OVERSEAS
BRANDS, BUT FOR
NEW REASONS
Chinese consumers are purchasing

international brands, but less for
the status or bling and more for
assurances of quality and safety at
affordable prices. Status motivated
purchasing when international
brands first proliferated a decade
ago. Consumers with newly obtained
disposable income became giddy
from the available choice. Status
is still a purchase factor but brand
provenance, history and storytelling
are becoming more of a factor in
brand choice, particularly in luxury.
In addition, a lot of shopping shifted from

the physical world to cyberspace, where,
in part because of the governments
establishment of cross border
e-commerce zones, foreign goods
are available at lower prices with faster
delivery, along with greater assurance
that products are genuine, not fake.
This development is an opportunity for
international brands to enter or expand
throughout China by being present on
any of the leading Internet marketplace
sites. The increased availability of
international brands is another reason for
Chinese brands to continue to improve
product quality and communicate
Meaningful points of Difference.
47
01 > Introduction
BEYOND O2O
VIRTUAL BRANDS
SEEK PHYSICAL
PRESENCE
The retail lexicon cannot keep up

with the speed of change. A few years
ago, omnichannel described the goal
of being present in a consistent way
everywhere and all the time. Then O2O
required coordinating the offline and
the online brand manifestations so that
all customer engagements happened
seamlessly. Bricks and mortar brands
drove much of this conversation as they
formed their online counter lives. More
recently, the dynamic is also working
in reverse, as Internet brands attempt
to build up their offline presence.

E-commerce giant Alibaba purchased
almost a 20 percent stake in Suning,
the consumer electronics retailer that
operates about 1,600 stores. The trend
goes beyond China, which is relatively
advanced in harmonizing brand activity
in the physical and virtual worlds.
Amazon opened its first bricks and
mortar bookstore in November 2015,
in Seattle. But in China, compared with
the US, the potential for new physical
retail space is much greater.
GROWING
PAINS
BIRTHING A
BRAND BEGINS
A LIFETIME OF
RESPONSIBILITY
48
After giving birth to a strong brand,

the complementary challenge is
protecting it. Brands are vulnerable.
As they grew, they attract more
attention, particularly on social media.
Several of Chinas most valuable and
influential brands experienced these
growing pains. Government regulator
charges of counterfeit merchandise
on Taobao hurt the reputation of
the Alibaba online market. Baidu,
Chinas largest search engine, faced
allegations of fraudulent activity on its

site. Online travel leader Ctrip blamed
vendor partners for incidents involving
fraudulent tickets. Corporate reputation
has declined in the consumer mind,
as measured by RepZ, a BrandZ
metric. There is no substitute for
integrity. But in an imperfect world,
with the intense radar of social media,
building, protecting, and repairing brand
reputation sometimes requires the
intervention of communications experts.
49
01 > Introduction
TAKE AWAYS
12 Prescriptive
ideas for building
brand strength
in todays China
1
Mobilize
Mobile is ubiquitous in China, a
way of life, not only a medium of
communication. Brands need to
be present on mobile not simply as
purveyors of products and services,
but as partners helping consumers
with daily living. The brand in all its
aspects needs to be represented on
mobile: advertising and marketing,
social communication, shopping,
shopper marketing, purchasing, and
payment. The brand question in the
West might be, what is our strategy
for mobile? In China, with some
overstatement, mobile is the strategy.
50
Communicate Difference
Chinese brands have rapidly
increased market share across most
fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)
categories. They accomplished this
feat at the expense of multinationals.
Several factors drove this change,
not least of which was heavy media
spending to raise awareness. But
now that many Chinese brands have
become well known, sustaining sales
requires also being Different in a
Meaningful way. Chinese brands have
been less effective at explaining how
they are functionally or emotionally
unique. That is the critical next step.
Build Trust
Trust is an effective way to build
Difference in China. Rebuilding brand
Trust has been a global issue since
the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
In China, product performance and
safety issues over the past several
years eroded Trust. But Trust is an
important differentiator in China. For
consumers worldwide, brands that
are seen as creative and desirable
are mostly likely to be viewed as
Different. In China, Trust strengthens
Difference.
4
Advance the Chinese Dream
Brands that focus exclusively on their
products or services operate from too
narrow a vision. Consumers believe in
the pursuit of what the government has
called the Chinese Dream, the effort to
create a China that is more prosperous
and equitable at home and more
highly regarded abroad. Brands play
a role in the realization of this Dream.
Consumers are likely to feel more
favorably toward brands that contribute
to the national welfare with products
and services that are genuine, safe, and
exist in harmony with the environment.
5
Innovate
Innovation does not necessarily
mean total reinvention. Innovation
means introducing something new,
a product or packaging, for example,
which did not exist before. Innovation
is not simply an update, and it is not a
one-off. Innovative brands introduce
new ideas with enough regularity to
create a sense of anticipation among
customers. Innovation helps build
brand value and it correlates with
market penetration.
6
Raise the profile
The BrandZ China Top 10 grew 3
percent year-on-year in value, while
brands ranked 11-to-100 increased
over 30 percent. Because of their
size and impact, Top 10 brands draw
a lot of the medias attention. But
with additional investment in creative
messaging and effective activation,
energetic brands lower in the ranking
have an opportunity to greatly raise
their profile among consumers
and investors, which is increasingly
important.
(For more information, please see

the BrandZ report, The Power and
Potential of the Chinese Dream, at
www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/brandz/
the-chinese-dream.)
51
01 > Introduction
TAKE AWAYS
7
Be best in class
For a while, Chinese brands
prospered by creating products that
were good enough for the local
market or somewhat better for
export. Those days, for the most part,
have past. Chinese consumers want,
can afford, and are willing to pay for
more than good-enough products.
Global consumers are becoming
more familiar with Chinese brands,
and purchasing them.
52
8
Be global, sell local
Except for traditional Chinese medicine
(TCM), or Baijiu, the Chinese white
alcohol, Chinese provenance is not
of primary importance to overseas
consumers. In overseas markets,
Chinese brands need to raise awareness
and build positive impressions. They
need to offer products of global quality,
while adjusting for local desires and
preferences. Prominence abroad earns
a dividend at home when Chinese
consumers regard the brand as global
rather than local.
9
Seek premium when justified
Despite the economic slowdown
and the stock market fluctuations,
consumers are willing to pay
a premium, when it is justified,
especially for FMCG categories like
personal care or heathcare. Outside
of FMCG, more Chinese brands are
adding premium-priced offerings,
often less expensive than equivalent
items from multinationals. This
opportunity for local Chinese
brands presents a challenge for
multinationals. It is another example
of the increasing parity of Chinese
and multinational brands in the
mind of the Chinese consumer.
10
Expect pragmatic shoppers
More pragmatic now, Chinese
consumers expect promotional
pricing in certain FMCG categories
like household cleaners. In these
categories, when they find little
differentiation, consumers treat
products like commodities and select
the brand thats on promotion. Brands
need to find and communicate a valid
point of differentiation.
11
Mix media effectively
Chinese consumers spend the greatest
portion of their screen-watching time
on their mobile phones. Many FMCG
brands are shifting investment to
digital for more targeted and effective
reach. In other categories, where
mass appeal is still paramount, brands
maintain spending levels in TV and
other traditional media. TV continues
to be a central source for trusted
information in smaller cities, and
media there is more affordable than in
large markets like Shanghai or Beijing.
12
Marry great creative
with effective media
Chinese brands have invested heavily
to increase Salience, or awareness.
And that investment has paid off. In
BrandZ research, Chinese brands
exceed multinationals in Salience.
In other words, when a Chinese
consumer is considering a purchase
in a particular category, a Chinese
brand is now more likely to come to
mind. At that moment, being selected
for purchase depends on having
a compelling point of Difference,
preferably sufficient to command a
price premium. Chinese brands still lag
multinationals in Difference. Building
Difference requires the right strategy,
expressed in a creative big idea, and
communicated with a well-conceived
media plan.
53
OUR INSIGHTS
While many are impressed by the gigantic
transaction numbers (which keep growing
every year), few make serious efforts to
understand the brand drivers behind the
figures. We are now entering the next
phase of e-commerce digital shopping
has become a daily practice
for Chinese consumers, and
INTEGRATION
mobile connectivity makes
such shopping possible in any
place, at any time. With this,
the e-commerce marketing
paradigm has shifted to brands
and platforms that can offer a
total brand experience rather
than a narrow focus on sales
and aftersales services. There
are two key strategic initiatives being
taken by leading brands:
CREATING TOTAL
BRAND EXPERIENCE
BEYOND E-COMMERCE
TRANSACTIONS
MIKE ZHU
Head of eCommerce
and Analytics
OgilvyOne Shanghai
Mike.Zhu@ogilvy.com
1. Integrated experience across

all touch-points and channels:
Innovative brands are overcoming the
online and offline barriers to create a
seamless and immersive experience.
For example, Sephora Beauty
Workshop has12 individual stations
equipped withUSB ports, iPads,
and WiFi, so customers can look at
Sephoras existing Skin IQ, Fragrance
IQ, and Color IQ technologies and
watchbeauty tutorialsto enjoy an
indulgent, digitized and personalized
shopping experience. Similarly,
Running the most popular sporting

activity in China in 2015. Surprised? Well,
there are a number of reasons for the
surge in its appeal.
Changing demographics are partly
responsible: compared to ten years ago,
the population of young and unmarried
people in China has increased
significantly. Given that the majority of
avid runners are youthful and single,
the rise in the number of joggers is a
natural consequence. And of course, the
benefits to health and appearance from
running are of significant appeal. What
body conscious young man or woman
doesnt want to look like a lean, mean
running machine?
Then theres the fashion aspect. Running
shoes, jackets and trousers have
become statement pieces of clothing
54
in China. They carry

aspirational logos
TRENDS
such as Nike, Adidas
and New Balance,
so people naturally
gravitate towards
purchasing them.
Having purchased
them, you might as well use them.
Running is a simple (although not
always easy) activity and if you dont
do it at the gym, its free. Most runners
in Shanghai tend to go running after
work at night. Its increasingly sociable
too; with the advent of WeChat groups
and Nike Plus - runners can share their
experiences with others and use social
networks to post and boast of their
achievements. (Thats PB in runners
parlance).
the InterContinental hotel group is

leveraging VR and 3D imaging to bring
the on-property, in-room experience
alive for hotel guests when they plan a
booking.
2. Continuous engagement along the
entire consumer journey:The old
concept of the top-down marketing
funnel is not working any more as
consumers are shopping everywhere,
all the time. The rapid development
of e-commerce shortens the
physical distance between brand
and consumer. However, the
emotional distance between brand
and consumer is also contracting as
people are now consuming the entire
brand experience over a much shorter
interval. Winning brands are focusing
on designing anexperience along the
consumer journey versuscreating a
brand experience impulse (awarenessto-preference). For that reason, we
see brands (P&G, LOreal et al) heavily
investing in building a brand-owned,
digital eco-system (rather than
building on third-party platforms).
OgilvyOne believes that upgrading
creative and content excellence in line
with a continuous, omni-channel
commerce strategy will help brands to
win the future of digital commerce.
Years from now, 2015 will be

recognized as a major inflection in
the evolution of brands in China,
the year when a handful of loosely
connected events in the political
and economic arenas interacted to
change the relationships of Chinese
brands with both owners and
consumers.
This pivot began with the sudden,
sustained undermining of the
market for luxury products by the
anti-corruption campaign of the Xi
Jinping administration. Brands that
had dominated consumer desires
for a decade became less desirable.
Yet the size and purchasing power
of the middle class continues to
grow explosively, and consumers are
increasingly confident in their ability
to choose, based on individual
tastes and context. Combine this
with Chinese management styles
in non-SOE companies favoring

semi-autonomous and highly
adaptive business units,
and the belief that that
speed to market is more
SHIFT
important than product
perfection.
THE COMING EXPLOSION

IN CHINESE BRANDS: LET A
THOUSAND FLOWERS BLOOM
The result is a systemic

shift towards a rapidly
evolving kaleidoscope of
niche brands and brand
ecosystems, adapting
to consumer and market needs in
close to real time.
This will prove a boon for Chinese

consumers, and will change the
worldview of China from that of
fast follower to trend leader. For
agencies, this will mean finding
ways to align and embed with
clients even more intimately, to cocreate communications and keep
up with the pace of change.
As revealed in the latest Kantar

Worldpanel report, the FMCG retail
market in China grew only 5.4 percent
in 2014 compared with
11.8 percent three years
ago. Conversely, online
EVOLUTION
sales rose 34 percent in
the same year. Shoppers
who merely switched from
offline to online channels are
estimated to have generated
approximately 40 percent
of e-commerce growth in
2014. The disappointing performance
of physical retail, together with the
rapid growth of e-commerce, has led
to a general pessimism towards the
BARRY LEUNG
fate of the physical retail store.
President
RETAIL NEEDS TO
TAKE A NEW FORM
THE HOTTEST
SPORT IN CHINA
HAIDONG GUAN
Strategy Director
Grey China
Haidong.Guan@grey.com
Always Marketing Services, China

Barry.Leung@alwaysmkt.com
However, a recent study from A.T.

Kearney reveals that 95 percent
of retail sales are still captured by
retailers with a bricks-and-mortar
presence. Clearly, the physical store
PETER MACK
Executive Director
Peter.Mack@landor.com
FISHER YU
Brand Strategy Consultant
Fisher.Yu@landor.com
Landor Associates
still plays a critical part in the shopping

experience for retailers, brands and
consumers. Even the giant of online
bookstores, Amazon.com, realized
the importance of physical retail and
opened its first ever Amazon Books (in
Seattle) in October this year, putting
all its online success formulae into
the physical environment, delivering a
complete O2O brand experience for its
consumers.
So, retail needs to take a new form.
Retailers must embrace the hyperconnected consumers of today, and
create a personalized, multi-device,
empowering and hassle-free omnichannel shopping journey, resulting
in a delightful brand and retail
experience before, during and after
store visits. The retail store can no
longer be just a physical sales floor; it
has to incorporate the best of online
shopping in store.
55
C H I N A S A P PA R E N T C H AO S A N D F R E N E T I C E N E R G Y
BE L I E A BA SIC H A R MON Y T H AT GU I DE S PRO GR E S S .
02
1. CONSUMER INSIGHT
2. DIFFERENCE
3. CORPORATE REPUTATION
4. INNOVATION
5. DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
6. CREATIVE QUALIT Y
OUR INSIGHTS
SIX CRITICAL
OBSERVATIONS
FOR BUILDING
BRAND VALUE
58
59
02 > Six Critical Observations For Building Brand Value
1. CONSUMER INSIGHT
Price matters,
but consumers
now seek quality
and premium
Remarkably, given the slowdown of Chinas
economy and the extreme ups and downs
of its stock market, Chinese consumers
continue to spend, almost as if these
market changes are part of normal life.
BrandZ research about the attitudes and
behaviors of individual Chinese investors,
conducted autumn 2015, found that people
remain optimistic and plan little change in
their spending across most categories.
If required to cut back, people would start

with luxury and entertainment. Necessities,
like food, would experience limited spending
reductions. Investors are also reluctant to cut
back on their telecommunication expenses,
perhaps a necessity, and the cost of education for
themselves and their children. Spending cutbacks
are more moderate among higher income people.
These spending considerations rest on other
significant and long-term shifts in consumer
purchasing patterns. Chinese consumers are
shopping less frequently, but spending more
on each trip. A study of 26 categories by Kantar
Worldpanel found a new normal, where the
growth rate of Fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCG) purchasing is flattening, but consumers
are willing to pay more for certain products.
Chinese consumers continue to spend despite the stock market

Spending remains relatively unchanged, especially on basics, despite the stock market declines.
Luxury Items
6%
57%
Entertainment
13%
38%
Dining Out
20%
30%
Healthcare and Exercise
12%
29%
Personal Electronic Devices
17%
28%
Clothing and Fashion
17%
27%
Personal Care
14%
26%
Household Appliances
12%
24%
9%
21%
Transportation
13%
13%
Telecommunications
14%
12%
Groceries
18%
11%
Education (Adults and Children)
20%
10%
Household Utilities
How did the two stock market declines affect your spending in these categories?
Increase Spending
No Change
Decrease Spending
Source: BrandZ Unmasking the Individual Chinese Investor report
60
61
1. CONSUMER INSIGHT
Partially in reaction to the food

scandals that shocked China several
years ago, consumers are willing to
pay a premium for safety assurance in
certain categories, particularly those
related to health and personal care. In
less sensitive categories, consumers
shop for sales. Consumers will pay
a premium for bottled water, for
example, but expect to buy carbonated
soft drinks on promotion.
a useful difference between brands,

they shop for price. The ability to
command a premium is not about
category alone, however. Category
influences but does not exclusively
determine a products destiny. Brand
plays an important role, too. Brands
that score highest in Different, the
BrandZ measurement of how a
brand is unique or trendsetting, can
command price premiums that are 58
percent greater than the brands that
score lowest in Different, according to
BrandZ research.
Consumers are becoming smarter. In

categories where they do not perceive
Implications
for Brands
Chinese consumers are changing in
their attitude and behavior. In attitude,
And consumers are willing to pay more in certain categories
But brand Difference strongly influences

willingness to pay a premium
Chinese consumers are more willing to pay a price premium in categories that relate to the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families.
Chinese brands that score highest in Different, the BrandZ measurement of a brands
ability to be unique and set trends, can justify charging a premium that is 58 percent higher
than brands that score lowest in Different.
PREMIUMIZATION
COMMODITIZATION
40%
they remain optimistic, despite

economic and stock market challenges,
and they intend to keep spending. At
the same time, they are becoming more
sophisticated as consumers, which is
reflected in their purchasing behavior
and shifting spending priorities
Premiumizing categories
Commoditizing categories
The rate of spending on FMCG

Toilet Tissue
Baby Diapers
products is slowing. Consumers seek to
FacialTissue
Fabric Detergent
BRAND PROMOTION PERCENT
30%
Infant Formula
133
Fabric Softener
Shampoo
Personal Wash
20%
Toothpaste
Chocolate
CSD
Instant Noodles
Colour Cosmetics
RTD Tea
Chewing Gum
10%
Toothbrush
Skin Care
essentials like travel, entertainment, and
Biscuits
Milk
5%
other experiences.
84
A brand, in just about any category, can
Least Different
Brands
Bottle Water
0%
0%
care and health. And they devote

a larger portion of income to non-
Candy
-5%
other items, usually related to personal
Yoghurt
Juice
Beer
but are willing to pay a premium for
Most Different
Brands
Hair Conditioner
Kitchen Cleaner
buy commodity products on promotion
10%
15%
20%
AVERAGE ANNUAL SELLING PRICE GROWTH PERCENT
command premium prices with product
+ 58%
innovations that can satisfy this need

for a special experience. In addition,
Chinese consumers are diverse. The
more affluent consumers are willing to
Premium Index: A brands ability to charge more than brands in the same category. Average = 100
Different: BrandZ measurement of a brands ability to be unique and set trends. Average = 100.
Top third are Most Different, bottom third are Least Different.
Note: Promotion is perception of shoppers

Source: BrandZ
pay a premium for some products that

many consumers might expect to buy
on promotion. And the premium prices
of Chinese brands are still less than the
luxury prices of many multinationals.
62
63
2. DIFFERENCE
Now Salient,
Chinese brands
must communicate
Difference
Chinese brands continue
to struggle with being
seen as Different, one of
the three components of
Brand Power, the BrandZ
measurement of brand
equity. Different means
consumers view a brand as
unique in some way, even
trendsetting. The other
Brand Power components
are: Meaningful, consumers
feel an affinity for the brand
or think it meets their needs;
and Salient, consumers
think of the brand
quickly when purchasing
opportunities arise.
Since 2014, Chinese brands have done

a good job improving their Salient
scores with media investment that
significantly raised brand awareness
and drove sales, as documented in
research by Kantar Worldpanel, which
found that Chinese brands gained
market share over multinationals in 18
of 26 fast moving consumer goods
categories.
In this changed competitive

environment it is important that both
Chinese and multinational brands
maintain Salience, but Salience alone
will not sustain competitive advantage.
It also is necessary to explain how a
brand is Different and Meaningful; why
it is unique and worthy of purchase.
Chinese brands grew more Salient, but declined in Different

Of the three components that comprise Brand Power, the BrandZ measurement of brand equity,
Chinese brands rose in Salient, remained flat in Meaningful, and declined in Different.
117
114
115
109
117
Meaningful
Changes in Brand Power component scores

Meaningful, Different, Salient average score = 100
Based on BrandZ Top100 most valuable Chinese brands
The wide disparity is significant. It means

that Chinese brands are at a disadvantage
when trying to distinguish themselves, either
functionally or emotionally, especially from
multinationals, which Chinese sometimes view
as Different simply because they are foreign.
As Chinese brands improve their Different
scores, however, multinationals will need more
than provenance alone to build Difference.
... And multinational brands lead Chinese brands in

being seen as Different
Multinational and Chinese brands are comparable in the Meaningful, a component of
Brand Power, the BrandZ measurement of brand equity. Chinese brands also lead in
Salient, but trail multinationals in Different.
98
96
Meaningful
Meaningful, Different, Salient average score = 100
Based on 179 brands across 11 categories in 2015
106
94
90
Different
99
Salient
Chinese Brands
113
118
107
Different
Chinese brands remained flat in Meaningful

and declined in Different, during the past
three years. Multinationals also remained
relatively flat in Meaningful and continue to
score substantially higher than Chinese brands
in Different. Multinationals scored 106 in
Different, a good score, while Chinese brands
scored 90, well below the average of 100.
124
Salient
2014
2015
2016
Once brands establish ways in which they

are Different in Meaningful ways from the
competition, they need to communicate not
only to maintain Salience, but also to explain
how they are Meaningful and Different, and
why those benefits help consumers.
64
65
2. DIFFERENCE
Certain brand characteristics correlate with

being Different
In China, the four personality characteristics that consumers most associate
with being Different are: Creative, Desirable, Trustworthy, and Wise.
Brands that are Meaningful, Different,

and Salient grow share faster
48%
Creative
Brands grow market share faster when they are strong in all three components
of Brand Power: Meaningful, Different, and Salient.
41%
Desirable
65%
Trustworthy
5%
10%
15%
20%
Weak in Meaningful,
Different, Salient
41%
Wise
Strong in Meaningful,
Different, Salient
% correlation between BrandZ brand characteristics and Different
Being Trustworthy especially

differentiates brands in China
% Growth in Survey-Based Market Share

Trustworthy correlates more closely with Different in China, compared with

other regions of the world.
Global
Asia
Europe
North
America
South
America
China
Trustworthy
Adventurous
Assertive
Brave
Caring
Creative
Desirable
Different
It is not a question of being Different just for the sake
In most of the world, Creative and Desirable correlate
of being Different. There are benefits associated with
most closely with Different. But not in China; in China,
being Different. Brands seen as Different are more likely
Trust correlates most closely with Different. It may
to command a price premium, for example.
be that because the product safety scandals in China

fomented such distrust in brands, Trust is the strongest
Friendly
A first step is to develop the brand personality
Fun
lever for being seen as Different.
characteristics most associated with being seen
Generous
Idealistic
In Control
Innocent
Kind
as Different. BrandZ analyzes brands worldwide
After establishing Difference, the next step is
according to 20 personality characteristics. In China,
communicating it. Chinese brands usually establish
the four personality characteristics that consumers
awareness, first. It is more effective to establish the
most associate with being Different are: Creative,
meaningful difference before building awareness.
Desirable, Trustworthy, and Wise.
Brands that develop all three aspects of Brand Power,

or brand equity, increase market share more quickly.
Playful
Rebellious
Sexy
Straightforward
Wise
Correlation between Different index and
brand characteristics. It is a spectrum
showing the color coding from highly positive
correlation to highly negative correlation
66
Highly positive
Highly negative
67
Decline in Corporate
Reputation impacts
both multinational
and Chinese brands
The rebalancing of Chinas economy is not only about slower growth, it also pertains to the changing
expectations that consumers have about the brands they choose and the organizations that own
those brands. More affluent and sophisticated, Chinese consumers seek not only price, but also
value. And the calculus of value increasingly includes products that are safe and socially responsible.
The good news is that the erosion

of Trust following the food scandals
of a few years ago has stabilized.
The bad news is that Corporate
Reputation continues to decline.
Trust alone strengthens a brand,
but a trusted brand surrounded by
the fortifying power of Corporate
Reputation provides greater
protection from the unpredictable
vicissitudes of the marketplace.
Trust in a brand is firmer when its
corporate parent has a reputation
for integrity and social responsibility.
Corporate Reputation declined across categories in China
SOEs felt the impact of public distrust
Corporate Reputation declined

to below average over the past
several years, as consumer
reaction to corporate misdeeds
circulated widely and rapidly on
social media.
Consumer impressions of two SOEs, Sinopec and PetroChina, became more

negative, impacting Corporate Reputation and resulting in a decline in RepZ
score, although both brands still score relatively high, 125 and 126, respectively.
100
101
101
101
Average
98
97
-20
101
105
Arrogant
101
105
Dishonest
90
117
Uncaring
Decline in
RepZ sccore
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
RepZ is a BrandZ measurement of Corporate Reputation based on a composite of four factors: Success, Fairness,
Responsibility, and Trustworthiness. Average RepZ score = 100
RepZ scores for 16 categories 2010 vs. 2015
-22
87
100 105
Arrogant
99
Dishonest
106
124
Uncaring
Changes in RepZ scores and brand imagery 2013 to 2015. Based on BrandZ
analysis of brand personality characteristics, and RepZ, the BrandZ
measurement of Corporate Reputation. Average RepZ score = 100
2013
2015
68
And both Chinese and multinational

brands suffered reputation loss
Chinese consumers do not seem to differentiate between Chinese and
multinational brands on the topic of Corporate Reputation, which is declining at
about the same pace in both instances.
102
101
101
101
98
97
99
101
100
101
98
97
2011
2012
2013
2014
2010
2015
Chinese Brands
RepZ, the BrandZ measurement of Corporate Reputation.

Average RepZ score = 100
69
BrandZ measures Corporate

Reputation with an index called RepZ,
where 100 is average. RepZ measures
how consumers view corporations
based on Trustworthiness and three
other components: Responsibility
(attitudes toward environment, society
and employees); Fairness (pricing
and interaction with suppliers and
others); and Success (innovativeness
and financial performance). (For more
information, please visit BrandZ.com)
Corporate Reputation in China
declined from a score of 101,
around average, to a below average
score of 97. In general, Chinese
consumers express confidence in
the governments ability to manage
the economy and sustain economic
growth. However, even the major
State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have
not been immune to the decline
in Corporate Reputation that has
touched both local Chinese brands as
well as multinational brands operating
in China.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
activities can help repair Corporate
Reputation. But consumers expect
a corporations social commitment
to be more than a marketing addon. They respond most positively
when the commitment to the social
good is a genuinely connected to the
corporate mission.
In China, that means producing
products and services that help
individuals, families, and the nation
advance to what the government has
articulated as the Chinese Dream,
a better life for individuals and a
respected country internationally.
The take away for corporations is to
pursue growth without degrading
the environment and offer products
that are safe and useful, and make life
better or easier.
70
Chinese brands depend on responsibility to build

Corporate Reputation
The comparison of RepZ scores between Wang Lao Ji, the popular tea, and Coca-Cola, reveals that Coke
has a higher RepZ score in China, but it is based more in the Success component, its profitability and
business leadership, while the Wang Lao Ji score is stronger in Responsibility.
Wang Lao ji
97
RepZ Index
Success
Responsibility
2013
2014
2015
114
95
105
97
103
98
117
96
117
97
116
98
113
96
92
98
91
RepZ, the BrandZ measurement of Corporate Reputation.

Average RepZ score = 100
And Corporate Reputation impacts brand connection

with consumers
Strong Corporate Reputation helps ensure that brands progress rapidly in their contacts with consumers,
from Awareness to Trial and Bonding.
Bonded
Trial
Aware
Strong Corporate
Reputation
Weak Corporate
Reputation
(Top Third)
(Bottom Third)
36
70
95
11
51%
23%
48
74%
81
59%
Brands have a major opportunity
(consumer knowing about the
built Corporate Reputation in
to improve Corporate Reputation
brand) to trial (consumer testing
China based on their business
by contributing more to Chinese
the brand) to bonding (consumer
success will strengthen Corporate
society and communicating more
preferring it over other brands).
Reputation by demonstrating
about their contributions. They
Brands with higher RepZ enjoy
that their presence in China
can begin by focusing on any of
greater market share.
goes beyond profitability alone
the four RepZ components.
Impact of Corporate Reputation, RepZ score, on level of consumer Awareness, Trial, and Bonding
% of consumers moving up pyramid levels
Top third and bottom third of RepZ scores
and is rooted in a long-term
Strong Corporate Reputation
This prescription applies to
commitment to helping advance
helps ensure that brands will
both Chinese and multinational
the welfare of the nation and its
progress rapidly from awareness
brands. Multinationals that have
people.
71
4 . INNOVATION
Innovation drives
brand value and
greater market
penetration
Innovative, unique brands grew brand

value eight times faster
Brands that increased market

penetration innovated more
Over a three-year period, 2014 to 2016, the most innovative and unique brands
increased almost 30 percent in brand value, while the less innovated and unique
brands increased less than 5 percent.
Winning brands, those that increased market penetration, launched more

and re-launched less.
Innovative Brands
3%
29%
% Change in Brand Value
Innovation, real innovation, accelerates brand value growth. Adding another variant
may be justified and generate some additional revenue, but it will not stick in the
consumers mind as a stroke of creativity that elevates the brand nearer to the pantheon
of brands that bring into the world something brand new, or at least smart and exciting.
Brands that introduce genuinely

innovative products or services that
help improve the lives of consumers
in some meaningful way rise faster in
brand value, potentially. Potentially,
because it is important not only
to innovate, but also to effectively
communicate the reason for the
innovation and the benefits it
provides. Brands that innovate and
then communicate effectively grow
much faster in brand value.
BrandZ research compared two
sets of brands, those that consumers
viewed as innovative, as trendsetters,
and those they considered unique.
Over a three-year period, 2014 to
72
2016, the most innovative and unique

brands increased almost 30 percent in
brand value, while the less innovative
and unique brands increased less than
5 percent. In other words, the most
innovative and unique brands grew in
brand value eight times faster than the
least innovative and unique brands.
Along with accelerating brand value
growth, innovation also correlates with
market penetration. In a related study,
Kantar Worldpanel compared the
effect of a new launch (an addition
that did not exist, a new product,
function or packaging, for example)
and a re-launch (an update on
something that did exist). Brands that
Most Innovative
Less Innovative
3%
29%
% Change in Brand Value
Most Unique
Less Unique
Based on 79 brands selected from the 2014-2016 BrandZ China Top 100 because
consumers say these brands set trends or are unique. Top third are Most Innovative or
Most Unique; the rest are Less Innovative or Less Unique.
Losing Brands
32%
68%
Winning Brands
22%
% Change in Market Penetration
78%
% Change in Market Penetration
New Launch: An addition that did not exist

Re-Launch: an update on something that did exist
% of brands
Losing brands decreased penetration, lost buyers
Winning brands increased penetration, gained buyers
launched more and re-launched

less experienced greater market
penetration.
This result can be interpreted
as a quality vs. quantity story. A
strategic launch can have more
impact, possibly for less financial
investment, than a series of relaunches. Less can be more, much
more. Innovation is important in any
country market, but it is especially
important in the new normal of
todays China with slower growth
and more sophisticated consumers
who continue to spend, but are
much more discerning about the
products and services they purchase.
Unique Brands
Innovation is not a one-off. The global
Apple is the gold standard for forming a brand
telecommunications giant, Huawei, which entered
identity from habitual innovation. But the point is
the BrandZ China Top 100 Most Valuable Brands
not that all brands should be, or could be, like Apple.
this year at number seven, is regarded by consumers
Imitation is not innovation. Rather, a brand needs
as an innovator, not because of one particular
to innovate in ways that are true to its particular
smartphone model, but because of the brand has
identity. The investment in innovation pays a
made a habit out of introducing new equipment and
dividend in accelerated brand value and market
services.
penetration.
73
T H E NAT IONA L MO OD I S OP T I M I ST IC I N CH I NA ,
W H E R E P E O P L E L I T E R A L LY DA N C E I N T H E S T R E E T S .
Chinese consumers
are on mobile, but
engaging them can
be challenging
Digital ad spending outpaces all other media

Digital advertising spending is growing rapidly in China. GroupM forecasts that digital will comprise about half of all advertising media investment in 2016.
37%
19%
59%
44%
China had almost 670 million Internet users and 595 million people on mobile in June
2015, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). Almost double
the population of the US, those digital users represent an enormous market opportunity
for brands that communicate effectively with digital. Reaching these consumers on the
appropriate device, at the best time, with the most effective content can be challenging.
11%
30%
27 %
31%
16%
49%
35%
42%
2010
2016e
Digital
TV
Others
% change in advertising media spending
Source: GroupM Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, June 2015
And significant digital investment goes to online video

Much of the digital advertising spending in China goes into online videos. Although the rate of spending on digital online videos is leveling somewhat, it is still
expected to increase 41 percent increase year-on-year in 2016.
Advertising and marketing

communication in China is evolving
differently and faster than in the West.
Almost half of all ad spending goes
to digital, and just over a third to TV.
The proportions are reversed in the
US, with less than a third of spending
devoted to digital and 42 percent
invested in TV, according to GroupM
research report, This Year, Next Year.
GroupM forecasts digital spending in
China will be 4.5 times greater in 2016
than it was in 2010. Digital spending
in the US grew just over 60 percent,
during those years.
Much of the digital advertising

investment in China is spent on videos.
Although the annual growth rate of
spending on digital online videos is
leveling somewhat, it is still expected
to increase 41 percent in 2016, which
means a rise of 660 percent over the
past five years. Chinese consumers
prefer to watch these video ads on TV,
but that is not the device with which
they spend the majority of their time.
60 BIL.
54.03 bil. /
US$8.21 bil.
98.3%
42.64 bil./
US$6.48 bil.
50 BIL.
40 BIL.
56.5%
47.2%
30 BIL.
20 BIL.
10 BIL.
4.25 bil./
US$650 mil.
6.66 bil./
US$1.01 bil.
9.80 bil/
US$ 1.49 bil.
54.9%
15.19 bil./
US$2.31 bil.
100%
32.18 bil./
US$4.89 bil.
80%
50.3 %
22.82 bil./
US$3.47 bil.
41.0 %
120%
60%
32.5 %
26.7 %
40%
20%
0
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Actual year-on-year change in media investment

Percent of year-on-year change
Source: GroupM / iResearch statistical data and iVideo Tracker
76
77
Consequently, there is a disconnection between

device and format. Mobile is the preferred device
of Chinese consumers. Video is their preferred
format. Chinese consumers rather watch video
advertising on TV, which occupies much less of
their viewing time. Brands have responded to this
dilemma in a variety of ways.
Consumers spend the majority of screen-

watching time with mobile devices
Chinese consumers spend over half, 56 percent, of their screen-watching time on a
mobile device, with the balance of their time divided roughly equally between desktop
computers and TVs.
22%
Mobile
Desktop
TV
56%
23%
% share of daily screen time

Source: Millward Brown/AdReaction Study
Many of the fast moving consumer goods

(FMCG) brands that typically advertise
on TV are shifting to digital for a more
favorable return on media investment.
The cost is less on digital, and the reach
is more focused. When they do spend
on TV, Chinese and multinational FMCG
brands are more likely to invest in Smart
TV because the interactivity appeals to the
younger consumers they want to reach.
Ironically, technology brands now are
more likely to advertise on TV because
they are at a relatively early stage of
development that requires building
awareness with a wide audience. Often,
the technology brands advertise on
TV in smaller, less expensive media
markets where TV remains an important
information source. E-commerce brands
that want to sell merchandise online to
the residents of Chinas rural villages and
smaller cities advertise on TV to establish
credibility and build trust.
But consumers are more receptive to ads they watch on TV

Consumers spend most of their screen-watching time on smartphones, over two hours a day on average,
but they are much more receptive to the advertising they see on TV.
30
MARKETING RECEPTIVITY
Chinese consumers spend almost half of their

screen-watching time on a mobile device. They
divide the balance of their screen-watching time
roughly equally between desktop computers and
TVs. When on a mobile device Chinese consumers
most likely are on a smartphone, where they
spend over two hours a day, on average. Chinese
consumers do not like watching advertising
videos on smart phones, however. They are much
more receptive to video advertising seen on TV,
according to Millward Browns AdReaction Study.
20
10
0
0
50
100
150
200
250
SCALE OF OPPORTUNITY (MINUTES USING DEVICE YESTERDAY)
Smartphone
Laptop
How long did you spend on your digital device yesterday?

While on this device, how receptive are you to advertising?
Tablet
TV
Source: Millward Brown/AdReaction Study

Brands need to consider the key
Many brands resolve the device-
patient when on mobile devices,
points: (1) digital is growing rapidly,
format disconnection by being
videos need to instantly grab and
so it is important to be in digital;
present on mobile not with video,
hold attention, a goal that often
(2) consumers prefer mobile, so
but instead with less traditional
can be accomplished with humor.
it is important to be on mobile (3)
content. For example, brands
consumers like watching video, so
often invest in compelling content
Ultimately, solutions vary by
clever, persuasive video ads make
on Tencents WeChat messaging
brand and need to be part of
sense; but (4) consumers prefer to
app, which has approximately 650
an integrated media plan that
watch video ads on TV (where they
million monthly active users.
is well conceived and executed
spend 22 percent of their viewing
78
across digital devices, in ways that
time) rather than on mobile devices
For brands that use video across
are appropriate, coherent and
(where they spend 56 percent of
devices, it is important to create
persuasive. Brands that succeed
their viewing time).
content that corresponds to the
will communicate to both broad
consumer mindset, which varies by
and targeted audiences of Chinas
device. Because consumers are less
consumers.
79
6. CREATIVE QUALITY
Big creative ideas

can turn strategy
into magic
A lot depends on the
big idea, the overarching thought that
communicates the brand
offering and advantage in a
compelling and memorable
way. A great creative idea
provokes reaction. It can
turn strategy into magic.
The big idea is especially relevant in

China. When Chinese consumers
consider a purchase, the top brands in
the category may come to mind, but
too often they are not distinctive. Local
Chinese brands have successfully built
Salience, but not Difference. A strong
ad with a creative big idea can supply
the critical point of Difference.
The right idea also helps cut through
the manifold distractions of so much
communication, especially on social
media. Marketing communication that
lacks a creative big idea risks becoming
just more noise. A recent case

study illustrates the point.
In one of Chinas most expensive
ad campaigns, a used car brand
recently hired 10 celebrities to
appear during a series of 60-second
spots inserted around a favorite TV
program. The celebrities exhorted
viewers to visit the brands website,
a total of 20 times in each ad.
Millward Browns LinkNow research
found the audience disengaged and
unmotivated to purchase second
hand cars as a result of the ad.
Winning brands maintain media investment

The BrandZ China Top 10 increased digital media investment by an average of 20 percent in 2015. In contrast,
the 10 brands that dropped from the Top 100 ranking decreased digital media investment by an average of 52
percent. Losing brands slashed overall spending 36 percent. Winning brands moderated overall investment.
Winning Brands
Losing Brands
(Top 10 Most Valuable Brands)
(Dropout 10 Brands)
-17%
+20%
-36%
-52%
Average Media
Investment
Change
Average Digital
Investment
Change
Average Media
Investment
Change
Average Digital
Investment
Change
Increase
Decrease
Source: BrandZ; CTR, MI Full Media Tracking (TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine, OOH, Metro, Internet)
80
The ad failed to engage and motivate because repetition

of a message alone is not a recipe for communication
success. The message needs to include a credible benefit.
A message presented at a high decibel level, but without
a benefit, often is experienced as intrusive, irritating, and
disturbing even if celebrities are doing the shouting.
Audiences respond more positively when brands
communicate with a creative big idea. In BrandZ
research ranking advertising by the level of consumer
approval, the Top 10 Brands score 26 percent
higher in Brand Power, a BrandZ measurement of
competitiveness, and 30 percent higher in brand value,
than the next 10 brands.
Implications
for Brands
With creative big ideas Chinese brands can differentiate
from the competition in compelling and memorable
The message needs to reach the right audiences, of

course. Winning brands are the offspring of harmonious
marriages, where a creative big idea and a well-conceived
media plan work in concert. The Top 10 brands, in
the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands,
increased digital media investment by an average of 20
percent in 2015. In contrast, the 10 brands that dropped
from the Top 100 ranking decreased digital media
investment by an average of 52 percent. The losing
brands also slashed overall media investment by a third,
while the winning brands only moderated spending, even
in a turbulent year.
ways. Achieving that goal requires working with

marketing communication specialists that respect and
cultivate creativity, have the research and analytics
acumen to determine the right strategy, and the media
expertise to shape the best implementation plan.
Winning brands maintain significant media investment
even in difficult times.
81
OUR INSIGHTS
and demanding of brands
behaviors. They are calling for
Brands that Do not just Brands
that Say. Huawei is a good
example of a brand that Does
things first, before they Tell
people. To a large extent, the
brands recent ascent is the reward
for its long dedication to tech
innovations and product delivery.
Now, the brand is a genuine
challenger on the world stage.
How far have we gone with the

sophistication of branding in the
past 20 years? Modern brand
management and integrated
communications have helped
brands to establish genuine
connections with their customers.
We have seen brands trying to
appeal with emotional promises,
some even making bold claims of
higher purposes and ideals.
It is all good if brands are living up
to these claims and promises. With
the exponential growth of digital
platforms and social media in China,
the balance of information has tilted
in favor of the customers, meaning
brands are under constant scrutiny.
False claims and empty promises are
easily seen through. More than ever,
consumers are more suspicious
VALIDATE
BRANDS THAT DO
Perhaps other brands in China will

start reflecting on the way they
attribute their resources. Instead
of bidding for the sky rocketing
15-second commercial break on
CCTVs New Years Eve show, maybe
it is time to consider putting more
resources into R&D investment or in
improving the customer experience.
Consumer adoption of mobile devices is

growing in leaps and bounds, especially
in China where people
seem to feel compelled
to order everything
MOBILE
online for delivery to their
doorstep. The phenomenon
empowers consumers to
become smarter, while also
getting them to focus on
individuality and demand
personalized services. They
dont like being educated,
but want to take control by themselves.
Owing to such changes in behavior,
brands are facing both challenges and
opportunities.
THE NEXT
BATTLEFIELD
FOR BRANDS
BENJAMIN WEI
General Manager
GroupM Connect China
Benjamin.Wei@groupm.com
82
Smart marketers have realized that mobile

data terminals provide an unprecedented
opportunity to understand consumers
in depth, and with the help of mobile
technology, they get to reach consumers
more effectively. Brand owners can easily
identify a consumer and track his/her
CULTURAL
For many years the two anchors in

Chinese peoples lives (Confucianism
and Communism) have promoted
conformity as the desired, safe
way of going about life. However,
as the macro
socio-economic
STRATEGY
conditions
change, values
and aspirations
are starting to
shift. People
are becoming
more exposed
to Western views
on individualism and the desire
to express a distinct identity from
parents and peers.
MOVING FROM MASS

CONFORMITY TOWARDS
INDIVIDUAL DISTINCTIVENESS
MICKEY CHAK
Chief Planning Officer
Ogilvy & Mather China
Mickey.Chak@ogilvy.com
PANOS DIMITROPOULOS
Director of Cultural Strategy
Added Value China
cninfo@added-value.com
behavior accordingly. By further analysis,

brands can reach their target audiences
via interactive technologies and media mix
to gain conversions.
Mobile has now become the core
of marketing campaigns. Marketing
mechanisms are therefore designed
and developed around mobile terminals
through which content is distributed. It
looks like mobile marketing is all set to
take the form of a native ecosystem. Soon,
the traditional hard-ads will be replaced by
soft forms of content and services.
Brands need to adapt to these rapid
changes to present themselves in the
right place, at the right time, and more
importantly, with a more mobile friendly
image. Not portraying its services
effectively by mobile will be a hindrance
to growth for a brand. The use and
misuse of mobile may yet prove to
be the key determinant of the future of
Chinese brands.
Why is it that Chinese brands have

gained share over multinational
brands for the third consecutive year?
According to Kantar Worldpanels
recent Asian Brand Power report,
one of the key reasons is their ability
to deliver world-class innovation
with a local twist. Chinese brands
recognize that consumers want to
move with the times whilst honoring
traditions.
Yunnan Baiyaos premium
toothpaste, for example, won
6.3 million new consumers1 in its
first year, using ingredients from
traditional Chinese medicine as
its reason to believe. Similarly, Six
Walnuts created a new category of
liquid nutritional supplements based
on the dietetic powers of the king
1
Todays China is buzzing with

progressive ideas imported, home
grown or both, increasingly revolving
around the idea of self. Aspirations are
no longer bound to the conformity
of ones role within the group, but
are evolving toward a more personal
and empowering horizon. As a result,
we are seeing more lateral thinking

practised and individual expressions
encouraged from acts of creativity
to small disruptions of rules.
This growing shift towards
individualism can be a powerful tool
for more emergent and premium
brands that want to connect with
consumers. Indeed, some brands are
already tapping into this phenomenon
across all areas of communication
including packaging, events, digital
and advertising. For example in above
the line communications the trend
is to focus on a persons story and
aspirations with visual compositions
centred around him/her,
documentary style cinematography
and copy that uses words like I, me,
my dream, and so forth. Ultimately
we are now discovering tailor-made
products and services that allow
individuals to express themselves in a
more personal, customized way that
showcases their true inner emotions
and desires.
of nuts, and have seen sales double

for five years in a row. They cleverly
used restaurants as their
initial launch pad before
expanding distribution
AUTHENTICITY
to convenience stores.
Endorsement by Chen
Luyu, often described as
Chinas Oprah, further
helped them increase
their penetration by 8.7
million households last year1.
WORLD-CLASS INNOVATION
WITH CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Other brands can learn from these

successes by ensuring cultural
insights are part of the innovation
process as well as the subsequent
launch plan. Reflecting national
culture, pride and values in an
authentic way will play a critical part
in the success of your brand in China.
JULES YOUNG
Global Account Director
Kantar, China
Jules.Young@kantar.com
Source: Kantar Worldpanel, China
83
OUR INSIGHTS
The healthcare industry in China
saw unprecedented growth a few
years ago, but now we need to
work harder to make these brands
launch trajectories as steep as
possible. Following the three simple
rules below will help organizations
to think more strategically when
looking for brand growth drivers.
becoming part of the sales mix, and

social channels such as WeChat have
become important platforms for not
only consumers but doctors too. Focus
on three pillars:
PHARMA
RULES FOR
BRAND GROWTH
ADELE LI
Commercial Director
Kantar Health, China
Adele.Li@kantarhealth.com
1. Its not just about using insights from

awareness and usage metrics anymore.
The world has moved on, and a strong
brand growth framework will allow
research and marketing teams to
collaboratively identify where the best
return on your yuan is.
2. Healthcare is different, especially
in China where Chinese traditional
medicine makes up a large percentage
of the market. Taking a consumer
framework and overlaying it on
healthcare will not work. In addition,
pharma sales forces in China are under
unprecedented scrutiny. E-detailing is
Brand access Is your drug present

on the National Reimbursed Drug
List (NRDL) or regional lists? Do
hospital policies support its use? How
widespread is its distribution? And can
patients afford it in a market where,
despite government reforms, up to
three-quarters of costs are still paid outof-pocket?
Brand execution Do you have the
right mix of traditional and digital
channels? What messages are
consumers and doctors receiving?
Brand experience What is in the mind
of a doctor or consumer when they are
deciding what to prescribe/pick up from
the pharmacy shelf?
In the era of mobile internet,

information is readily available
to consumers through multiple
channels. Since the consumers
ability to assimilate cant keep up with
the lightning speed of information,
content that is in line with their
interests and also user-generatedcontent are gaining greater priority
than ever before.
The internet has made consumers
more active players in brand
communication. With the
development of technology, a
majority of consumers are keen to
express themselves online, whether
on social networks, WeChat Moments
advertising comments or Popups
on video websites. An individual
has much more control over the
expression of their online identity than
in real life face-to-face interaction.
3. Implement high quality research and

marketing recommendations.
WeChat Moments feed

advertisements with
SOFT
push ads and comment
spaces not only create a
virtual lobby context for
customers to post their
opinions of these brands
but also provide space
for them to interact with
their WeChat friends.
Hence, it has significant customer
cluster effect. Such space-providing
feature helps WeChat to turn hard
advertising into soft advertising,
which enhances the effectiveness.
CREATING SMART
SPACES FOR CONSUMER
ENGAGEMENT IS A MUST
Brand owners should consider this

as a priority: either provide quality
content for your audience or save
space for customers to interact with
one other. In the process, your brand
will gain more recognition subtly, but
persuasively.
According to our latest

AdReaction study, multiscreen users in China are
amongst the world leaders
when it comes to watching
video content across
devices, especially on
digital channels. Chinese
multi-screen consumers
aged between 16 to 45 years old watch 4
hours and 3 minutes of video content on
a daily basis almost 40 minutes more
than the global average. It also shows that
the receptiveness of Chinese consumers
towards video ads on their smart phones
(9 percent) is one of the lowest across
the world (19 percent). The challenge for
marketers in China is that consumers like
watching video on their digital devices
but are resistant to video ads.
RECEPTIVITY
Recently Landor researchers have

noticed a seeming shift in the
basic attributes that underlie brand
strength and financial success. In
2015, the nature of this shift was
examined using a global multi-phase
approach with analysis from Landor/
Y&R Brand Asset Valuator and a
qualitative analysis of consumers
in the USA, Europe and China. The
resulting synthesis identified a new
leading indicator of future success
for a brand how good it is at being
Agile. The six traits that are common
(in varying degrees) to every Agile
Brand are identified as principled,
responsible, adaptive, multichannel,
globally-aware, and having open
communication with users.
The Agile Brand in China differs
from its global counterparts,
84
however, in the degree

to which the last four of
these six traits are strongly
evident and a quantitative
factor for success in
brands across categories
and demographics.
IMPACTFUL
ADVERTISING IN
THE DIGITAL WORLD
AGILITY
THE AGILE BRAND

CHINESE STYLE
This insight gives starting points

for agencies and brand owners
looking for ways to improve.
Does the brand have the habit
of adapting? Is it leveraging all
channels at its disposal? Even if
not an export product, is it abreast
of how its category is behaving in
global markets? Has it established a
communication channel with users?
From pharmaceuticals to mobile
phones, real estate to banking,
the data shows that agility means
success.
PETER MACK
Executive Director
Landor Associates
Peter.Mack@landor.com
RAJSHEKHAR MYLAVARAPU
Digital Director, Shanghai
Millward Brown
Rajshekhar.Mylavarapu@
millwardbrown.com
ADVERTISING
A recent study of ours showed only 50

percent of the ads successfully transferred
from TV to online. One of the main reasons
for this is context. The consumers mindset
while consuming TV and online content is
completely different; digital devices (Lean
forward) operate in a different audience
context from TV (Lean back).
ZOD FANG
Director
GroupM Knowledge China
Zod.Fang@groupm.com
The online ecosystem has issued

a challenge to marketers to adapt
their creative to a new environment
where there is a significant variation in
advertising receptivity across formats.
How do we optimize video ads for digital
devices to engage consumers, and avoid
being skipped across screens? Here are
some essential considerations:
Prioritize eye-catching visuals to
enhance stopping power; strong
images and eye-catching color can
help here
Be distinctive; breaking category
codes can help achieve stand out in a
digital environment
Brand needs to come in early, clearly
and consistently to have a stronger
impact in the cluttered online
environment
Build stronger emotional resonance
to get close to consumers and build
positive receptiveness to ads
85
C O N S U M E R S A R E S P E N D I N G M O R E W I S E LY,
B U T T H E Y C O N T I N U E T O S P E N D , E V E N O N L U X U R Y.
03
DIGITAL
E-COMMERCE
PHYSICAL WORLD OPPORTUNIT Y
THE NEW NORMAL
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
88
89
03 > Thought Leadership
DIGITAL
TIME FOR FMCG

BRANDS TO
PRIORITIZE
THEIR DIGITAL
STRATEGY
Jason Yu
General Manager
Jason.Yu@ctrchina.cn
90
FMCG BRANDS MUST RESPOND

QUICKLY AS THE BALANCE OF SALES
POWER SHIFTS TO ONLINE
While FMCG bricks and mortar stores
experienced tepid performance last year,
the opposite was true in Chinas robust
e-commerce landscape. Here, online sales
rose 34 percent in 2014 as e-commerce
retailers expanded penetration and online
shoppers dramatically increased their
purchasing frequency. The pure-play
online retail outlets continue to dominate
the market, but large omnichannel retailers
are now beginning to emerge. Brands
must respond to the rise of e-commerce
channels and fast.
stores but they tend to exhibit more purchasing

loyalty to their preferred online outlets.
Chinas online retail world is being shaped by digital

consumers distinct preferences and habits. Our study
found that shoppers who bought products online,
where they would have otherwise purchased in store,
generated approximately 40 percent of e-commerce
sales growth. This means that approximately 60
percent of sales growth was organic and the result of
new purchases that shoppers would not have made
without the digital option.
Some brands are building their strategic partnership

with the likes of Tmall and JD.com as a way to sell
their blockbuster products via the digital channel.
We have also observed brands increasingly using
their hero SKUs to attract new consumers. For
example, leading make up brand Maybelline used
its Pure Mineral BB Cream to attract 800,000 new
consumers in 2014 through its online channel alone,
according to Kantar Worldpanel. Chinese brands
are relatively more aggressive in their online activity.
Pechoin, a skin care brand with a history dating back
to the 1930s, has really focused on building its profile
in the digital space. Its perhaps a lesson to others
that Pechoin was the only brand in its category to
exceed sales of RMB 100 million (U.S. $16 million) on
Singles Day, according to its website.
Online, Chinese shoppers exhibit the same lack of

loyalty as they do in physical stores. The more they
shop, the more places they go to, both offline and
online. However, certain behavioral differences exist
between the two channels:
Chinese shoppers buy a relatively limited number
of FMCG product categories online but in a more
focused way. The top 10 categories represent 77
percent of online sales, but only 43 percent of offline
sales. Another interesting finding is that for certain
products such as skincare or infant formula, Chinese
consumers will shop across a variety of physical
Among the most common traits of online shoppers

and one opening up significant opportunities is
their interest in taking advantage of promotions and
imports. Promotions result in only 14 percent of
physical store sales. That rate is more than doubled
online, where 38 percent of sales take place during
the most popular promotional offerings.
Online shoppers are also more willing or simply
more able to purchase products from overseas:
imports account for only 10 percent of purchases
offline, but 40 percent online.
Clearly, as consumers and competitors alike

become increasingly digital, FMCG brands must
invest to understand how to use Chinas booming
e-commerce market to reach and recruit new
customers. Implementing an effective digital strategy
must be the brands priority.
91
E-COMMERCE
WHAT TO
EXPECT:
7 TRENDS
FOR CHINA
E-COMMERCE
In 2014, China topped the global e-commerce market with sales of US $458 billion (RMB2.8
trillion). Second in line was the United States with sales of US $297 billion. If the Internet
penetration rate in China and proportion of Chinese netizens who shop online follow the
pattern seen in the U.S., the number of online shoppers in China will reach 891 million by
2020 thats more than double the number of shoppers in 2015, according to Kantar Retail
estimates. The revenue from these e-commerce sales should account for 26.7 percent of
total national retail sales by 2020.
So, whats going to drive this tremendous growth in

Chinese e-commerce over the coming five years?
We have identified the following seven trends.
FMCG and fresh food will be the fastest-growing categories

In 2015, online FMCG sales
represented 7 percent of total
FMCG sales; however, this
proportion is anticipated to
reach 30.5 percent by 2020.
As competition in this sector
intensifies, every eTailer is
expanding the range of goods
it offers online. The fresh food

segment has already been fiercely
contested. Its most likely that this
uptick will result from every sizable
e-commerce platform pushing
heavily into this field and investing
in or acquiring strong vertical fresh
food e-commerce companies.
Cross-border e-commerce will experience 10x growth

within five years
Oceanne Zhang
Director of Retail Insights and eCommerce

Kantar Retail
Oceanne.Zhang@kantarretail.com
92
Cross-border activity is an
emerging theme of the
e-commerce world, and it is rising
sharply under the auspices of
policy incentives. Import duties
on most categories were reduced
in 2015, meaning shoppers pay
only the personal postal article tax
when they purchase foreign goods
through cross-border e-commerce
platforms. This creates a clear
price advantage for cross-border
e-commerce.
Major eTailers have already

established their special crossborder e-commerce brands such
as Tmall Global, Jumei Global, JD
Worldwide, and SF Haitao. Twelve
national pavilions have been set up
on Tmall Global and nine on JD
Worldwide. Professional crossborder eTailers as represented by
Ymatou.com have also entered a
phase of fast growth, setting up
overseas warehouses and crossborder logistics in quick succession.
93
E-COMMERCE
Rural areas and small and medium-sized cities will drive

rapid growth
With the gradual saturation of
e-commerce in Tier 1 cities,
small and medium-sized cities
have become the new drivers of
e-commerce growth. The days
of advertising gimmicks, such as
wall painting and driving caravans
around towns and villages,
have passed. A round of key
cultivation and investment in rural
e-commerce has started. Taobao
has tailored a web page for rural
areas. It has also set up franchised
Taobao service stations with
multiple ways of educating
shoppers, and purchasing,
Internet finance will be another battlefront

Internet finance will significantly
boost e-commerce
development. Alibaba gained
an advantage by getting into
this arena early. As a latecomer
to the industry, JD.com set up
its financial system within a
fairly short period, modeling
it on Alibabas. However, its
launch of the Blank Note
interest-free consumer credit
receiving, and delivering goods

on their behalf. Currently,
Taobao service stations cover
17 provinces, of which 63 are
county-level stations and 1,803
are village-level stations. JD.com
has established directly operated
county-level service centers
and set up JD Bang home
appliance franchise centers.
At this point in time, these two
levels of service centers span 32
provinces, municipalities, and
autonomous regions of mainland
China, covering more than 1,000
counties in total.
Logistics as the enabler

Logistics has always been
the core competency of
eTailers, and it is also pivotal
to shoppers satisfaction with
the shopping experience. With
eTailers expanding into lowertier cities and e-commerce
rising quickly in rural areas,
logistics, timeliness and efficacy
are not only a question of
securing the last mile, but also
of conquering a last hurdle for
both eTailers and brand owners.
Mobile devices will be the critical platform

Mobile phones are already the
most-used device for network
connection by the Chinese,
and the proportion of mobile
shopping for all major eTailers
is also growing dramatically.
Alibabas GMV from mobile
shopping accounted for 68.67
percent during Singles Day. To
reach that, it has established a
large, effective mobile ecosystem
through acquisitions, investments
and alliances, all of which bring
mobile traffic into its three
shopping platforms Taobao,
94
Tmall, and Juhuasuan from

essential mobile APPs such as
Weibo.com, UC Browser, Amap
and Xiami.com.
In 2014, JD.com formed a
strategic alliance with Tencent
and gained home-page
placement on WeChat and
Mobile QQ, thus monetizing
a huge amount of traffic. It is
estimated that 48 percent of
JD.coms transactions were
completed on mobile devices in
2015.
service stole a march even

on Alibaba. Other innovations
in financing could open
up even more avenues for
e-commerce. Crowdfunding,
for example, which originated
as a method of financing
startups, has become a new
way of developing, marketing
and advertising new products
on e-commerce platforms.
07
At present, all eTailers are

striving to build their logistics
capabilities and expand their
areas of coverage for fast
delivery. A comparison of the
provinces where key eTailers
provided next-day delivery
between 2014 and 2015
reveals that fast-delivery areas
have expanded significantly.
eTailers also upgraded their
delivery teams and facilities at
the same time.
Value, assortment and experience as key

consumption drivers
During the early stages of
e-commerce, the three main
motivations for shopping
online were price, assortment,
and convenience. Following
the normalization of
e-commerce in China, the
three main motivations for
shopping online became
value, assortment and
experience. In response to
these new shopper priorities,
Alibaba and JD.com launched
a variety of initiatives in recent
years targeting the user
experience before, during,
and after the sale all of which
aim to fulfill each shoppers
requirements and create the
perfect shopping experience.
95
PHYSICAL WORLD OPPORTUNITY
A NEW TREND
IN BUILDING
INTERNET
BRANDS
RETHINK THE FUNDAMENTALS
AND BUILD BRAND EQUITY IN THE
PHYSICAL WORLD
With their rapidly increasing brand value, internet brands are playing
a crucial role in social development and fundamentally transforming
consumers lifestyles and purchase behaviors. This is driving a
transformation of the relationship between brand and consumers.
Last year, for the first time, a

technology brand Tencent seized
the top spot in the Top 100 most
valuable Chinese brands rankings. 2015
was also the first time that the overall
brand value of technology brands
surpassed that of financial services
brands. Throughout the remainder of
the year, internet brands continued the
growth trend, with leaders BAT (Baidu,
Alibaba, Tencent) enjoying strong
performances.
While Internet+, O2O and digital
have become the sweet spots for
traditional industry brands trying to
innovate and seize new opportunities
in the internet age, we have observed
a new trend among internet brands.
That is, leaders are placing emphasis
on rethinking the fundamentals
of their brand and brand building
efforts, as they aim to enhance their
brand influence in the physical
world. We perceive two key areas of
development:
RETHINK THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN BRAND AND
CONSUMER
Leon Zhang
Director
Millward Brown Vermeer
Leon.Zhang@mbvermeer.com
96
Successful internet brands are

usually the pioneers of innovative
solutions to address a specific
untapped consumer need, regardless
of whether it is as yet an unmet or
unrealized need. Previously, a superior
product experience was seen as
the most important aspect for the
brand. However, with the gradual

development of brand ecosystems, it
has become increasingly difficult to
define brands merely through a single
product experience.
This has led leading internet brands to
shift from solely focusing on providing
an innovative product experience and
instead aim at the higher purpose
of how to make a difference in
consumers everyday life. In reality this
has resulted in a shift of branding from
product + community marketing
to creating a deeper emotional
connection with consumers. For
example, Tencent has continually
communicated emotional themes
such as human interaction and, Love
is all around to consumers since its
12th anniversary.
RETHINK THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN BRAND AND
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Internet brands will continue to drive
social development in a unique and
previously unseen way, more often
than not causing disruption to an
existing industry. For example, Chinas
Xiaomi is consistently challenging
the traditional consumer electronics
industry; Didi has significantly changed
the way in which people approach
travel; and both Taobao and Jingdong
have served to replace the traditional
retail industry by moving it from the
high street to online. In this landscape
of disruption, it is not surprising that

we see a series of Going back to
Tangibles initiatives from traditional
brands such as Gree and TCL, and a
few defensive moves from taxi drivers
or taxi companies due to disturbance
by Didi, which lead to stricter
government regulation of the new
methods.
In light of Chinas unique cultural
background and economic
rebalancing, it is even more the
case that building a successful brand
requires not only commercial growth
but also a societal purpose, and the
internet industry is no exception.
Alibaba is a good example of a
company that has been able to be
both disruptive and also widely
accepted by the general public. It has
been able to do this by always staying
true to a higher purpose, that is,
making business easy to do anywhere.
Even in the fast-changing everdisruptive internet industry, the
essence of brand remains unshaken.
For this reason, internet brands that
strive for excellence should further
explore their brand purpose. By placing
emphasis on the relationship between
brand and consumer; brand and other
stakeholders in the industry chain /
ecosystem; as well as brand and social
development, internet brands can
better build brand equity beyond the
internet, and in doing so, transform the
world in a more effective way.
97
BRAND
BUILDING: AN
INVESTMENT
IN FUTURE
FINANCIAL
SUCCESS
Doreen Wang
Marketing is not a cost. Marketing is the most important investment any company should make
to ensure long-term financial success. Brand strength leads to superior shareholder returns. At
BrandZ, weve proved this connection: if youd invested $100 on the stock market (the MSCI world
index) in 2006, your return in 2015 would be $30. However, if youd picked your portfolio from
the BrandZ Top 100 the return would be $103 three times greater. Brand building also brings
resilience in challenging times. While the share price of all brands dropped during the economic
downturn, it took strong brands just six months to recover versus three years for average brands.
In China, it is widely acknowledged by

businesses that strong brands help to
generate a price premium and increase
sales volumes. For many of the stock
markets leading performers it is the
brand that those businesses have built
up that drives their market success.
More organizations focus on building
great brands so that they can benefit
from market share, premiumization
and business longevity.
While brand is not a passive asset, like
the goodwill that is left over when
the value of other assets has been
subtracted, its role in business success
is too important for financial analysts
to ignore.
Apple (AAPL:NDQ) is a good

example of a tech business that uses
brand to command a price premium
and drive business sales. As one of
the highest-ranking brands in our
BrandZ Top 100 ranking of the Most
Valuable Global Brands, its brand is
valued at $148 billion. But in 2014, a
growing perception that Apple was
no longer redefining technology for
consumers which was reflected
by a lack of dramatic new product
launches contributed to a 20
percent decline in Apples brand
value. In 2015, the success of iPhone
6 and the launch of new products
such as Apple Watch, Apple Pay
pushed Apple back to the position of
most valuable brand in the world.
PRIZE ASSET
Brand is one of the most valuable
financial asset types of modern
corporations. It contributes more to
shareholder value creation than any
other tangible or intangible asset.
Millward Brown research shows the
additional value realized by brands to
be as much as 50 percent of intangible
capital.
Autohome Inc. (ADR: NYSE):

Autohome Inc. is the leading online
automobile news, social media and
purchase site in China, providing
independent and interactive content
to automobile buyers and owners.
Its brand was valued at $120 million
at IPO. Autohome Incs CEO, James
Qin, believes that IPOs are the time
to focus the business away from
products and toward the needs of

existing and future customers, and
what a brand will do to support and
grow this base. With the support
of BrandZ methodology, the
Autohome board decided to expand
into auto e-commerce and the used
car business, with an aligned brand
vision Lead everything Auto to be
executed through brand development
plans. Revenue year-on-year
increased by 82.1 percent to $100.5
million for the first quarter of 2015,
reflected by stock market growth of
over 72 percent.
The number of Chinese brands in
the BrandZ Global Top 100 has
risen from just one in 2006 to 14 in
2015, and their total Brand Power has
increased 1,004 percent. Chinese
brands have learned from and
followed Western brands, and now
they have started to lead. The majority
are not yet truly globalized, but theyre
ambitious and growing in value
extremely fast and they will change
the global competitive landscape.
Global Head of BrandZ

Millward Brown
Doreen.Wang@millwardbrown.com
98
99
TO WIN IN THE NEXT DECADE, BUILDING

DIFFERENCE IS THE MUST-DO FOR CHINESE
BRANDS
Heres one big challenge Chinese brands are facing:
compared to multi-national brands in China, Chinese brands
are lagging way behind on being different. For example,
in consumers minds, local brands are less trend-setting
and lack experience of telling compelling brand stories.
In a world with so much product similarity, brands which
consumers view as different achieve higher value. Those
that have remained in the top half of the BrandZ ranking
over the last 10 years are scored very highly on difference
by consumers, and have grown 124 percent in brand value.
In contrast, brands in the bottom half of the ranking score
lower and have increased only 24 percent in value.
Difference can enable a brand to command a higher price
and yield a higher profit. It isnt just about the product;
differentiation can also be found through purpose,
personality, values, and design. Category leaders like
Coca-Cola and BMW need to guard leadership and keep
refreshing their brand messages to be always unique.
As China is experiencing the historical Internet+ technology
explosion, its a critical time for technology companies
to build strong brands. Chinese brands should consider
a comprehensive review of the brands value proposition
in order to answer two important questions: What does
my brand stand for and What purpose can we fulfill to
make a positive difference in peoples lives. We need to
move beyond the product functional benefit what, to
emotional benefits and purposeful benefits why why
we do what we do? As a good recent example, Smartizan
T2 phone created a pair-up solution to help senior citizens
fix smartphone issues via the remote same-time help app
on their childrens phones. This is not just a smart solution,
but more importantly, it serves a greater social purpose to
make seniors lives easier and give them the opportunity to
truly enjoy the mobile world.
To remain competitive through the next decade, and to
develop into the worlds most valuable brands, Chinese
brands should stop seeing brand building as a cost and
view it as an investment in future financial success. They
need a holistic brand building system that focuses on every
aspect from communications to CRM to creating the
whole experience to make consumers lives better, build
meaningful difference and embrace disruptive technologies.
Brands are a fabulous investment, and need to be nurtured
and cared for accordingly.
100
101
GROWTH IN THE NEW NORMAL
8 RULES FOR
WINNING IN
CHINAS NEW
GROWTH
MARKETS
Jacco ter Schegget
President
OgilvyOne China
Jacco.Schegget@ogilvy.com
102
Charles Laporte Aust
China has officially entered what President Xi Jinping has called the New
Normal. This phenomenon incorporates a broad combination of factors
including the gradual slowing down of economic growth, a transition to
higher levels of domestic consumption, more innovation-driven industrial
growth, and a number of other changes. With this, there is now broad
consensus that the so-called easy growth in China is over.
Moving forward, the brands that will excel will be the

ones who innovate and create new forms of value for
customers. Creativity will increasingly emerge as a
core currency for companies, and ideas will be seen
as the source of future growth.
MOVING AT THE PACE OF CHINA

The Chinese market is complex, and it rewards
a unique set of behaviors that are quite different
from those generally most appreciated by Western
multinationals.
Speed, for example, is viewed as a virtue in itself.

The closed technology ecosystem of China requires
organizations to develop an intimate understanding
of the local Chinese alternatives to global standardsetters, and how they are different. The incredible
pace of economic development has led to
dramatically different viewpoints across generational
and geographic segments, and therefore requires
China-only forms of targeting.
While these factors have long been true, the

difference is that China is now beginning to lead
the world into truly new territories, and global
leadership needs to play a different role. Seizing
the opportunities in the New Normal will require
empowering China leadership teams to move at the
incredible pace of the Chinese market not the pace
of global stakeholders who need to play catch up.
A PERFECT STORM OF OPPORTUNITY

Despite the slowing economic growth and more
difficulty in finding growth, there are new reasons to
be excited about the Chinese market.
The tremendous market size of China and relative

consumer homogeneity means that brands can
get a lot of mileage from each initiative they
launch. Even the most targeted of marketing
initiatives can involve a dialogue with enormous
populations.
The growing middle class is demonstrating
an incredible, ever-increasing appetite for
consumption.
The advanced levels of mobile and e-commerce
penetration are making China ideal for digitallyenabled business ventures.
We believe this unique combination is creating a

perfect storm of opportunity, for which weve
already seen a first wave of big winners.
Vice President
OgilvyOne China
CL.Aust@ogilvy.com
103
GROWTH IN THE NEW NORMAL
8 RULES OF SUCCESS
Having the privilege of seeing the inner workings of some
of the most successful and cutting-edge brands in China,
weve distilled a set of eight key success factors.
01
Go mobile first
The new generation of
Chinese consumer is living
at the global cutting edge of
online-to-offline experience.
Failure to put mobile
experience at the core of any
new business can be fatal.
02
Think journey-wide
engagement
Chinese consumers have a
strong sense of price-value
benefit and are uniquely
sensitive to empty brand
promises. We see them
gravitating towards the
brands that deliver great
experiences across their
journeys, not just messaging.
03
Own your user data

In a world where brands need
to compete intensely for
customer attention, insights
become the foundation. With
Chinas unique BAT (Baidu,
Alibaba, Taobao) dominated
media ecosystem, the
temptation can be to build
experiences on third party
platforms and leave the data
in their hands. This is like
giving your heart away.
04
Focus on specific
personas
While Chinese consumers

may have a lot in common as
a whole, they also encompass
incredible diversity. Getting
it right requires sophisticated
understanding around
different generations, Chinese
geographies and more standard
demographics/psychographics.
05
06
07
08
We see two frequent errors

when it comes to quality
standards. At one extreme,
the complete abandonment
of rigor and quality standards.
At the other extreme, we
sometimes see the desire to
impose process and best
practice that prevent teams
from moving nimbly enough.
Rather than committing to
either school of management,
we value a bit of wisdom
about where and when.
Dont rely on over extensive

research, validation and upfront modeling. The winners
are the ones who are
taking more entrepreneurial
approaches to developing,
launching and evolving new
business avenues.
Chinas market is big

enough to build incredible
businesses in very focused
areas of operations. Doing
one thing brilliantly can be
a much better strategy in
China than doing multiple
things adequately. Take for
example the story of Three
Squirrels the 3-year old
company that made USD
$25m in 2014 by only selling
nuts on Taobao.
In such a fast moving world,

building the business of
the future requires fertile
partnership ecosystems, and
the building of customer
interest together via
complementary roles. This
is particularly true in China,
where aligning motivations
and wins is always a great
starting point.
Use rubber rigor
104
Fail fast & iterate
Focus on the core
Create shared wins
105
04
THE CHINA TOP 100 RANKING

THE CHINA TOP 100 BRANDS IN BRIEF
THE TOP PERFORMERS
CATEGORY UPDATE
Q&A WITH SENIOR EXECUTIVES OF TOP 100 BRANDS
OUR INSIGHTS
THE CHINA
TOP 100
106
107
04 > The China Top 100
The BrandZ Top 100

Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016
Brand
Category
Brand Value
Brand Value %
US$ Mil.
Change 2016 vs. 2015
Brand
Contribution
The BrandZ Top 100

Brand
Category
Brand Value
Brand Value %
US$ Mil.
Brand
Contribution
Tencent
Technology
82,107
24%
26
Suning
Retail
3,310
68%
China Mobile
Telecom Providers
57,157
2%
27
Yunnan Baiyao
Health Care
3,046
11%
Alibaba
Retail
47,605
-20%
28
Vanke
Real Estate
3,038
18%
ICBC
Banks
34,276
-1%
29
China Eastern Airlines
Airlines
3,015
49%
Baidu
Technology
26,849
-13%
30
PICC
Insurance
2,975
25%
China Construction Bank
Banks
19,720
-6%
31
Wanda
Real Estate
2,921
NEW
Huawei
Technology
18,501
NEW
32
Letv
Technology
2,805
81%
Agricultural Bank of China
Banks
16,239
5%
33
Midea
Home Appliances
2,495
54%
Ping An
Insurance
15,624
41%
34
China Southern Airlines
Airlines
2,456
44%
10
China Life
Insurance
15,504
53%
35
Haier
Home Appliances
2,360
22%
11
Bank of China
Banks
12,974
9%
36
Evergrande Real Estate
Real Estate
2,288
49%
12
Sinopec
Oil & Gas
12,717
-18%
37
Shuanghui
Food & Dairy
2,265
-17%
13
Moutai
Alcohol
11,507
51%
38
Poly Real Estate
Real Estate
2,113
20%
14
PetroChina
Oil & Gas
10,709
-11%
39
Gree
Home Appliances
1,947
9%
15
JD.com
Retail
9,422
NEW
40
NetEase
Technology
1,933
73%
16
China Telecom
Telecom Providers
9,003
-9%
41
360
Technology
1,903
20%
17
China Merchants Bank
Banks
6,631
17%
42
New China Life
Insurance
1,825
42%
18
Yili
Food & Dairy
6,235
22%
43
Tong Ren Tang
Health Care
1,808
41%
19
Air China
Airlines
4,902
26%
44
Ctrip
Travel Agencies
1,711
40%
20
Mengniu
Food & Dairy
4,755
-2%
45
Yanghe
Alcohol
1,648
24%
21
China Unicom
Telecom Providers
4,708
-14%
46
BYD
Cars
1,573
20%
22
Bank of Communications
Banks
4,499
17%
47
ZTE
Technology
1,548
46%
23
CPIC
Insurance
4,304
36%
48
Country Garden
Real Estate
1,468
11%
24
Lenovo
Technology
3,788
16%
49
Tsingtao Beer
Alcohol
1,440
-20%
25
China Minsheng Bank
Banks
3,441
12%
50
ChangYu
Alcohol
1,162
25%
Source: BrandZ / Millward Brown.
108
Brand contribution measures the influence of brand alone on earnings, on a 1-to-5 scale, 5 being highest.
109
The BrandZ Top 100

Brand
Category
Brand Value
Brand Value %
US$ Mil.
Brand
Contribution
The BrandZ Top 100

Brand
Category
Brand Value
Brand Value %
US$ Mil.
Brand
Contribution
51
New Oriental
Education
1,155
-2%
76
Anerle
Baby Care
460
NEW
52
Youku Tudou
Technology
1,076
NEW
77
Gujing Gong Jiu
Alcohol
445
25%
53
Harbin Beer
Alcohol
1,011
23%
78
Yanjing Beer
Alcohol
438
-6%
54
Bright Dairy
Food & Dairy
1,011
-1%
79
Sanquan
Food & Dairy
418
4%
55
Wu Liang Ye
Alcohol
1,002
28%
80
China Taiping
Insurance
411
70%
56
Snow Beer
Alcohol
997
9%
81
Mizone
Soft drinks
398
NEW
57
CR Sanjiu
Healthcare
909
25%
82
Supor
Home Appliances
389
59%
58
Luzhou Laojiao
Alcohol
875
27%
83
China Everbright Bank
Banks
387
11%
59
Hainan Airlines
Airlines
866
37%
84
Hanting
Hotels
357
3%
60
Lao Feng Xiang
Jewelry Retailer
859
40%
85
SOHO China
Real Estate
356
-8%
61
Great Wall
Cars
767
36%
86
Greentown China
Real Estate
346
16%
62
Dabao
Personal Care
742
-1%
87
Quanjude
Catering
342
9%
63
Robam
Home Appliances
724
49%
88
Hisense
Home Appliances
342
14%
64
Gemdale
Real Estate
664
36%
89
Fortune
Food & Dairy
338
13%
65
Industrial Bank
Banks
653
17%
90
Ming Jewelry
Jewelry Retailer
335
29%
66
Yonghui Superstores
Retail
651
45%
91
Xueersi
Education
290
33%
67
Longfor
Real Estate
649
16%
92
Pearl River
Alcohol
289
-17%
68
Sina
Technology
628
-43%
93
CHJ Jewellery
Jewelry Retailer
288
NEW
69
Herborist
Personal Care
591
NEW
94
CITS
Travel Agencies
284
32%
70
Anta
Apparel
580
45%
95
TCL
Home Appliances
273
59%
71
R&F Properties
Real Estate
530
20%
96
Jinjiang Inn
Hotels
273
47%
72
Eastern Gold Jade
Jewelry Retailer
518
41%
97
Youngor
Apparel
259
11%
73
Belle
Apparel
479
-35%
98
Spring Airlines
Airlines
252
NEW
74
Home Inn
Hotels
479
3%
99
Changan
Cars
245
NEW
75
Suofeiya
Furniture
462
29%
100
Zhong Hua
Personal Care
245
6%
110
111
T H I S GE N E R AT ION I S GROW I NG U P W E L L E DUCAT E D

W I T H H IGH E X PECTAT IONS FOR T RUST WORT H Y PRODUCTS .
The China Top 100 Brands in Brief
114
Tencent
China Mobile
COMPANY Tencent Holdings, Ltd.

BRAND VALUE US$ 82,107 Million
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE 24%
HEADQUARTERS Shenzhen
INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1998
COMPANY China Mobile Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Beijing
INDUSTRY Telecom Providers
YEAR FORMED 1997
Founded in 1998, Tencent is Chinas

most used internet service portal,
offering value-added internet, mobile
services (including WeChat), telecoms,
and online advertising services. It
was listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange in 2004.
China Mobile is owned by SOE (State Owned Enterprise)

China Mobile Communications Corporation. It was listed on
the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in 1997.
Alibaba
ICBC
COMPANY Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd.

YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE -20%
HEADQUARTERS Hangzhou
INDUSTRY Retail
YEAR FORMED 1999
COMPANY Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1984
Alibaba was founded in 1999. Today, Alibaba combines

into one ecosystem the e-commerce and social network
equivalents of Amazon, eBay, PayPal and Groupon, along
with a music streaming service called Xiami, similar to
Spotify.
ICBC was originally a state-owned commercial bank. In

2006, it became a publicly traded entity (listed on the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges) with a major stake
held by the Chinese government.
115
10
Baidu
China Construction Bank
Ping An
China Life
COMPANY Baidu Inc.

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 2000
COMPANY China Construction Bank Corporation

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1954
COMPANY Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 1988
COMPANY China Life Insurance Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 2003
Baidu is Chinas most successful search engine. In

addition to its core web search services it provides many
online media marketing and community based platforms.
Founded by Robin Li in 2000, Baidu was first listed on the
NASDAQ in 2005.
Founded in 1954 as a wholly state-owned bank called

Peoples Bank of China, today it is one of the nations big
four commercial banks. It was listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange in 2005, and on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2007.
Ping An is a holding company whose subsidiaries mainly

deal with insurance, banking, and financial services. The
company was founded in 1988; it listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange in 2004, and on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2007.
China Life is part of China Life Insurance (Group) Company,

a state-owned firm that was spun off in 1996 from its
predecessor, Peoples Insurance Company of China (PICC,
which was founded in 1949). China Life was listed on the
New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in 2003, and on
the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2007.
11
12
Huawei
Agricultural Bank of China
Bank of China
Sinopec
COMPANY Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE NEW
INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1987
COMPANY Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1951
COMPANY Bank of China Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1912
COMPANY China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation

INDUSTRY Oil & Gas
YEAR FORMED 2000
From small beginnings as a sales agent for Private Branch

Exchange (PBX) switches, Huawei has grown to become the
largest telecoms equipment manufacturer in the world. In
2015, Huawei was the only Chinese company out of the 91
mainland Chinese companies listed on the Fortune Global
500 list earning more revenue abroad than in China.
From its origins as the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, it has

evolved from a state-owned specialized bank to a wholly
state-owned commercial bank and subsequently a statecontrolled commercial bank. In 2010 it became a public
shareholding commercial bank listed on the Shanghai and
Hong Kong exchanges.
Bank of China was established in 1912 with the formation of

modern China and served as the countrys central bank until
the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949.
Bank of China was listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai
Stock Exchanges in 2006.
China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a large

scale petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group. An
SOE (State Owned Enterprise), Sinopec listed on the Hong
Kong, London and New York Stock Exchanges in 2000 and
116
117
13
14
17
18
Moutai
PetroChina
China Merchants Bank
Yili
COMPANY Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Renhuai
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1951
COMPANY PetroChina Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Oil & Gas
YEAR FORMED 1999
COMPANY China Merchants Bank Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1987
COMPANY Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Hohhot
INDUSTRY Food & Dairy
YEAR FORMED 1993
Moutai is a distilled Chinese liquor. In 1951, the Chinese

government combined several Moutai producers into a
single state-owned venture. That company was restructured
into the current corporate entity in 1997. Moutai was listed
on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001.
An oil and gas company, PetroChina is the nations biggest

oil producer and seller. The listed arm of state-owned China
National Petroleum Corporation, it has been on the New
York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges since 2000, and on
the Shanghai Stock Exchange since 2007.
Since its inception 24 years ago, CMB has grown from a

small bank with one branch and over thirty employees into
a nationwide joint-stock commercial bank that has over 800
branches and over 50,000 employees. It was listed on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2002, and on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange in 2006.
From its roots as a dairy co-operative in 1956, Yili has grown

to become Chinas largest dairy producer. Today, the Yili
Group consists of five major business divisions including
liquid milk, ice cream, milk powder, yogurt and raw milk,
with nearly 100 subsidiaries and more than 1000 products.
The company was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange
in 1996.
15
16
19
20
JD.com
China Telecom
Air China
Mengniu
COMPANY JD.com Inc.

INDUSTRY Retail
YEAR FORMED 1998
COMPANY China Telecom Corp Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 2000
COMPANY Air China Ltd.

INDUSTRY Airlines
YEAR FORMED 1988
COMPANY China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Hohhot
YEAR FORMED 1999
JD.com (or Jingdong Mall) was founded as Jingdong

Century Trading Co. selling magneto-optical products
but quickly diversified into selling electronics, mobiles and
computers. Today it is Chinas largest online direct sales
company and is listed on the NASDAQ.
One of Chinas three leading telecom operators, China

Telecom provides internet access, mobile communications,
information technology applications and fixed-line telephone
services. China Telecom Corporation operates through two
holding companies that were listed on the New York Stock
Exchange in 2002, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in
2006.
The original Air China was established in 1988. In 2004, as a

result of the Civil Aviation System Reform Program of 2002,
the airline was consolidated with China National Aviation
Company and China Southwest Airlines to create the new
Air China Company. Chinas largest airline, it was listed on
the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges in 2004, and
subsequently on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The China Mengniu Dairy (Group) Company produces

and markets dairy products to customers in China and
internationally. Its product range includes sterilized milk, milk
beverages, yogurt, ice cream, and milk powder. Mengniu
was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004.
118
119
21
22
25
26
China Unicom
Bank of Communications
China Minsheng Bank
Suning
COMPANY China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 2009
COMPANY Bank of Communications Company, Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Shanghai
INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1908
COMPANY China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1996
COMPANY Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Nanjing
INDUSTRY Retail
YEAR FORMED 1990
China Unicom was established in 2009 as a result of the

merger of former China Unicom and China Netcom. A world
leading telecom operator, it has subsidiaries and provincial
branches in 31 provinces across China, and five overseas
operating companies around the world. China Unicom is
listed on the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
One of Chinas oldest banks, Bank of Communications

was restructured in 1986, in line with national economic
reforms. Today, its scope includes commercial banking,
securities services, trust services, financial leasing, fund
management, insurance, and offshore financial services. It
was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005 and
Established in 1996, China Minsheng Bank is a national

joint-stock commercial bank with investments mainly from
non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs). It was listed on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2003 and on the Hong Kong
Chinas leading electronic retailer has approximately 1,600

outlets and is renowned for the strength of its logistics
operation. In 2015, Alibaba purchased a 19.9% stake in the
company in a significant step towards the integration of
online and offline shopping. Established in 1990, Suning
was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2004.
23
24
27
28
CPIC
Lenovo
Yunnan Baiyao
Vanke
COMPANY China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 1991
COMPANY Lenovo Group Ltd.

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1984
COMPANY Yunnan Baiyao Group Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Kunming
INDUSTRY Healthcare
YEAR FORMED 1902
COMPANY China Vanke Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Real Estate
YEAR FORMED 1984
CPIC (China Pacific Insurance Company) is one of Chinas

leading integrated insurance groups. It provides a broad
range of risk and protection solutions, investment and
wealth management and asset management services to
about 80 million customers throughout the country. The
company was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in
2007, and on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009.
Lenovo (known as Legend Holdings until 2004) is one

of the worlds leading personal technology companies.
Its products include PCs, smartphones, tablets and
smart TVs. It has more than 57,000 employees across
60 countries, serving customers in over 160 countries
worldwide. Lenovo is traded on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange.
The company was established in 1902, after a Chinese

medicine practitioner discovered that baiyao, a powder
derived from ginseng and other roots, helped treat wounds
and staunch blood. Yunnan Baiyao was listed on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1993.
Vanke is a leading real estate company in China. Since

1988 its main business has been real estate development
and property services. Having strategically focused on city
clusters, Vanke has established its presence in 65 cities
in mainland China. It was listed on the Shenzhen Stock
Exchange in 1991.
120
121
29
30
33
34
China Eastern Airlines
PICC
Midea
China Southern Airlines
COMPANY China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd.

INDUSTRY Airlines
YEAR FORMED 1988
COMPANY PICC Property & Casualty Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 1949
COMPANY Midea Group Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Shunde
INDUSTRY Home Appliances
YEAR FORMED 1968
COMPANY China Southern Airlines Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Guangzhou
INDUSTRY Airlines
YEAR FORMED 1991
China Eastern Airlines is a SOE (State Owned Enterprise) and

one of Chinas three largest airlines. It flies a fleet of more
than 430 long-haul and short-haul aircraft and serves nearly
80 million travelers annually. It is listed on the New York,
Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges.
Founded as a SOE (State Owned Enterprise) in 1949, the

Peoples Insurance Company of China (PICC) was spun
off from its corporate parent Peoples Insurance Company
Group of China in 2003. Its insurance services include
cover for property, marine cargo, tourists, households, and
automobiles. It is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Founded in 1968, Midea has grown from a local workshop

into a leading consumer appliances and heating, ventilation
and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems manufacturer, with
operations around the world. In China, Midea has extensive
distribution in first and second tier markets through major
retailers, relying on specialty shops in lower tier markets. It is
listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
From Guangzhou, its primary hub, and other Chinese

cities, China Southern Airlines connects to around 1,025
destinations in 187 countries directly or with its carrier
partners in Skyteam. China Southern was listed on the New
York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in 1997, and on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2003.
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Wanda
Letv
Haier
Evergrande Real Estate
COMPANY Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 2002
COMPANY Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corporation, Beijing

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 2004
COMPANY Qingdao Haier Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Qingdao
YEAR FORMED 1984
COMPANY Evergrande Real Estate Group

YEAR FORMED 1996
Wanda Commercial Properties is a

leader in sales, leasing and management
of shopping centers, hotels and office
space. Wanda Commercial was listed on
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2014.
Letv is engaged in a range of businesses, including internetstreamed TV, video production and distribution, smart
gadgets, large-screen applications, and e-commerce. It was
listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010.
Established as Qingdao Refrigerator Company in 1984,

Haier was the successor to an old factory that, since 1949,
had been run as a collectively owned enterprise. Qingdao
Haier Company, Ltd. is listed on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange. Its China subsidiary, Haier Electronics Group
Company, Ltd. trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Evergrande Real Estate Group is a conglomerate

specializing in residential buildings. Since its inception
around the time of the Asian economic crisis of 1997 it has
applied the strategy of short development time, low price,
fast construction. Evergrande was listed on the Hong Kong
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Shuanghui
Poly Real Estate
360
New China Life
COMPANY Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Luohe
YEAR FORMED 1969
COMPANY Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1992
COMPANY Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 2005
COMPANY New China Life Insurance Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 1996
Chinas largest meat processing business, Henan Shuanghui

Investment and Development Company is a subsidiary
of international pork producer WH Group Ltd, which also
owns Smithfield Foods. It was listed on the Shenzhen Stock
Exchange in 1998.
Poly Real Estate Group Company is a subsidiary of stateowned China Poly Group Corporation. Its principal areas of
operation are the design, development, construction and
sale of residential and commercial properties, as well as the
provision of property management services. It was listed on
Founded in 2005, 360 is an internet security company. It

produces PC security and mobile security systems used
in Apple iOS, Android and Windows phone operating
systems. It has also developed into the smart gadget
business such as smartphones, smart watches etc. 360
was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011.
New China Life Insurance offers individual life insurance,

group life, accident and health insurance policies. Founded
in 1996, the company was listed on the Shanghai and
Hong Kong Stock Exchanges in 2011.
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Gree
NetEase
Tong Ren Tang
Ctrip
COMPANY Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai

HEADQUARTERS Zhuhai
YEAR FORMED 1991
COMPANY NetEase Inc.

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1997
COMPANY Beijing Tongrentang Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Health Care
YEAR FORMED 1669
COMPANY Ctrip.com International Ltd.

INDUSTRY Travel Agencies
YEAR FORMED 1999
A leading air conditioner and white goods maker, Gree

does business worldwide as an OEM (Original Equipment
Manufacturer). Established in 1991, it has since built its
brand presence in 100 countries.
Founded in 1997, NetEase develops and operates popular

online PC and mobile games, advertising services, e-mail
services and e-commerce platforms. The company also
offers multi-platform access to an array of free and feebased community and communication services, including
websites, content channels and social instant messaging
applications.
Tong Ren Tang was founded in 1669 and provided

medicines for the royal pharmacy of the imperial palace of
the Qing Dynasty for 188 years. Today, Tong Ren Tang has
over 1,500 pharmacies and the companys unique recipes
are available in over 40 countries.
Founded in 1999, Ctrip provides travel services for

both consumers and businesses. Its offering includes
transportation, accommodation, vacation packages and
tours. The company has been listed on the NASDAQ Stock
Exchange since 2003.
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Yanghe
BYD
Tsingtao Beer
ChangYu
COMPANY Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery Joint-Stock Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Suqian
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1949
COMPANY BYD Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Cars
YEAR FORMED 1995
COMPANY Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1903
COMPANY Yantai ChangYu Pioneer Wine Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Yantai
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1892
The history of Yanghe Daqu and Shuanggo Daqu liquors

can be traced back to 1618 and the Tang dynasty. Today,
the Yanghe Distillery is one of the largest liquor producers
in China. Employing more than 26,000 people, it has 179
branch companies and offices across the country. It was
listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009.
BYD began as a rechargeable battery manufacturer

and subsequently diversified to become a leader in the
production and marketing of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The rapid growth of smartphones saw a corresponding
increase in the companys handset component and
assembly business. BYD was listed on the Hong Kong
Founded by German and British settlers in 1903, and one

of Chinas oldest beer brands, Tsingtao Beer is distributed
to more than 80 countries and regions. The company is
listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges.
ChangYu pioneered the modern era of Chinese

winemaking 100 years ago, with the importation and
cultivation of European vines. The company became
publicly traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1997.
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ZTE
Country Garden
New Oriental
Youku Tudou
COMPANY ZTE Corporation

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1985
COMPANY Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Shunde
YEAR FORMED 1992
COMPANY New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.

INDUSTRY Education
YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY Youku Tudou Inc.

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 2012
ZTE makes telecoms equipment and systems; its key

customers are Chinas leading telecoms service providers.
Also active abroad, the companys revenue is evenly split
between its domestic and international businesses. ZTE is
listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges.
Established in 1992, Country Garden is engaged in

property development, construction, decoration, property
management, and hotel operations. It builds primarily in
the suburbs around Chinas first tier cities and selected
smaller markets with substantial growth potential. It was
listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007.
Founded in 1993, New Oriental offers a range of

educational programs, services and products. The
company has an extensive network of schools, bookstores
and learning centers and an online network with nearly 12
million registered users. Its Koolearn website offers over
2000 subjects. New Oriental is traded on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Youku Tudou is the result of the 2012 merger of Chinas

two biggest video sites. An internet television platform, it
enables users to view and share a wide array of content
across multiple devices. Measured by user time spent,
Youku Tudou is Chinas third largest website.
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MOST CHINESE FORECAST A BRIGHT FUTURE

A N D E X PE C T T U R B U L E N C E TO PA S S .
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Harbin Beer
Bright Dairy
CR Sanjiu
Luzhou Laojiao
COMPANY Anheuser-Busch InBev NV/SA.

HEADQUARTERS Harbin
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1900
COMPANY Bright Dairy & Food Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1996
COMPANY China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

BRAND VALUE US$ 909 Million
INDUSTRY Healthcare
YEAR FORMED 1999
COMPANY Luzhou Laojiao Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Luzhou
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1950
Founded by a Russian businessman in 1900, Harbin

Brewery Group Ltd is one of the oldest beer companies
in China. After the foundation of the Peoples Republic of
China, Harbin became one of the beer giants in northeast
China. In 2004, Harbin Brewery was bought by AnheuserBusch InBev.
Bright Dairy & Food Company is principally engaged in the

processing, production and distribution of dairy products.
It was formed in 1996 from Shanghai Dairy Company and
Shanghai Industrial Holdings of Hong Kong. It became
a publicly traded company in 2002 and is listed on the
Shanghai Stock Exchange.
CR Sanjiu distributes its healthcare and pharma products at

over 90,000 points of sale and more than 5,000 hospitals
throughout China. It is a subsidiary of Chinese Resources
(Holdings) Company, Ltd, a SOE (State Owned Enterprise).
The company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange
in 2000.
Luzhou Laojiao is a strong spirit (more than 50% alcohol)

with a history that goes back to the Ming Dynasty. The
spirit is exclusively produced by the Luzhou Laojiao
Company, a SOE (State Owned Enterprise).
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Wu Liang Ye
Snow Beer
Hainan Airlines
Lao Feng Xiang
COMPANY Wu Liang Ye Yibin Company, Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Yibin
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1959
COMPANY China Resources Beer Holdings Company, Ltd.

INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1994
COMPANY Hainan Airlines Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Airlines
YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY Lao Feng Xiang Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Jewelry Retailer
YEAR FORMED 1848
Wu Liang Ye is a distiller of a variety of types of baijiu, of

which Wu Liang Ye is the best known. The Group is a SOE
(State Owned Enterprise) whose other interests include
printing, pharmaceuticals and logistics.
CR Snow first began brewing Snow Beer in 1994. Today,

the Snow Beer product range is brewed under a joint
venture between China Resources Beer Holdings Co Ltd, a
SOE (State Owned Enterprise), and SABMiller.
Hainan Airlines first official flight was made in 1993,

from Haikou to Beijing. Today the airline operates 500
international and domestic routes, covering 90 cities
worldwide. It was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange
in 1997.
In 1848 the first Lao Feng Xiang Jewelry Shop opened, in

Shanghai. Today the company has a network of 2700 retail
stores in mainland Chinas primary and secondary cities as
well as overseas in Manhattan, USA and Sydney, Australia.
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Great Wall
Dabao
Industrial Bank
Yonghui Superstores
COMPANY Great Wall Motor Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Baoding
INDUSTRY Cars
YEAR FORMED 1984
COMPANY Johnson & Johnson

INDUSTRY Personal Care
YEAR FORMED 1999
COMPANY Industrial Bank Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Fuzhou
INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1988
COMPANY Yonghui Superstores Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Fuzhou
INDUSTRY Retail
YEAR FORMED 2001
One of Chinas earliest car brands, Great Wall is best

known for its popular SUV models; it also focuses on pickup trucks and sedans. It targets tier two and three cities
primarily. Russia, Chile and South Africa are the brands
key export markets. The company was listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange in 2003, and on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2011.
Dabaos personal care products, in particular its skin care

line, are well established across China. Originally owned by
the Beijing Sanlu Factory and the Beijing Dabao Company,
the brand was purchased by Johnson & Johnson in 2008.
Founded in 1988, Industrial Bank is one of Chinas first joint

stock commercial banks. It offers standard deposit, loan,
wealth management, credit card, and e-banking products
and services to personal and commercial banking
customers. Now a national institution, it was listed on the
Yonghui is a hypermarket and supermarket operator based

in Fuzhou, operating retail outlets across 17 provinces in
China. In 2015 Yonghui, sold a 10% share to JD.com as part
of a strategy to accelerate its e-commerce capabilities.
Yonghui Superstores was listed on the Shenzhen Stock
Exchange in 2010.
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Robam
Gemdale
Longfor
Sina
COMPANY Hangzhou Robam Appliances Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1979
COMPANY Gemdale Corporation

YEAR FORMED 1988
COMPANY Longfor Properties Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Chongqing
YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY Sina Corporation

INDUSTRY Technology
YEAR FORMED 1998
Founded in 1979, Robams predecessor was the Hangzhou

Yuhang Red Star Hardware Factory which focused on
manufacturing kitchen appliances, as it still does today.
The company is known for its R&D - working with the
aviation industry it developed the first cooker hood in
China. Robam was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange
in 2010.
Established in 1988 and in the real estate business since

1993, Gemdale develops residential housing throughout
much of China and is present in 25 major cities. It also
operates a real estate financing company called Wins
Investment. Gemdale was listed on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2001.
Longfor is a residential and commercial property

development, investment and management company.
One of the first developers of shopping malls in China,
Longfor has been operating commercial properties for
more than a decade. Longfor Properties was listed on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2009.
A leading internet portal and media company, Sina

operates three primary businesses: Sina.com, an online
portal that offers news, entertainment and other content;
Sina.cn, a mobile portal; and Weibo.com, the social
networking and micro-blogging site. Founded in 1998, Sina
was listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in 2000.
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Herborist
Anta
Belle
Home Inn
COMPANY Shanghai Jahwa United Co., Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1998
COMPANY Anta Sports Products Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Jinjiang
INDUSTRY Apparel
YEAR FORMED 1991
COMPANY Belle International Holdings Ltd.

INDUSTRY Apparel
YEAR FORMED 1991
COMPANY Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc.

INDUSTRY Hotels
YEAR FORMED 2002
Herborist is owned by Shanghai Jahwa, one of the largest

personal care brands in China (founded in 1898, originally
called Hong Kong Kwong Sang Hong). The Herborist
beauty and skin care product range is based on Chinese
traditional medicine techniques that have also passed
modern lab tests. Shanghai Jahwa was listed on the
ANTA Sports Products designs, manufactures and retails

sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Anta was founded
in 1991, and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
in 2007
Belle International Holdings is a well-known footwear,

sportswear and apparel manufacturer and retailer, with
over 20,000 retail outlets in mainland China. It was formed
in 1991 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in
2007.
Home Inns Group is a leading economy hotel chain in

China (measured by the number of hotels and hotel
rooms as well as geographic coverage). In 2015, Home
Inns Hotel Group operated across 338 cities in China with
a total of 2,661 hotels. The company has been traded on
the NASDAQ Stock Exchange since 2006.
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R&F Properties
Eastern Gold Jade
Suofeiya
Anerle
COMPANY Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1994
COMPANY Eastern Gold Jade Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY Suofeiya Home Collection Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Zengcheng
INDUSTRY Furniture
YEAR FORMED 2003
COMPANY Hengan International Group Co., Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Jinjiang
INDUSTRY Baby Care
YEAR FORMED 1985
The Guangzhou R&F Properties Company focuses

on property design, development, construction, sale,
management and other property related services in China.
Founded in 1994, the company was listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange in 2005.
Eastern Gold Jades main business consists of the

processing, wholesale, franchising and retail of jewelry and
accessories, and the wholesale of jade raw materials. It
was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1997.
Suofeiya Home Collection develops, produces and

sells custom wardrobes and matching custom furniture.
Formed in 2003, the companys sales network now covers
the entire first and second tier cities as well as most of
the third and fourth tier cities. Suofeiya is traded on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Anerle is the largest local Chinese diaper brand produced

by Hengan Group in China. Established in 1985, the group
has become Chinas leading manufacturer of sanitary
napkins. Its products also include diapers, wet wipes and
tissues. The company has been listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange since 1998.
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Gujing Gong Jiu
Yanjing Beer
Mizone
Supor
COMPANY Anhui Gujing Distillery Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Bozhou
INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1959
COMPANY Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1980
COMPANY Danone SA
HEADQUARTERS Paris
INDUSTRY Soft Drinks
YEAR FORMED 1919
COMPANY Zhejiang Supor Cookware Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1994
This strong, aromatic liquor is reputed to have been

popular since 196 A.D. Today it is produced by the
Anhui Gujing Distillery Company, the main business of
Anhui Gujing Group Company, Ltd., a SOE (State Owned
Enterprise).
One of Chinas largest beer brands, Yanjing Beer was

named for the ancient capital that occupied the area
now known as Beijing. The brand leads the market in
Beijing and is strong in the Guangxi and Hunan provinces
and Inner Mongolia. Its exported to over 20 countries.
The Beijing Yanjing Brewery Company was listed on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1997.
Mizone, a flavored sports water, is a Danone brand.

Danones activities in China began with the launch of a
yogurt range in the 1980s. Since then, the company has
continued to introduce a broad range of both international
and local product lines for the Chinese market. Mizone is
available in 1200 cities and 3000 towns in China.
Initially known for its pressure cookers, today Supor

offers over 800 products. These fall into three distinct
families: cookware, small kitchen appliances and large
kitchen appliances. Supor also serves as an OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer). It was listed on the Shenzhen
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Sanquan
China Taiping
China Everbright Bank
Hanting
COMPANY Sanquan Food Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Zhengzhou
YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Hong Kong
INDUSTRY Insurance
YEAR FORMED 1929
COMPANY China Everbright Bank Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Banks
YEAR FORMED 1992
COMPANY China Lodging Group Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Kunshan
INDUSTRY Hotels
YEAR FORMED 2005
Sanquans founder, Chen Zemine, is considered one of

the pioneers in the frozen food market in China, having
decided to give up his 19-year career as a surgeon and
turn to the production of frozen rice balls when he was
50 years old. Today, Sanquan is one of the four biggest
players in Chinas frozen product market and the leader
in the frozen processed food category. Sanquan Food is
traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
China Taiping Insurance Group is a Chinese state-owned

financial and insurance group. Currently the longest
standing national brand in Chinas insurance industry,
it became an industry leader in the 1940s (having been
founded in Shanghai in 1929). In 2000, China Taiping
became the first insurance company of the Peoples
Republic of China to be publicly listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange.
China Everbright Bank was founded in 1992, under the

approval of the State Council and the Peoples Bank of
China. The Bank is primarily engaged in corporate banking,
retail banking and treasury operations.
China Lodging Group began hotel operations in 2005.

Most of its locations operate as Hanting Hotel, an economy
brand. The Group offers one other economy brand, Hi Inn,
and four mid/upscale brands: Ji Hotel, Starway Hotel, Joya
Hotel and Manxin Hotels and Resorts. It has been listed on
the NASDAQ Stock Exchange since 2010.
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SOHO China
Greentown China
Fortune
Ming Jewelry
COMPANY SOHO China Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1995
COMPANY Greentown China Holdings Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1995
COMPANY China Foods Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1993
COMPANY Zhejiang Ming Jewelry Co Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Shaoxing
YEAR FORMED 1994
SOHO China is Chinas largest pure prime office

developer. Its operations cover a full range of business of
development, leasing, property management and property
investment. The company is listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange.
Greentown China Holdings builds up-scale residential

properties. Based in Zhejiang Province, its property
projects focus on the most economically prosperous cities
in the province, such as Hangzhou and Ningbo. The brand
was formed in 1995 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange in 2006.
The Fortune brand is a leading consumer-pack edible

oil brand in China and is ranked number two nationwide
in terms of market share. China Food is a subsidiary of
COFCO (China National Cereals, Oil and Foodstuffs Import
and Export Corporation), a SOE (State Owned Enterprise).
Ming Jewelry designs, produces and distributes jewelry. Its

main products are gold, platinum, and inlaid jewelry, which
it sells domestically, particularly in Zhejiang and Jiangsu
Provinces. The company has been listed on the Shenzhen
Stock Exchange since 2011.
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Quanjude
Hisense
Xueersi
Pearl River
COMPANY China Quanjude Group Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Catering
YEAR FORMED 1864
COMPANY Hisense Kelon Electrical Holdings Co Ltd.

YEAR FORMED 1969
COMPANY TAL Education Group

INDUSTRY Education
YEAR FORMED 2003
COMPANY Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Co Ltd.

INDUSTRY Alcohol
YEAR FORMED 1985
Quanjude was established in 1864 during the Qing

Dynasty. Although Peking Duck can trace its history many
centuries back, Quanjudes version using open ovens
and non-smoky hardwood fuel to add a subtle fruity
flavor was originally reserved for the imperial families.
Today, Quanjude operates over 100 roast duck restaurants,
primarily in China but also overseas. Quanjude is listed on
the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The company manufactures and sells refrigerators, air

conditioners, freezers and washing machines with the brand
names Hisense, Kelon and Ronshen. First established in 1984
as Guangdong Shunde Pearl River Factory, it was renamed in
1992, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1996,
and on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1999. Its a subsidiary
of the SOE (State Owned Enterprise) Hisense Company, which
was incorporated in 1979, in Qingdao.
Xueersi provides tutoring services to students from preschool to the twelfth grade through small classes and
online courses. It began operating in Beijing in 2003 and
now has a network of 289 learning centers as well as an
online platform. TAL Education Group is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Pearl River was established in 1985 as a SOE (State Owned

Enterprise), in conjunction with InBev, the Belgian brewer,
which in 2008 acquired Anheuser-Busch to become
AB InBev. Pearl River was listed on the Shenzhen Stock
Exchange in 2010.
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CHJ Jewellery
CITS
Youngor
Spring Airlines
COMPANY Guangdong Chj Industry Co., Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Shantou
YEAR FORMED 1996
COMPANY China International Travel Service Corp Ltd.

INDUSTRY Travel Agencies
YEAR FORMED 1954
COMPANY Youngor Group Co., Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Ningbo
INDUSTRY Apparel
YEAR FORMED 1979
COMPANY Spring Airlines Co., Ltd.

INDUSTRY Airlines
YEAR FORMED 2004
CHJ Jewellery has more than 600 franchise stores across

over 190 cities in China, making it one of the largest
jewelry chains in the country. CHJ Jewellery has been
listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2010.
Chinas heritage brand in the travel category, CITS is a

SOE (State Owned Enterprise) with experience and longestablished contacts overseas. Its parent company, China
International Travel Service Corporation also engages
in duty-free sales and was listed on the Shanghai Stock
Exchange in 2009.
A maker and retailer of mens apparel, the company

operates around 1,300 physical stores and has a partnership
with Vip.com, an online discount retailer of branded
products. Youngor also manufactures for other brands. It
was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1998.
Spring Airlines was founded in 2004 by Chinas domestic

travel agency, Spring Travel. The intervening decade has
seen it grow to become Chinas premier budget airline,
flying over 100 routes across China and Asia. It was listed
on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015.
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TCL
Jinjiang Inn
Changan
Zhong Hua
COMPANY TCL Corporation

HEADQUARTERS Huizhou
YEAR FORMED 1981
COMPANY Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotels Development Co., Ltd.

INDUSTRY Hotels
YEAR FORMED 1996
COMPANY Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd.

HEADQUARTERS Chongqing
INDUSTRY Cars
YEAR FORMED 1862
COMPANY Unilever Plc.

YEAR FORMED 1954
TCL manufactures and sells TVs, air conditioners,

refrigerators and other home appliances and electronics
worldwide, through three subsidiary TCL companies,
including TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings. TCL
Corporation was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange
in 2004.
Jinjiang Inn Hotels brand portfolio covers two types of

hotels: Full Service and Select Service. The Group owns
or manages hotels in China and (primarily through its 50
percent holding in Interstate Hotels and Resorts) worldwide.
Shanghai Jinjiang International was established in 1996 as a
SOE (State Owned Enterprise) and was listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange the following year.
Changan has a 154 year history in manufacturing, the last 32

years of which have been primarily in automobile production.
Changan Automobile is a SOE (State Owned Enterprise). Its
focus is no-frills passenger cars and microvans, small trucks and
vans for commercial use. The Chongqing Changan Automobile
Company is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The Zhong Hua brand has been around for over 60 years.
In 1994 it became part of the Unilever oral care brand
portfolio and is variously known as Signal, Pepsodent,
Mentadent, Aim or P/S, depending on the national market.
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C O N S U M E R S W I L L L I K E LY FAVO R B R A N D S T H AT PA R T N E R
WITH THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY TO A BETTER LIFE.
04 > The China Top 100 - Performance Analysis
BRAND CONTRIBUTION
Strong Brand
Contribution
helps improve
future earnings
Brand Contribution is the
unique BrandZ metric
for assessing the most
important, yet elusive,
aspect of a brand: how
it plays out in the mind
of the consumer. Brand
Contribution measures
the impact of brand alone,
without financials or other
activation factors.
A high Brand Contribution index

on a scale of one to five, five being
the highest suggests that a brand
is resilient and plays a big role in
driving earnings. Brand Contribution
is calculated from ongoing, in-depth,
worldwide quantitative WPP BrandZ
consumer research that distinguishes
the BrandZ brand valuation
methodology from all competitors.
Except for three brands, the same

brands that comprise the 2016
BrandZ Top 20 Brand Contribution
leaders also ranked in the Top 20
last year. This consistency reflects
a defining characteristic of Brand
Contribution; it accrues over time
into a durable force that can stabilize
brand value against normal market
fluctuations.
Of the BrandZ Top 20 Brand

Contribution leaders, all but six are
market-driven rather than stateowned brands. For that reason, most
of the Brand Contribution leaders,
13 of them to be exact, rank 50 and
below in the BrandZ China Top
100, because the lower half of the
ranking is mostly populated with
fast growing, market-driven brands,
typically strong in Brand Contribution.
The Top 20 Brand Contribution leaders

represent 11 categories. Technology,
and food and dairy are represented
with four brands each; alcohol with
three brands; and appliances with
two brands. Only one brand appears
in each of these categories: apparel,
catering, education, furniture, jewelry
retailer, hotels, and personal care.
This category diversity indicates that
building a strong brand is important
and possible across broad sectors of
the economy.
The Top 20 in Brand Contribution

Brand
Brand
Contribution
Category
Ownership
Top 100
Rank 2016
Letv
Technology
Market-Driven
32
Mengniu
Food & Dairy
Competitive SOE
20
Baidu
Technology
Market-Driven
Tencent
Technology
Market-Driven
Yili
Food & Dairy
Market-Driven
18
Fortune
Food & Dairy
Competitive SOE
89
Tsingtao Beer
Alcohol
Market-Driven
49
New Oriental
Education
Market-Driven
51
Lao Feng Xiang
Jewelry Retailer
Competitive SOE
60
10 Sina
Technology
Market-Driven
68
11
Catering
Competitive SOE
87
12 Robam
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
63
13 Belle
Apparel
Market-Driven
73
14 Bright Dairy
Food & Dairy
Competitive SOE
54
15 Moutai
Alcohol
Competitive SOE
13
16 Suofeiya
Furniture
Market-Driven
75
17 Zhong Hua
Personal Care
Market-Driven
100
18 Supor
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
82
19 Home Inn
Hotels
Market-Driven
74
20 ChangYu
Alcohol
Market-Driven
50
Quanjude
Brand Contribution measures the influence of brand alone on earnings, on a 1-to-5 scale, 5 highest.
144
145
NEWCOMERS
10 newcomers from
nine categories
reach Top 100
Ten newcomer brands from nine categories appeared in the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016. Technology is represented twice. The baby care and
soft drinks categories are new to the BrandZ China Top 100. These categories also
are represented: retail, real estate, personal care, jewelry retailer, airlines, and cars.
They reflect many of the trends

shaping the BrandZ China Top
100, including the growth of mobile
and e-commerce, the increase in
overseas business, and the evolution of
consumer buying priorities as indicated
by the shift towards premium and the
willingness to spend money on travel.
The most valuable newcomer, Huawei,
entered the BrandZ China Top
100 at number seven. Historically,
more of a business-to-business
brand, the inclusion of Huawei in
the BrandZ China Top 100 ranking
reflects its increasing business-toconsumer presence. The global
telecommunications giant, which
derives 62 percent of its revenue
from outside of China, shipped
over 100 million smartphones in
2015, a 44 percent increase. Huawei
smartphones are known for offering
quality functionality and design at a
more affordable price than Apple or
Samsung.
146
The other new technology entrant,

Youku Tudou, ranks 52 in the BrandZ
China Top 100. An online video
entertainment site, Youku Tudou is
a combination of Netflix and Hulu
with 200 million monthly visitors.
Its revenue, derived from both
subscribers and advertisers, increased
66 percent. The acquisition of Youku
Tudou by Alibaba was expected to
happen early in 2016.
Online retailer JD.com entered the
BrandZ China Top 100 at number
15, after a strong year when annual
active customer accounts increased
59 percent. The brand grew sales
at a faster rate than rival Alibaba, in
part because of its partnership with
online portal Tencent, which enables
users of Tencents WeChat messaging
service to seamlessly move between
social networking and e-commerce.
Known for reliable products and
delivery, JD.com competed effectively
with Alibabas Tmall and Taobao
Marketplace sites.
In the real estate category, the Wanda

brand appeared for the first time in the
BrandZ China Top 100, at rank 31.
The brand is owned by Dalian Wanda
Commercial Properties Company Ltd.,
a private conglomerate that develops
multiuse commercial complexes in
which office buildings and luxury
hotels drive customer traffic to the
companion shopping centers. The
group also operates cinemas and is
aggressively diversifying into other
fields, such as sports.
Herborist, a personal care brand, and
number 69 in the BrandZ China
Top 100, has successfully marketed
the appeal of natural ingredients
and traditional Chinese medicine.
The brand reaches international
consumers through e-commerce and
a physical presence in Europe in the
French-owned Sephora stores and in
Germanys Douglas chain.
The growth of the baby care category,

and diapers specifically, drove the
brand value growth of Anerle, number
76 in the BrandZ China Top 100.
Urban parents are willing to pay a
premium for disposable diapers, a fairly
new category in China, dominated
by international brands and enjoying
tremendous e-commerce penetration
and sales growth.
Mizone is a bottled water brand with
functional benefits, marketed by
Danone, the French food and dairy
giant. At a time when sales of many

FMCG products have moderated,
bottled water remains relatively
strong and able to command a price
premium. Mizone has effectively
reached its target audience of young
people with social media and online
gaming.
Spring Airlines appeared in the
BrandZ China Top 100 for the first
time, at rank 98. An entrepreneurial
brand formed in 2004 to provide more
Chinese consumers with affordable
air travel, the low-cost carrier floated

a successful IPO in January 2015, to
fund accelerated expansion and meet
rising demand.
State-owned Changan, one of Chinas
leading car brands, entered the
BrandZ China Top 100 at number
99. It maintains joint ventures with
overseas brands such as Ford and
Peugeot. The presence of Changan
in the BrandZ China Top 100
indicates the growing influence of
Chinese brand cars in a category still
dominated by imports.
The Newcomer Brands

Top 100
Rank
Category
Brand Value
US$ Mil.
Ownership
Huawei
Technology
18,501
Market-Driven
JD.com
15
Retail
9,422
Market-Driven
Wanda
31
Real Estate
2,921
Market-Driven
Youku Tudou
52
Technology
1,076
Market-Driven
Herborist
69
Personal Care
591
Market-Driven
Anerle
76
Baby Care
460
Market-Driven
Mizone
81
Soft Drinks
398
Market-Driven
CHJ Jewellery
93
Jewelry Retailer
288
Market-Driven
Spring Airlines
98
Airlines
252
Market-Driven
Changan
99
Cars
245
Competitive SOE
Brand
147
OVERSEAS REVENUE
Appliance, airlines
and technology
brands lead in
overseas revenue
Chinese brands continue
to grow the percentage
of annual revenue they
derive from overseas
activities. The expansion
of international business
is especially important as
the growth of the domestic
economy slows and
Chinese companies attempt
not only to sell products
outside of China, but also to
raise awareness of Chinese
brands, or Brand China.
Around two-thirds of Chinese believe

that building strong brands worldwide
is essential for advancing the Chinese
Dream of a more prosperous,
equitable and internationally
respected China. And, in a virtuous
circle, achievement of the Chinese
Dream should help elevate Brand
China. These findings are contained
in the BrandZ research report, The
Power and Potential of the Chinese
Dream. (For more information, please
visit www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing/
brandz/the-chinese-dream).
The top three brands with the greatest
proportion of revenue derived from
overseas business come from the
technology category. Huawei, a
newcomer to the BrandZ China Top
100, joined Lenovo and ZTE, which
were present last year.
Fifteen of the Top 20 in overseas

revenue come from only three
categories: home appliances, with
six brands; airlines, five brands; and
technology, four brands. The other
four categories represented are oil and
gas with two brands, and with one
brand apiece, banks, cars and retail.
Reflecting the rebalancing of Chinas
economy, the seven categories
include both State Owned Enterprises
(SOEs) and market-driven brands.
Half of the Top 20 brands are marketdriven and half are SOEs. Seven are
Strategic SOEs, meaning they are in
fundamental industries, such as oil
and gas or banking, which influence
and implement government policy.
Three brands are Competitive SOEs in
consumer-facing categories like home
appliances.
The Top 20 in Overseas Revenue

Brand
Category
Ownership
Revenue % from
Top 100
International
Rank 2016
Business
Lenovo
Technology
Competitive SOE
68%
24
Huawei
Technology
Market-Driven
62%
ZTE
Technology
Market-Driven
50%
47
TCL
Home Appliances
Competitive SOE
41%
95
Air China
Airlines
Strategic SOE
36%
19
China
Eastern Airlines
Airlines
Strategic SOE
33%
29
PetroChina
Oil & Gas
Strategic SOE
32%
14
Hisense
Home Appliances
Competitive SOE
30%
88
Midea
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
24%
33
Oil & Gas
Strategic SOE
22%
12
11 China Southern
Airlines
Airlines
Strategic SOE
21%
34
12 Bank of China
Banks
Strategic SOE
20%
11
Cars
Market-Driven
13%
46
14 Spring Airlines
Airlines
Market-Driven
13%
98
15 Hainan Airlines
Airlines
Strategic SOE
13%
59
16 Haier
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
12%
35
17 Gree
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
11%
39
18 Alibaba
Retail
Market-Driven
9%
19 Supor
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
9%
82
Technology
Market-Driven
8%
10 Sinopec
13 BYD
20 Tencent
148
149
OVERSEAS REVENUE
Lenovo, the worlds largest PC

maker, led the Top 20. It continued
to grow its PC, mobile and enterprise
businesses outside of China, which
helped balance the softening of
the Chinese market. Lenovo gained
68 percent of total revenue from
overseas business, up from 62 percent
a year ago. By offering smartphone
quality at a more affordable price than
market leaders Apple or Samsung,
Huawei successfully gained market
share not only in emerging markets,
but increasingly even in Europe.
Meanwhile ZTE expanded its presence
in the Android market in the US.
Following the three technology

brands, the home appliance brand
TCL had the fourth largest proportion
of overseas revenue. TCL makes a
range of home appliances, but is
known chiefly for its TVs. The home
appliance brands typically started as
Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) making products for other
companies to market.
These producers of TVs, white
goods or air conditioners, brands
like Hisense, Midea, Haier and
Gree, increasingly sell under their
own brand names through massmarket channels. Significantly, Haier
announced plans to acquire the
appliance division of General Electric.
The strong presence of the airlines

category in the Top 20 in Overseas
Revenue is not surprising. But
the number of brands increased
from four to five this year, with
the addition of Spring Airlines, an
entrepreneurial brand started in
2004 to provide more affordable
domestic travel. All of the airlines
brands have benefited from the
surge in tourism. Chinese outbound
travel grew 12 percent in 2015,
according to the World Tourism
Organization, an agency of the
United Nations.
The largest carriers, Air China and

China Eastern Airlines, continue
to add international routes and
gain passengers through their
memberships in, respectively, Star
Alliance and SkyTeam Alliance.
China Southern Airlines, a strong
domestic carrier, is well positioned
to link with the connecting flights of
international visitors. Hainan Airlines
added routes to Australia and Europe.
Strategically important state-owed
brands, like Bank of China and the
oil and gas giants, PetroChina and
Sinopec, continue to derive a major
proportion of revenue from overseas
businesses. But each brand ranks
lower than it did last year in the Top

20 in Overseas Revenue, because of
market conditions and the stronger
overseas revenue growth of the
technology, home appliances, and
airlines brands.
While BYD, the electric car brand,
and e-commerce brand Alibaba,
derive only a small portion of
revenue from overseas business, 13
percent and 9 percent respectively,
the growth potential is significant.
BYD buses already operate in Europe.
Alibaba is aggressively investing for
global growth with initiatives like
AliExpress, a platform to sell Chinese
products to overseas customers, and
establishment of a cloud computing
center in California.
Top 20 divides evenly

between market-driven
and SOE brands
Half of the Top 20 brands are market-driven
and half are SOEs. Three of the SOEs Lenovo, Hisense, and TCL - are Competitive
SOEs. The average proportion of overseas
revenues of Competitive SOEs is higher than
Market-Driven and strategic SOEs in the Top
20, meaning government support remains
important for Chinese brands trying to gain a
global presence
10
Brands
Brands
46%
The average
proportion of
overseas revenue
by Ownership
of the Top 20
brands
21%
Brands
25%
Market-Driven
Strategic SOE
Competitive SOE
Source: BrandZ
150
151
TOP RISERS
Faster growth,
lower value brands
indicate China
markets potential
It is getting much tougher
to qualify for the Top 20
Risers, the ranking of
brands that increased most
in brand value year-onyear. Each Top Riser in the
BrandZ Top 100 Most
2016 increased by at least
41 percent in brand value.
The minimum brand value
threshold for the Top
20 Risers in 2015 was 21
percent, and in 2014 it was
only 10 percent.
At the same time, the total value of

the Top 20 Risers decreased to $69.4
billion in 2016, from $123.6 billion in
2015, and $158.6 billion in 2014. Both
the increase in Top 20 Riser value
growth rate and the decrease in total
value are driven by the
shift to lower value/
faster growth marketdriven brands from
higher value/slower
growth State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs).
The number of market-driven brands
declined somewhat from a year ago,
but the longer-term trend is clear.
Eleven market-driven brands made the
Top 20 Risers in the China BrandZ
2016 ranking, compared with eight
brands two years ago. Seven of the
Top 20 Risers fall in the second half
of the ranking, brands 51 to 100. And
15 of Top Riser brands rank below 30.

The number of categories represented
among the Top Risers remained fairly
consistent: 10 in 2016, 12 in 2015, and
10 in 2014, demonstrating that brand
value growth potential continues to
cross the economy.
With four entries
apiece in the 2016
Top 20 Risers, home
appliances and
insurance were the
most represented
categories, followed by technology,
with three brands. The presence of
these categories reflects consumption
trends. The airlines and retail
categories were represented with
two brands apiece. One brand from
each of these categories appeared in
the Top 20 Risers: alcohol, apparel,
healthcare, hotels, and real estate.
The Top 20 Risers in Brand value

Brand
Brand Value
% Change
2016 vs. 2015
Category
Ownership
Brand
Top 100
Value
Rank
US$ Mil.
2016
Letv
81%
Technology
Market-Driven
2,805
32
NetEase
73%
Technology
Market-Driven
1,933
40
China Taiping
70%
Insurance
Strategic SOE
411
80
Suning
68%
Retail
Market-Driven
3,310
26
Supor
59%
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
389
82
TCL
59%
Home Appliances
Competitive
SOE
273
95
Midea
54%
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
2,495
33
China Life
53%
Insurance
Strategic SOE
15,504
10
Moutai
51%
Alcohol
Competitive
SOE
11,507
13
10 Robam
49%
Home Appliances
Market-Driven
724
63
Eastern
11 China
Airlines
49%
Airlines
Strategic SOE
3,015
29
12 Evergrande
Real Estate
49%
Real Estate
Market-Driven
2,288
36
13 Jinjiang Inn
47%
Hotels
Competitive
SOE
273
96
14 ZTE
46%
Technology
Market-Driven
1,548
47
15 Yonghui
Superstores
45%
Retail
Market-Driven
651
66
16 Anta
45%
Apparel
Market-Driven
580
70
Southern
17 China
Airlines
44%
Airlines
Strategic SOE
2,456
34
18 New China Life
42%
Insurance
Strategic SOE
1,825
42
19 Tong Ren Tang
41%
Healthcare
Competitive
SOE
1,808
43
20 Ping An
41%
Insurance
Market-Driven
15,624
152
153
TOP RISERS
INSURANCE AND APPLIANCE

BRANDS DOMINATE
TECHNOLOGY BRANDS
LEAD TOP 20
AIRLINES AND RETAIL

BRANDS SURGE
POSITIONING
DRIVES GROWTH
With a 70 percent increase in brand

value, insurance brand China Taiping,
a strategic SOE, ranked third in the Top
20 Risers. Along with China Taiping,
which ranks 80 in the BrandZ
China 100, the other Top
Riser insurance brands
are China Life, New
China Life and Ping An.
Two market-driven technology brands,

Letv and NetEase, ranked one and
two, respectively, in the Top 20 Risers,
increasing in brand value 81 percent
and 73 percent. Along with ZTE, the
third technology leader, these
brands ranked below 30 in the
China 100 ranking, indicating
the potential for fast-growing,
market-driven brands to
reshape the Chinese market.
The vitality of the travel industry

propelled the two airline brands, China
Eastern Airlines and China Southern
Airlines. The airline category grew 39
percent in brand value. With Shanghai
as a hub city, China Eastern Airlines
experienced strong international travel
and expected to receive a boost in
2016, with the opening of Disneyland
Shanghai. China Southern Airlines
benefited from the increased interest
in domestic travel and the expansion
of flights between the Chinese
mainland and Taiwan.
The other Top Riser brands increased

brand value because of a variety of
category-related and brand-specific
reasons. Moutai, the premium brand
of Baijiu, the traditional white alcohol,
repositioned the brand to reach a
wider audience with more popular
pricing after government policies
discouraging lavish spending impacted
sales at the high end.
The appearance of
four insurance brands
reflects the growth of
a category positioned to
meet the financial concerns of
Chinas expanding middle class. China
Life and Ping An marketed aggressively
online. With brand value growth of 53
percent and 41 percent, respectively,
they also entered the Top 10 of the
BrandZ China 100.
The home appliances brand Midea,
which ranked in the Top 20 Risers
in 2014 and 2015, continued to
aggressively market at home and
overseas. Supor, maker of small
appliances, ranked 82 in the BrandZ
China Top 100, and grew 59 percent
in brand value by leveraging its high
brand awareness to extend the brand
into new product areas.
TCL, ranked 95 in
the BrandZ
China Top
100, enjoyed
consumer
acceptance
as a leading
TV brand, while
Robam, 63 in the
Top 100, introduced a
new line of kitchen ranges as part
of its effort to position the brand as a
leader in the connected home.
154
Letv stretched the brand,

known originally as a content
provider, to sell smartphones
and prepare for the launch of an
energy-saving car in 2016. The web
portal NetEase expanded
the mobile presence
of its renowned web
games, and benefited
as a popular
purchase platform
for overseas
merchandise,
at a time when
tariff reforms made
international brands more
affordable.
Ranked 47 in the China Top 100,
ZTE, maker of telecommunications
equipment, increased activity outside
of China, particularly in the US. Rapid
expansion of mobile helped drive
its optical and 4G LTE solutions
businesses. The brand produced
solutions for the Internet of Things.
Long a maker of handsets for Chinas
three telecom providers, ZTE shifted
strategies, to build and market
smartphones under its own brand.
Although the retail category declined

slightly in value, two retail brands
ranked in the Top 20 Risers. In just a
few years, Suning transformed from
an electronics retailer with too
many physical stores and too
little e-commerce presence, to
more of a general merchant
whose strategic partnership
with Alibaba helped transform
its bricks and mortar locations
into distribution points and pick-up
locations.
Similarly, Yonghui Superstores focused
on expanding e-commerce and
refining its supermarket
logistics. The brand
partnered with
e-commerce
leader JD.com
to implement
an O2O strategy.
As e-commerce
attracted
consumers to
shop online for most
categories, Yonghuis reputation for
fresh foods drove customer traffic to
its physical stores.
In the competitive sportswear sector,

Anta, known for its strong basketball
presence, launched a soccer initiative.
The brands plans to make and market
soccer uniforms align with the Chinese
governments intention to increase
the contribution of sports to GDP
and also to raise the countrys global
competitiveness in soccer.
Tong Ren Tang, the traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) brand founded in
1669, increased its overseas revenue
by about a third, based on the growing
international acceptance of TCM and
the brands international presence,
with 115 stores in 25
countries and regions.
Jinjang Inn
benefited from
the surge in
Chinese travelers
to both domestic
and overseas
destinations. The
brand operates around
880 locations in China and is part of
Jinjiang International, which owns or
operates hotels worldwide. As the real
estate market stabilized, in response
to favorable government policies
and increased consumer demand,
Evergrande Real Estate results
improved and the brand launched new
projects in 17 cities.
Shift to market-driven brands raises Top 20 growth rate

The rate of brand value growth to qualify for the Top 20 Risers has increased from 10
percent to 41 percent over two years, as smaller, market-driven brands (lower value/
faster growth) have replaced SOEs (higher value/slower growth). At the same time, the
total value of the Top 20 has declined.
Year
Top 20
Brand
Value
US$ Mil
Qualifying
Brand Value
Growth Rate
MarketDriven
Firms
# Brands
in Top 20
Strategic Competitive
SOEs
SOEs
# Brands
in Top 20
# Brands
in Top 20
2014
158,603
10%
2015
123,645
21%
14
2016
69,419
41%
11
155
A K E Y D R I V E R O F C H I N A S E C O N O M I C T R A N S F O R M AT I O N
I S T H E DE T E R M I NAT ION OF T H E PEOPL E TO M A K E I T H A PPE N.
04 > The China Top 100 - Category Update
CATEGORY OVERVIEW
Consumer spending
impacts category
growth and value
concentration shift
Despite turbulence in
Chinas stock market and
the economic slowdown,
consumers continued to
spend on their daily needs
and even on big-ticket items,
with purchasing possibly
postponed, but not canceled,
according to BrandZ
research. How consumers
spent their money is reflected
in the relative value changes
across the 23 categories in
the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016.
158
New spending priorities produced a

significant shift in the distribution of the
BrandZ China Top 100 total value.
These include a desire for services and
experiences, and a shift in focus from
price alone to quality and value for
money, with a related willingness to
pay a premium, when merited.
Just two years ago, banks accounted
for the largest segment of brand
value, 30 percent. Banks and telecom
providers, two categories dominated
by State Owned Enterprises (SOEs),
together comprised almost half of the
China Top 100 total value. Technology
produced just 16 percent of value.
Today, technology, a category known
for its market-driven brands, accounts
for 27 percent of BrandZ China Top
100 value. Banks and telecom providers
produce only 32 percent of value, and
banks alone contribute less than a
fifth. Retail, an inconsequential factor
in 2014, now comprises 12 percent of

value, driven by the inclusion of Alibaba
and JD.com in the ranking.
The seven categories in the BrandZ
China Top 100 Brands 2016 that
increased most in value, 38 percent
or more, include: personal care and
jewelry retailers, both up 61 percent,
real estate, insurance, airlines, travel
agencies, and cars. The next tier of
brands, which improved a healthy 29to-32 percent in brand value, includes
technology, home appliances, alcohol
and furniture.
The third group of categories hotels,
healthcare, education, food and dairy,
and banks performed more modestly
in brand value growth. The following
categories declined in brand value:
telecom providers, retail, oil and gas,
catering and apparel. The baby care
and soft drinks categories are new this
year to the BrandZ China Top 100
ranking.
Category Value Changes

Category
Category Value
% Change
2016 vs. 2015
Category
Value
US$ Mil.
Number
of Brands
in Top 100
Market-driven brands
rapidly add value
In just two years, market-driven service categories, like
technology, have experienced rapid growth, while stateowned categories, like banks, have declined in value.
Personal Care
61%
1,578
Jewelry Retailer
61%
2,000
Real Estate
50%
14,371
10
Insurance
44%
40,643
Airlines
39%
11,491
Travel Agencies
39%
1,996
Cars
38%
2,585
Technology
32%
141,139
10
Home Appliances
31%
8,529
Alcohol
30%
20,815
11
Furniture
29%
462
11%
1,109
Healthcare
5%
5,762
Education
3%
1,446
Food & Dairy
3%
15,022
Banks
3%
98,819
Telecom Providers
-1%
70,867
Retail
-2%
60,988
Year-on-year category value changes are
Oil & Gas
-15%
23,426
based on brands that rank in the BrandZ
Catering
-29%
342
The number of brands in each category
Apparel
-46%
1,319
varies, from 11 alcohol brands to one brand
Baby Care
NEW
460
Soft Drinks
NEW
398
Hotels
2014
2016
12%
0%
13%
19%
27%
16%
4%
7%
19%
30%
Retail
Telecom Providers
Technology
Oil & Gas

Banking
Source: BrandZ
MEASURING CATEGORY
YoY VALUE CHANGES
Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands.
in the catering, baby care, furniture, and

soft drinks categories. Stories in this section
of the report describe the dynamics that
influenced value changes in each category.
Source: BrandZ
159
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Alcohol
BRANDS ADJUST STRATEGIES FOR CHANGING
CONSUMER TASTES AND REGULATORY IMPACT
The alcohol category grew 30 percent
in brand value in BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016, following
a 22 percent decline a year earlier when
Chinas anti-corruption campaign,
regulatory reforms, and the economic
slowdown hurt beer, baijiu and wine,
the category segments included in the
ranking.
Airlines
STRONG AIR TRAVEL INCREASE
LIFTS CATEGORY BRAND VALUE
Airlines and travel agencies tied for
fifth place in the rate of category value
growth, with a 39 percent
increase, in the
BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable
Chinese Brands
2016. Rising
disposable income,
growth of tourism,
improved domestic
transportation
infrastructure and budget
airfares were among the factors driving
value increases.
39%
China remained the worlds number one

source market for tourism, according
to the World Tourism Organization,
a United Nations agency (UNWTO).
Outbound tourism is expected to
increase 11 percent to 133 million visits
in 2016, according to the China National
Tourism Administration (CNTA). And
UNWTO ranks China fourth as a tourism
destination after France, the US and
Spain, although the rate of inbound
tourism has slowed, according to CNTA.
To capitalize on these trends, airlines
improved service and marketing,
expanded routes and increased
affordability. Along with revenue
gains, depressed oil prices also helped

enhance airline profitability. Despite these
improvements airlines continued to score
low in RepZ, the BrandZ measurement
of corporate reputation.
Five airline brands are included in the
BrandZ China Top 100: Air China, China
Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines,
Hainan Airlines and Spring Airlines, a
budget brand. Domestic budget air travel
is one of the fastest growing industry
segments, with the number of budget
travelers now totaling around 7 percent
of Chinas domestic air travel market of
about 390 million annual fliers, according
to some estimates.
Air China, number 19 in the BrandZ
China Top 100, increased its international
travel. It added overseas routes and
derived over one-third of its revenue
from overseas business, helped in part
by its link with other international carriers
through its membership in Star Alliance.
China Eastern Airlines, ranked 29, usually
benefits from business at its heavily
travelled Shanghai hub, but the airline
increased its marketing in anticipation
of the 2016 opening of Disneyland
Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines is part of
SkyTeam Alliance, which includes Delta.
China Southern Airlines, ranked 34, a

domestic travel leader, benefited from
the surge in local tourism and increased
travel between the Chinese mainland and
Taiwan. China Southern Airlines is part
of SkyTeam Alliance, which positions it
well to handle the domestic connecting
flights of international visitors.
Several brands drove the overall category

improvement with marketing strategies
that responded to the changing
consumer expectations shaped by
regulations and the slower economy.
Changing drinking habits also fueled the
categorys recovery, with the rise of more
social drinking in bars or pubs.
Hainan Airlines, ranked 59, continued

to expand international routes, and
advertised extensively overseas. It reentered Australia and announced the first
flight between Manchester and Beijing. It
planned to introduce a Rome-Xian route,
as part of Chinas One Belt, One Road
initiative to add trading links. Xian and
Rome were terminuses of the Silk Road.
For special occasions, the Chinese

continued to prefer their traditional drink,
baijiu, the white, high alcohol content
drink made from distilled sorghum.
But other beverage options, like wine,
continued to gain share because of high
baijiu prices, evolving tastes, and more
women drinkers.
Spring Airlines appeared in the BrandZ

China Top 100 for the first time, at
rank 98. The leading low-cost carrier,
formed in 2004, floated a successful
IPO in January 2015, to fund accelerated
expansion. Although the airline initially
focused on domestic travel, it has
announced plans for international flights
to Moscow, Melbourne, Tokyo and other
destinations. (Please see the interview
with Spring Airlines Chairman Wang
Zhenghua featured in this report.)
The 11 brands of beer, baijiu and wine

included in the 2016 BrandZ China
Top 100 are, in order of their brand value
ranking: Moutai, Yanghe, Tsingtao Beer,
ChangYu, Harbin Beer, Wu Liang Ye,
Snow Beer, Luzhou Laojio, Gujing Gong
Jiu, Yanjing Beer, and Pearl River.
BEER MOVES TO PREMIUM

Beer consumption grew at a weak pace,
at least for the mass product, probably
impacted by the slowdown in GDP
growth and even rainy weather. Although
the Internet grew as a beer sales channel,
the beer market remained relatively
regional and fragmented.
At the same time, strong demand for
premium brands continued, reflecting
the broader consumer shift to quality. As
Chinese brands added premium offerings
160
they faced competition from global

brands positioned at the high end of the
market.
adjusted its pricing, marketing and

distribution to become more accessible
while protecting its reputation for quality.
Snow Beer introduced more premium

variations. Although not well known
outside of China, Snow Beer leads the
world in total consumption. Tsingtao
Beer faced pressure because of its
mid-market positioning and its
large exposure in restaurants,
where government efforts
to retrain extravagance
impacted sales.
In addition, Moutai tried to help western

drinkers cultivate a taste for baijiu. San
Francisco proclaimed November 15,
2015, Moutai Day, to commemorate
the centennial anniversary of the
brands introduction to the city.
As Wu Liang Ye investigated
introducing its baijiu to
western markets, it improved
domestic results by lowering
prices and controlling its sales
and marketing costs.
30%
Harbin Beer, one of the

oldest breweries in the north,
successfully increased popularity.
Pearl River, especially strong in the south,
in Guangdong province, grew sales, but
costs increased.
Despite weaker volume growth, Yanjing
Beer continued to dominate in Beijing
and certain central and western regions.
It is the only Chinese brand without a
foreign partner, such as AB-InBev or
SABMiller.
The planned merger of the giant global
brewers would consolidate market share
and raise antitrust issues that could
affect brands like Snow Beer, jointly
held by SABMiller and China Resources
Enterprises, a state-owned company.
BAIJIU AND WINE ADJUST

TO REGULATIONS
The baijiu and wine brands, especially
impacted by the government efforts to
curb extravagance, continued to adjust
to market conditions and anticipated
category consolidation.
Luzhou Laojiao, also a premium

baijiu, continued to feel the impact
of the governments effort to curb
extravagance. It attempted to further trim
its product portfolio and rely more on
data to formulate strategy. Gujing Gong
Jiu strengthened its position as a leading
premium baijiu in certain provinces, like
Anhui.
Yanghe focused on its mid-price baijiu
offering, which helped the brand reach
younger drinkers. To expand the market,
Yanghe also introduced a baijiu with
lower alcohol content, called Weifenzi. In
addition, the brand continued to expand
its presence beyond Jinagsu province, on
the coast north of Shanghai.
ChangYu, one of the pioneer brands
in Chinese wine making, announced
plans to buy a majority stake in a Spanish
wine maker. This transaction advances
ChangYus plan to increase imports,
expands its portfolio of wines, and
provides greater access to wine making
best practices.
Moutai, Chinas leading premium baijiu,

increased 51 percent in brand value,
having declined 28 percent a year earlier.
Considered an exclusive brand, Moutai
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CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Apparel
E-COMMERCE AND INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITORS IMPACT VALUE GROWTH
The value of the apparel category
declined 46 percent, the steepest drop
of any of the 23 categories tracked in the
BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands 2016. The decline followed a 37
percent drop a year ago.
While some apparel brands improved
in brand value, most continued to
experience the impact of competition
from international brands, the cost of
excess physical stores, and the rapid
rise of e-commerce. The three apparel
brands that remain in the BrandZ China
top 100, compared with seven a year ago,
are: Anta, Belle, and Youngor. BrandZ
includes general apparel, sports apparel
and footwear in the apparel category
definition.
Anta, a maker and marketer of
sportswear, introduced running shoes
with special technology and co-branded
some of its offering with the National
Basketball Association. The brand also
entered a new sport, soccer, in an
important strategic move that coincides
with the Chinese governments intention
to raise Chinas presence in this popular
international sport.
Anta improved its e-commerce presence
at the same time that it opened larger
stores and closed smaller ones. It
operated 7,340 retail outlets at the end
162
of June 2015. Especially strong in lower

tier cities, Anta has also established its
Fila brand, acquired in 2009, in Chinas
larger cities. Anta operates retail outlets
in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and
the Middle East. Anta rose 45 percent in
brand value.
The sports segment of the apparel
category should benefit from the
Chinese governments determination
to expand the contribution of sports to
GDP, which is relatively low compared
with other industrialized countries. New
apps and the introduction of Tencents
WeChat Sports also increased attention
on fitness.
International competition and channel
disruption particularly impacted the shoe
brand Belle, as customer traffic declined
at traditional department stores, where
much of its merchandise is sold. Belle
sportswear sales improved,
however Belle declined
35 percent in brand
value. Youngor, a
major supplier of
menswear, especially
suits and shirts, in
China and abroad,
rose 11 percent in
brand value, following a 26
percent decline a year ago.
46%
Baby Care
SHIFTS TO PREMIUM AND E-COMMERCE
PROPEL CATEGORY TO RANKING DEBUT
The baby care category appears for
the first time in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands, driven
by the brand Anerle, a newcomer at
number 76. The Hengan Group, a
Chinese fast moving consumer
goods (FMCG) manufacturer,
specializing in household
paper and personal hygiene
products, makes and
markets Anerle disposable
diapers, and promoted the
brand in maternity shops and
through e-commerce.
priorities from price alone to quality and

value for money. Lower raw material
costs, specifically the drop in prices
for petroleum products, helped boost
category profits.
The growth of the diaper sector
was part of an overall increase
in sales of baby products.
Sales of baby products rose
7.3 percent year-on-year in 27
Chinese cities studied by Kantar
Worldpanel, compared with a
3.6 percent growth a year earlier,
and 2.8 percent for FMCG products
overall.
NEW
Relatively new to China, the disposable

diaper category is crowded with
international brands anticipating
significant growth potential because
of current low category penetration,
increased affluence, desire for
convenience, and the repeal of the
one child policy. In addition, diapers
were among products that qualified for
lower tariffs at Chinas new cross border
e-commerce zones.
Although, the economic slowdown
hurt diaper sales at the low end of
the market, premium priced products
appealed to wealthier members of the
middle class as they shifted purchasing
E-commerce proved an especially

productive channel for diapers, which
experienced both high penetration and
sales. Between 2012 and 2014, almost
half of all households that purchased
diapers, bought diapers at least once
online, and e-commerce accounted for
about a third of all diapers sold, according
to Kantar Worldpanel. Online
spending for diapers increased
at a 41 percent compounded
annual growth rate between
2012 and 2014.
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CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Banks
CHINAS ECONOMY CHALLENGES BRANDS,
BUT OVERSEAS PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES
The modest 3 percent increase in value
for the banks category is a substantial
improvement from the 16 percent
decline a year ago. The fluctuation in
value illustrates how closely Chinese
banks are tied to the performance of
the nations economy and the impact
of government regulation.
The nine banks brands included in
Chinese Brands 2016 comprise less
than a fifth of the rankings value,
down from 30 percent in 2014. This
decline resulted in part from the rise of
technology and e-commerce brands
that account for an increasing share
of BrandZ China Top 100
value.
3%
The banks and technology categories

are represented by three brands each
in the China Top 10 in the 2016 ranking,
compared with four bank brands and
two technology brands a year ago,
before smart phone maker Huawei,
entered the BrandZ China Top 100, at
rank seven, and Bank of China dropped
to number 11.
Overseas business improved for

some bank brands, however, as the
International Monetary Fund added
the Chinese renminbi as a key global
currency, joining the dollar, euro, pound
and yen. The governments Belt and
Road initiative to promote international
trade also supported overseas Chinese
banking activities.
The technology brands challenge

banks in particular, because of the
growing popularity of mobile banking,
including Internet peer-to-peer lending.
Regulatory reforms to encourage more
competition also continued to impact
bank profitability. Banks are freer now
than in the past to set interest rates
offered on deposits, for example.
The nine banks ranked in the BrandZ

China Top 100, in order of their brand
value, are: ICBC, China Construction
Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank
of China, China Merchants Bank, Bank
of Communications, China Minsheng
Bank, Industrial Bank and China
Everbright Bank. All nine banks but one,
China Minsheng Bank, are state owned.
Cars
GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES DRIVE
SALES, DESPITE SLOWER ECONOMY
The car category increased 38 percent
in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands 2016. Each of the three
car brands in the ranking increased in
brand value. They are BYD, Great Wall,
and Changan, which appears in the
BrandZ China Top 100 for the first time.
China remained number one worldwide
in vehicle sales with 24.6 million vehicles
sold, according to the China Association
of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Although sales slumped during most of
2015, they picked up toward the end of
the year, after a government tax break
encouraged purchasing. A separate
government stimulus sparked sales of
electric and hybrid cars.
The pace of car sales in China declined
to 4.7 percent year-on-year growth,
because of the economic slowdown, the
stock market decline and government
driving restrictions aimed at abating
air pollution. But BrandZ research
conducted late in 2015 found that
consumers overwhelmingly planned to
pursue big-ticket purchase plans, possibly
delaying, but not postponing them.
164
38%
SUVs drove China car

industry growth. With a 52.4
percent increase in sales, SUVs
accounted for a quarter of all
cars sold, according to the CAAM.
Great Walls Haval H6 model has been
Chinas most popular SUV for almost
three years, according to reports. Great
Wall increased 36 percent in brand value.
Changan, a State Owned Enterprise,
joined the BrandZ China Top 100
at number 99. Changan is one of the
leading four Chinese car brands and
maintains important joint ventures with
several overseas car brands.
Although most cars were sold

through traditional channels,
online sales, insignificant in most
of the world, are becoming a factor
in China. During Chinas Singles Day
shopping event, on November 11, 2015,
Alibabas Tmall.com sold over 6,500 cars.
The purchases were an example of O2O
coordination, as customers purchased
cars online but picked them up at car
dealer locations.
BYD led sales of electronic vehicles

and raised its international profile with
export deals, including plans to build a
fleet of electric buses for London, which
President Xi Jinping announced during a
visit to the UK. The brands electric buses
already operate at Amsterdams Schiphol
Airport. BYD brand value rose 20 percent.
To accelerate acceptance of electric
vehicles in China, the government plans
to have in place a national charging
station network in five years, funded by
public-private partnerships, according to
Chinas National Energy Administration.
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CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Catering
29%
SALES IMPROVE
AS BRANDS APPEAL
TO A WIDER AUDIENCE
The catering industry experienced

doubled-digit growth in 2015, according
to the China Cuisine Association, as
business picked up for the first time
since the government inaugurated its
crackdown on extravagant spending
and public corruption.
The industry benefited from increased
consumer affluence and the ongoing
shift in attitudes towards eating out,
once viewed as an experience reserved
for special occasions and now seen
as a more routine and affordable
convenience.
Market repositioning was among
the factors that drove the brand
value improvement. Brands formerly
dependent on a narrow band of more
affluent diners broadened their appeal
to a wider audience.
However, as the market rebounded,
consumer choice increased and
brands competed fiercely. Some of
the international brands, which had
struggled to restore trust after food
safety scandals, faced local Chinese
operators empowered by mobile home
delivery apps affiliated with Baidu,
Alibaba or Tencent.
One catering brand dropped out of
Chinese Brands 2016, leaving only
Quanjude, which operates over 100
roast duck restaurants. Because of
the change, the category declined 29
percent.
166
Food and Dairy

Education
BRANDS EXPAND PREMIUM

OFFERINGS, MEDIA PRESENCE
EDUCATION REMAINS A HIGH

PRIORITY, BUT SHIFTS ONLINE
Chinas competitive, test-focused
education system continued to drive
demand for education services.
Language training, test preparatory
courses, and after-school tutoring
attracted students, as adults sought
to improve their prospects in the
domestic and global economies, and
parents prepared their children to
succeed.
Even after the extreme
fluctuations of
Chinas stock market,
education remained
a priority for many
Chinese, according to
BrandZ research. But
as more consumers pursue
education online rather than in physical
classrooms, the category is undergoing
structural challenge.
3%
Education providers reduced the size

of physical classrooms, slowed their
growth and accelerated online activity.
The move to smaller class sizes can
lower profit margins, while the increase
in online services requires investment.
Two brands, New Oriental and Xueersi,
again appear in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands,

but the category increased only
3 percent after a 57 percent rise a
year ago.
New Oriental specializes foreign
language training and test
preparation. Enrollment is near
three million students. While
operating around 725 physical
locations in 50 cities, New
Oriental also invested in
expanding online options
and coordinating them with
offline options. Almost 11
million users are registered
for the brands 4,400 online
courses. New Oriental brand
value declined 2 percent.
Xueersi primarily offers tutoring
programs for students in
kindergarten through grade 12, and
maintains 300 physical locations
in 19 major cities, although much
of the enrollment, especially
for overseas test preparation,
is concentrated in Beijing and
Shanghai. Total enrollment is about
1.5 million students. Brand value
increased 33 percent.
Facing ongoing consumer apprehension

about food safety, category leaders
continued to improve technology, found
more reliable sources for milk, entered
partnerships with international food
producers, and introduced product
innovations.
After increasing 14 percent a year ago,
the category increased 3 percent in
Chinese Brands 2016. One brand
dropped out leaving six, in this rank order:
Yili, Mengniu, Shuanghui, Bright Dairy,
Sanquan, and Fortune.
The announcement of the end of
the one child policy drove share price
appreciation, especially for market leading
brands, based on a future with larger
families and increased demand. Lower
dairy consumption in China, relative to
the West, drove growth expectations,
especially for premium products.
Consumers preference increased
for premium products, such as fresh
milk, milk fortified with extra nutrients,
cheeses, and flavored yoghurts. New
premium beverages, particularly
ready-to-drink teas with packaging and
marketing aimed at young people, also
were popular. Meanwhile, UHT milk, ultra
heated to extend shelf life, remained a
large, if slow-growing segment.
3%
Yili worked to increase

awareness among
young audiences with
sponsorships of reality TV
shows. Mengniu introduced packaging
changes and celebrity endorsements.
The brand expanded distribution in
cities where competition is weaker, and
featured new products, including those
with local market appeal. And it worked
to improve food safety with its partners,
Frances Danone and Arla Foods of
Denmark.
Bright Dairy prepared to purchase a

raw milk supplier as part of the effort to
ensure food safety by controlling the
entire supply chain. In another move to
enhance its food technology, and add
premium products, Bright Dairy prepared
to purchase Tnuva, Israels largest food
producer, from corporate parent, Bright
Foods.
In an innovation taking convenience
food another step, Sanquan introduced
complete frozen meals, dispensed from
a vending machine equipped with a
microwave oven. The expansion of the
catering category, with middle class
consumers eating out more, helped drive
sales of the cooking oil brand Fortune.
Meat producer Shuanghui felt the effects
of weaker consumption because of the
economic slowdown.
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E V E N A S C H I N A R A P I D LY M O D E R N I Z E S ,
I T R E M A I N S D I S T I N C T LY C H I N E S E .
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Furniture
FURNITURE PICKS UP AS
LOWER INTEREST RATES
PUSH HOME SALES
The furniture category improved
29 percent with the resurgence of
home buying that accelerated late
in the year, following a series of
interest rates cuts and a reduction
of the down payment for home
purchasing.
Furniture brands did not depend
entirely on government actions,
however. Many brands attempted
to stimulate sales by creating
more occasions for people to visit
physical stores or shop online,
sometimes for an individual item
but also for a larger purchase to
refresh or remodel an entire room.
Some brands rotated seasonal or
holiday themes during the year.
Like last year, Suofeiya was
the only furniture brand in the
Chinese Brands 2016, at number
75. Known for the design and
manufacture of kitchen cabinets,
Suofeiya drove sales growth by
expanding its offering to
include products for
most rooms of the
house. It also raised
funds for investing
in digital smart
home projects.
29%
The industry remained

fragmented. Competition
increased, even in smaller cities,
as furniture retailers expanded to
meet the needs of consumers
increasingly able to afford and
furnish better housing. Brands
marketed with brochures, online
videos, and billboards.
170
Healthcare
REFORMS AND CONSUMER HEALTH
CONCERNS DRIVE CATEGORY INTEREST
Pharmaceutical reforms and rising
consumer interest in personal health
drove domestic sales of healthcare
brands, while increasing global interest
in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
fueled exports.
TCM brands exported to over 150
countries and regions during the
first half of 2015, according
to the China Chamber
of Commerce for
Import and Export of
Medicines and Health
Products. The Chinese
government funded
a plan to open TCM
centers abroad as part of
the countrys international
trade initiative called Belt and
Road.
5%
To penetrate the domestic market,

brands continued to introduce mass
products that promised the benefits of
TCM medications, and they increased
their presence on e-commerce and
mobile platforms.
The category increased 5 percent
in value in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016,
following a 1 percent increase a

year ago. One brand dropped from
the Top 100, leaving these three, in
rank order: Yunnan Baiyao, Tong
Ren Tang, and CR Sanjiu.
Yunnan Baiyao continued to
advance its New Baiyao, Great
Health strategy, adding healing
TCM properties to its over-thecounter personal care range,
including toothpaste,
shampoo, skin creams, and
feminine hygiene products.
Tong Ren Tang expanded its
online presence with around
100 health and cosmetic
products available on sites such
as JD.com, Tmall and Yihaodian.
To pursue overseas interest in
TCM, Tong Ren Tang operated 56
stores in 15 countries and regions,
primarily in Asia but also including
North America and Europe.
Part of the State Owned Enterprise
(SOE) China Resources, CR Sanjiu
remained active in research and
development that crossed a range
of healthcare, pharmaceuticals,
and TCM products.
Home Appliances
WITH FOCUS ON SMART APPLIANCES,
BRANDS GROW AT HOME AND ABROAD
The value of the home appliances
category improved 31 percent in the
BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands 2016, following a 20 percent
gain a year ago. Government initiatives
to raise personal income and expand
urbanization continued to stimulate
demand.
Among other factors driving category
growth were: the strengthening
housing market, appliance replacement
and upgrade, innovative product
improvements related to the smart
home and mobile use, the ease of
e-commerce, and the expansion of
overseas sales. The BrandZ China Top
100 appliance brands, in ranking order,
are: Midea, Haier, Gree, Robam, Supor,
Hisense, and TCL.
These seven brands helped advance the
governments Internet+ effort to prepare
for the next phase of industrialization,
with technology that links the Internet
of Things, mobile, cloud computing
and big data. Brand initiatives also linked
with the Made in China 2025 plan to
reinvent Chinese industry as more
quality driven, technologically innovative
and environmentally responsible, with
selected industries raised to global
stature.
Some of the home appliances brands
in the BrandZ China Top 100 derived
a relatively high percentage of revenue
from overseas business. In a dramatic
initiative to build overseas presence,
particularly in the US, Haier bid to
31%
purchase the appliance

division of General
Electric. Haier makes and
markets refrigerators, washing
machines and other home appliances
worldwide.
Midea, a maker of large appliances,

including air conditioners, refrigerators,
and washing machines, established
corporate centers for innovation and
smart home development, and focused
on adapting the brand to an industry
being reshaped by the mobile Internet.
Known for its central and room air
conditioners, as well as water heaters and
air and water purifiers, Gree focused on
unifying the offering with smart home
mobile control systems.
Cooking appliance manufacturer,
Robam, advanced its smart home
program with the introduction of a line
of connected ranges. Supor, a maker
of cookware and small appliances,
developed its online sales.
Hisense increased its global presence in
TVs, particularly large screen models. The
brand, which exports to 130 countries,
developed innovations in display
technology for its TVs, other smart home
applications, and medical imaging. TCL,
another global LCD TV leader, introduced
advancements to its thin, curved, high
definition smart TV screens, and more
than tripled its sales in North America as
it expanded distribution through retail
chains.
171
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Insurance
NEEDS OF MIDDLE CLASS
GUIDE CATEGORY GROWTH
Hotels
BUDGET BRANDS PRESSURED,
WHILE CATEGORY VALUE GROWS
The hotel category grew 11 percent in
value in the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016. The
result improved on the flat year-on-year
change in the last edition of the BrandZ
China 100.
Both local Chinese brands and
international brands, well established in
the larger cities, competed for tourism
business. But for first nine months of
2015, inbound tourism from overseas
markets declined 1.1 percent to almost
19 million visitors, according to the China
National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
In addition, Chinese consumers did
not lack accommodation choice. Over
11,000 star-rated hotels operated in
China at the end of the third quarter of
2015, according to the CNTA. And for
those looking for savings beyond budgetpriced hotels, peer-to-peer services like
Airbnb offered another option.
Two of the three hotel brands in the
BrandZ China Top 100, Hanting and
Home Inn, are well represented in
the budget segment, although both
172
brands have expanded rapidly and

broadened their portfolios of subbrands to serve broad segments
of the market. Both Hanting
and Home Inn increased 3
percent in brand value.
11%
At the end of 2015,

Home Inn, which
operates around 2,790
hotels in 346 Chinese
cities, under several subbrands, announced plans
to merge with BTG Hotels, which
owns or manages several hotel
brands and other tourism facilities.
Part of a group that operates over

3,000 hotels worldwide, Jinjiang
Inn, the third hotel brand in the
BrandZ China Top 100, benefits
from both inbound and outbound
tourism. The number of Chinese
traveling abroad increased 12.1
percent during the first half of 2015,
according to the China Tourism
Research Institute. Jinjiang Inn
increased 47 percent in brand value.
The insurance category rose 44 percent

in brand value, one of the strongest
performances in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016. The
growth follows a 10 percent decline a
year ago.
Some of the brands, Ping An, in particular,

have evolved into diversified full service
financial companies that also offer
investment options, which may come
with less risk than equities in the volatile
stock market.
Because of their steep year-on-year value

appreciation, four of the six insurance
brands in the BrandZ China Top 100
also ranked among the Top 20 Risers.
China Taiping rose 70 percent; China Life,
53 percent; Ping An, 41 percent; and New
China Life, 42 percent.
In addition, the insurance companies

have improved the marketing
of their products and the
education of their agents. And
they have developed Internet
businesses. The brands also
are establishing overseas
presence and strengthening
their investment portfolios as
the Chinese government relaxes
overseas investment rules.
The value growth of Ping An and

China Life moved these brands into the
BrandZ China Top 10. While not in the
Top 20 Risers, the other two insurance
brands, PICC and CPIC, also experienced
strong brand value growth, 25 percent
and 36 percent, respectively.
The greatest factor driving the value rise
is the needs of Chinas expanding middle
class. Individuals acquiring greater wealth
want to protect it. And they begin to seek
other products, such as health insurance
or pension coverage. Government
regulations reassure consumers that their
insurance investments are safe.
44%
But not all investments are in financial

products. Ping An purchased Tower
Place, a high profile building in the
center of Londons financial district.
The move follows its purchase of the
Lloyds of London building in 2013. China
Life purchased a building in Londons
Canary Wharf in 2014. And China Taiping
invested in a New York luxury residential
skyscraper.
173
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
61%
Oil and Gas
15%
SLOWER ECONOMY,
DECLINE IN CRUDE
PRICES, HURT PROFITS
After a meager 4 percent rise in value
a year ago, the oil and gas category
declined 15 percent in the BrandZ
Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands 2016, as weakened demand
and low crude oil prices hurt profits.
Both oil and gas companies
included in the BrandZ China Top
100, Sinopec and PetroChina, are
high-value, strategic State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs), and both dropped
several spaces in ranking, placing
them below the Top 10.
Like many of the international energy
leaders, the Chinese brands cut
capital expenses and considered
selling assets to help boost
profitability. PetroChina announced
plans to divest some of its natural gas
pipelines. At the same time, low crude
prices improved profits of some
refined products, like petrochemicals.
Jewelry Retail
VALUE INCREASES SHARPLY DESPITE SLOWER ECONOMY
With an increase of 61 percent, following
a 2 percent decline last year, Jewelry retail
tied with personal care as the category
with the largest value appreciation in the
BrandZ top 100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands 2016.
The four brands that contributed to this
result, in order of their ranking are: Lao
Feng Xiang, Eastern Gold Jade, Ming
Jewelry, and CHJ Jewellery, appearing in
the BrandZ China Top 100 for the first
time this year.
174
Several factors explain this acceleration

in value during a year of economic
deceleration. The first is the optimistic
attitude of consumers who continued
spending both on daily needs and
big-ticket items, according to BrandZ
research conducted late in 2015. In
addition, certain jewelry, gold and jade,
in particular, has strong cultural meaning,
and jewelry also is a secure investment,
relative to the volatility of the stock
market.
At the same time, jewelry retailers faced

increased competition from e-commerce
sites and sought opportunities to
innovate and expand organically or
through acquisition. With the purchase of
Shenzhen Zhuoyi Jewelry, Ming Jewelry
plans to develop a brand that appeals to
young people. CHJ Jewellery acquired
several brands over the last few years.
Lao Feng Xiang enjoyed its first full year
with a flagship store on New York Citys
Fifth Avenue. It also opened two stores
in Hong Kong, including its largest unit
outside of the China mainland, where the
brand operates around 2,800 stores. Lao
Feng Xiang is investigating store openings
in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand.
Sinopec continued its efforts

to diversify into non-petroleum
businesses and to leverage its brand
retail points of sale, the more than
30,000 service stations it operates
throughout China. In cooperation
with Tencent, the giant Internet
portal, Sinopec introduced a mobile
app for purchasing its products and
services using Tencents WeChat
messaging service. It also offered
insurance from China Taiping in many
of its retail outlets.
Personal Care
61%
VALUE PROPOSITIONS DRAW CONSUMERS

WILLING TO PAY PREMIUM FOR QUALITY
The personal care category rose 61
percent in value in the BrandZ Top
100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands
2016, following a modest rise in
2015. Driven in part by the addition of
another brand, Herborist, which joins
Dabao and Zhong Hua in the ranking,
the sharp rise in category value also
reflects several consumer trends.
Despite slower economic growth and
stock market fluctuations, Chinese
consumers have not modified their
spending on necessities, according to
BrandZ research. And the shopping
attitudes and behavior of Chinese
consumers are changing, affecting
what they buy and how much they
spend.
Kantar Worldpanel found that
consumers are putting fewer fast
moving consumer goods into their
baskets on each shopping trip, but
spending more per item. Kantar
Wordpanel also discovered that
personal care is one of the categories
in which Chinese consumers will pay a
premium for items related to improved
health or quality of life, such as skin
care or toothpaste.
Herborist is a skin care brand whose
products are made from natural
ingredients. Influenced by traditional
Chinese medicine, the brand updates

Chinese ancient knowledge of herbal
treatments with modern technology
and marketing. Herborist illustrates the
possibility of building a uniquely Chinese
global brand. Sold online, Herborist is
also available in physical stores in many
European countries, primarily through
the German retailer Douglas, and
Sephora, the French-owned cosmetics
chain.
Dabao, the well-established and widely
distributed skincare brand, has been
reenergized with new packaging that
emphasizes the brands moisturizing and
hydration qualities. The US healthcare
company Johnson & Johnson
purchased Dabao in 2008. Similarly,
Chinese consumers have used Zhong
Hua toothpaste for over half a century.
To reconnect with customers and
connect with younger consumers,
the brand built an integrated media
campaign around persuading people to
smile.
The campaign featured a leading
Chinese actress in a video challenging
people to smile, despite all the stress in
their lives. It included out-of-home ads
on 1,600 newspaper kiosks, as well as
a social media component linked with
social responsibility. Zhong Hua is part
of the Unilever oral care brand portfolio.
175
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Real Estate
INCENTIVES, LOWER INTEREST RATES,
STIMULATE REAL ESTATE REBOUND
With a steep 50 percent rise in brand
value, following flat results a year ago,
real estate became the third fastestrising category in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016.
A critical part of Chinas economy, real
estate comprises around 15 percent
of GDP, according to the International
Monetary Fund, up from only around
4 percent in 1997. The 10 real estate
BrandZ China Top 100 brands, in
ranking order, are: Vanke, Wanda,
Evergrande Real Estate, Poly Real Estate,
Country Garden, Gemdale, Longfor,
R&F Properties, SOHO China, and
Greentown China.
The real estate sector experienced
rising vacancy rates as Chinas
economic growth rate slowed and
government subsidies disappeared.
Higher land costs and lower sales prices
squeezed margins. Total investment for
the first 10 months of 2015 increased
only 2 percent, according Chinas
National Bureau of Statistics. Demand
began to strengthen late in the year,
following government intervention
to lower interest rates and reduce the
down payment required for home
purchasing, in some instances.
Two brands, in particular, drove
the strong real estate category
performance: Evergrande Real Estate,
which increased 49 percent in brand
value, making it one of the BrandZ
China Top 20 Risers; and Wanda,
which appeared for the first time in the
BrandZ China Top 100, at number 31.
Evergrande Real Estate announced
the acquisition of four up-market
projects that the company said
176
comprise the largest-ever real estate

acquisition in China. Wanda develops
multi-use commercial complexes that
include office space, luxury hotels,
and shopping centers. It belongs to
Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties
Company Ltd, a leader in sales, leasing
and management of shopping centres,
hotels and office space.
Innovation and expansion continued,
despite the slowdown. In Guangzhou
and Tianjin, R&F Properties opened
new concept malls that balance
shopping with entertainment and
other leisure activities. Longfor, which
develops residential and commercial
property in top tier cities, entered the
Nanjing market for the first time.
In an attempt to appeal to young,
first-time buyers, Vanke introduced
V-Home, a housing development
featuring communal activities. Poly Real
Estate launched a project for seniors
with on-premises medical facilities.
These initiatives reflect a change in
approach that Greentown China calls,
selling lifestyles rather than selling
houses. The shift to Internet
marketing was an aspect of the
trend. Country Garden joined
with insurance brand Ping An
to fund a Shanghai project
with crowd-sourcing.
50%
Real estate developers also

took their brands abroad. With a
local partner, Gemdale invested in a
mix-use complex of offices, retail, and
residential space in Los Angeles. Many
Chinese real estate developers, such as
Greenland Holdings, China Vanke and
SOHO China have property holdings in
New York City.
177
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Retail
CONSUMERS KEEP SPENDING,
BUT PURCHASE MORE WISELY
The retail category declined 2 percent
in value in the BrandZ Top 100
Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016.
The decline indicates the categorys
competitiveness, the pressure of
e-commerce on physical stores, and
challenges facing Alibaba.
Because of these challenges,
including concerns about counterfeit
merchandise on its sites, Alibaba fell
20 percent in brand value. The other
retail brands included in the BrandZ
China Top 100 rose sharply in brand
value: Suning, 68 percent; Yonghui
Superstores, 45 percent; and Alibaba
competitor, JD.com, entered the
ranking for the first time.
The retail category also contended
with changing shopper attitudes and
behavior. Consumers continued to
spend, but more wisely. The annual
growth rate of retail sales declined over
the past several years, from 13.7 percent
in 2013 to 10.3 percent through the first
10 months of 2015, according to Kantar
Retail.
Consumers sought not only price,
but also quality, and were willing to
pay a premium, if justified, according
to Kantar Worldpanel. In the big
cities especially, spending shifted
from necessities to products and
services related to transportation,
communication, culture, education,
and entertainment.
Other factors, including government

initiatives, also impacted development
of the retail category. Internet growth,
a government priority, and the
availability of affordable smartphones,
facilitated the rapid expansion of
e-commerce throughout China, even
to rural areas. The major e-commerce
brands expanded rural distribution
significantly during the past several
years. Alibaba, for example, is present
in 27 provinces with 170 county
service centers and 8,000 village
service centers.
Because of the government
establishment of cross border
e-commerce zones for reduced
tariffs on foreign merchandise,
Chinese consumers enjoyed lower
online prices and faster delivery for
imported goods. The first cross border
e-commerce zone was established
in March 2015, in Hangzhou. The
government plans to set up zones in
Shanghai, Guangzhou and 10 other
cities. The zones are intended to drive
consumption, a government goal.
Brands also worked collaboratively to
improve online and offline integration.
E-commerce giant Alibaba purchased
almost a 20 percent stake in Suning,
the consumer electronics retailer
that operates about 1,600 stores.
The synergistic hook-up strengthens
Alibabas presence in the physical
world, and boosts its electronics
offering, while lifting Sunings
online profile, and improving
logistics and delivery times for
both brands.
Tencent, the giant Internet portal,

and Chinas most valuable brand,
is a stakeholder in JD.com, the
e-commerce site known for its
consumer electronics strength. This
social e-commerce arrangement
enables consumers to seamlessly
purchase products from JD.com
while texting on WeChat, Tencents
ubiquitous messaging site.
Meanwhile, the product categories
available with e-commerce are
expanding to include even bigticket purchases, like cars. During
Chinas Singles Day shopping event,
on November 11, 2015, consumers
bought over 6,500 cars on Alibabas
Tmall.com, and then picked up their
purchases at local car dealerships.
At least one consideration keeps
Chinese consumers shopping in
physical stores however, a concern for
food freshness. Yonghui Superstores
is known for its strength in fresh food.
Freshness becomes a competitive
advantage because it drives traffic to
the Yonghuis large format physical
stores at a time when consumers
increasingly are shopping online or at
smaller convenience locations.
2%
178
179
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Retail Analysis
Taobao lags in key Brand Power

components and in Trust
ALIBABA FACES JD.COM COMPETITION,

PLUS TMALL AND TAOBAO CHALLENGES
What a difference a year makes. In
September 2014, Alibaba raised $25
billion in a record IPO on the New
York Stock Exchange. It entered the
Chinese Brands at number two,
after Tencent. This year, Alibabas
brand value declined 20 percent
and the brand fell to number three
in the BrandZ China 100. The
brand faced both internal and
external challenges, including
increased competition, particularly
from JD.com, and concern over
counterfeit products on its sites.
It is important to consider these
challenges in the context of Alibabas
overall business. On November 11,
or Singles Day, a Chinese reversal of
Valentines Day that celebrates singles
rather than couples, a holiday Alibaba
promoted into a national shopping
binge, the brand sold $14.3 billion in
merchandise in 24 hours. The online
sales included 5,000 overseas brands
from 25 countries. Alibabas success
selling overseas merchandise in

China is part of a larger intention to
build a global brand and reach more
shoppers outside of China as the
domestic economy slows.
For now, however, China is Alibabas
key market. And like most strong
merchants, Alibaba faces some
strong competitors, most notably
JD.com, Chinas number two
e-commerce retailer, with 23.9
percent market share compared
with 64.4 percent for Alibabas Tmall,
according to Kantar Retail. JD.com
originated in 1998, a year earlier than
Alibaba, as an online store called
Jingdong Mall, and after an interim
name change to 360buy.com, it
became JD.com in 2013. It enjoys
several advantages when compared
with Alibaba, which trails JD.com in
delivery efficiency because, unlike
JD.com, Alibaba does not own much
of its delivery system to the last mile.
JD.coms key advantage, however,
is its partnership with Tencent, the
giant Internet portal. Consumers

can access JD.com through
WeChat, Tencents ubiquitous social
networking site. This access point
simplifies life for the consumer who
can text, shop, and pay without
switching online platforms. Alibaba
lacks equivalent strength in social
media and its core competence
remains the retail transaction.
Alibaba offers merchandise on two
sites, Tmall and Taobao Marketplace.
Tmall is a business-to-consumer
site that features around 70,000
brands, including well-known global
leaders. Taobao, an online bazaar,
offers over 800 million items from
small business and consumer sellers.
Shoppers are losing confidence
in Taobao because of the danger
of buying counterfeit products.
Taobao is weakening in Brand Power,
the BrandZ measurement of a
brands competitiveness. Tmall is
strengthening in Brand Power, but
more slowly than JD.com.
Although Taobao is able to enhance Brand Power by being Salient, a

component of Brand Power, it is not viewed as meeting consumer needs
in ways that are Meaningful and Different, the other two components. And
consumers are losing Trust, probably because of the counterfeit products issue.
Brand Power Scores
243
2014
259
120
TMALL
2014
110
TMALL
2015
100
133
Different
147
114
Salient
2015
Components of Brand Power
Brand Power Scores
-20
-18
+85
113
166 279
129
199
2015
2014
2015
Meaningful
133
Different
147
Salient
114
+24
+30
+51
157
177
165
2014
107
111
CORPORATE TRUST INDEX
2015
118
104
94
2011
2012
2013
89
88
2014
2015
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Average Brand Power Component Score = 100

Average Trust Score = 100

But Tmalls potential is less than

that of key competitor, JD.com
And JD.com is growing significantly

in all components of Brand Power,
and in Trust
Although Tmalls Brand Power potential is strong, it is not as strong as

the potential of its key competitor, JD.com.
TMALL
2014
140
JD.COM
2015
130
120
100
90
JD.COM
2014
As JD.com expands its mobile offering and partnerships with premium

international brands, it is increasing in the three components of Brand
Power, and in Trust.
Brand Power Scores
132 274
TMALL
2015
110
2014
TAOBAO 2014
2015
Meaningful
114
Different
132
Salient
93
+62
+29
+54
2014
80
70
TAOBAO 2015
150
200
250
176
161
147
2015
134
60
50
100
TAOBAO 2014
90
Meaningful
2014
FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL
130
FUTURE GROWTH POTENTIAL
Both Tmall and Taobao score well in

Brand Power today. Brand Power is a
BrandZ measurement of a brands
competitiveness. But the trend is
unmistakable. Tmalls Brand Power is
expected to increase as Taobaos Brand
Power declines.
140
Consumers seem to have higher confidence in Tmall compared with

Taobao. Tmall is strengthening in all three components of Brand Power:
Meaningful, Different, and Salient. And it is strengthening in Trust.
150
Alibaba faces internal

challenges with
Tmall and Taobao
Meanwhile, Tmall is growing in all

components of Brand Power, and in
Trust
112
300
CURRENT BRAND POWER

80
Average Brand Power and Brand Potential Score = 100
70
2011
60
TAOBAO 2015
150
200
250
2013
2014
2015

50
100
2012
300
CURRENT BRAND POWER
2015-2016 comparison of Power and Potential

Average Brand Power and Brand Potential Score = 100
Source: BrandZ
180
181
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Soft Drinks
WATER BRAND VALUE
SURGES ON HEALTH,
PREMIUM TRENDS
The soft drinks category reappears in
Chinese Brands. The one brand
represented is the local Chinese brand
Mizone, a flavored energy water from
the French company Danone.
Mizone grew in brand value at a time
of slower sales growth across most
fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)
categories, with the rate of overall
FMCG spending growth declining
from almost 12 percent in 2012, to 5.4
percent in 2014, according to Kantar
Worldpanel.
The appearance of Mizone in the
BrandZ China Top 100 relates to
several other overlapping Chinese
consumer trends, including the rising
interest in personal health, and the
willingness to pay more for a perceived
quality difference. Along with beer,
skin cream, and yoghurt, bottled
water is one of the items for
which Chinese consumers are
willing to pay a premium.
NEW
The average selling price of

bottled water increased 6.4
percent between 2012 and 2014,
according to Kantar Worldpanel. That
rate of increase places bottle water
toward the upper end of products,
across 26 categories, that experienced
selling price changes, ranging from
negative 1.8 percent to 13.5 percent.
Mizone also benefits from the

corporate reputation of Danone as
a leader in food production safety.
Trust remains relatively weak in China,
particularly in the food and dairy
category. But Trust also is especially
important as a brand differentiator in
China, according to BrandZ research.
182
Technology
BRANDS SPEED OVERSEAS
GROWTH, ESPECIALLY
SMARTPHONE MAKERS
The technology category increased 32
percent in the BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands 2016. In ranking
order, the 10 technology brands in the
BrandZ China Top 100 are: Tencent,
Baidu, Huawei, Lenovo, Letv, NetEase, 360,
ZTE, Youku Tudou, and Sina.
These brands comprise 10 percent of
the brands in the BrandZ China Top
100, and 27 percent of the rankings total
value, making technology the largest value
contributor, ahead of the 19 percent that
banks represent. With this years entrance
of smartphone maker Huawei, at rank
seven, three of the BrandZ China Top 10
brands are in technology.
The rapid growth and high value of Chinas
technology brands is significant for several
reasons: (1) it mirrors the rise of marketdriven brands; (2) it identifies innovation as
a characteristic of rising Chinese brands;
and (3) it signals the transition of Chinas
economy from production-driven to
consumption-driven.
In addition, despite the enormous size
of the potential consumer market in a
country of over 1.3 billion inhabitants,
successful technology brands are looking
beyond China for opportunities. Typically,
Chinese brands expand first to neighboring
countries or emerging markets, but many
of the technology brands are challenging
western competitors.
In the dominance of technology as a

brand value contributor, the BrandZ
China Top 100 resembles the BrandZ
Global Top 100, where technology,
primarily US brands, comprise about 30
percent of value. In contrast, the financial
category makes up less than half of the
BrandZ India ranking, and technologys
contribution is negligible.
The Chinese governments unique
ability to define and implement national
priorities helps drive technology. As in
most industrialized countries, Chinas
technology brands are developing new
products and services that integrate
the Internet, the cloud, mobile, big data
and the Internet of Things. In China, the
government advances these commercial
goals with a national economic growth
plan, launched in 2015, and named
Internet+.
SMARTPHONES AND
OVERSEAS EXPANSION
Among the factors that drove the rise of
Huawei into the BrandZ China Top 100
are overseas sales, particularly in Western
Europe. Huawei, originally a maker of
telecommunications equipment, built a
smartphone business by offering quality
products at more affordable prices than
Apple or Samsung. The brand shipped
over 100 million smartphones in 2015, a
44 percent year-on-year improvement.
In an effort to close the gap with Apple,
Huawei reportedly plans to introduce its
first PC during 2016.
Other Chinese technology brands also
are developing smart phone businesses
and enjoying sales outside China,
including giant PC maker Lenovo. The
2014 purchase of Motorola Mobility,
from Google, accelerated Lenovos
efforts to become a global smartphone

competitor. The acquisition fits with
the plan to grow revenue outside of
the core PC business by restructuring
the business into three areas: PCs,
smartphones, and enterprise.
In a joint venture, 360, a supplier of
mobile security products, also launched
a new line of mobile phones, with
special security features. Initially targeted
for the Indian and Indonesian markets,
360 planned to expand to Brazil, Russia
and Turkey. Letv is active in the
smartphone business, too. The
brand, originally a streaming
video site, is developing an
ecosystem to connect TV,
smartphones, video and,
ultimately, energy-saving cars.
Tencent partnered with JD.com, Chinas

second largest e-commerce site, to
offer marketing and branding services.
The initiative, called Brand-Commerce,
combines Tencents social networking
data and JD.coms online shopping data
to reach targeted buyers in the most
appropriate online channel, with ease of
purchase.
At the same time, Tencent monetized its
high penetration, doubling online and
video advertising revenue. The brand also
investigated ways to increase its
gaming revenue by introducing
its games abroad. Tencent
rose 24 percent in brand
value, after almost doubling
in value a year ago.
32%
Meanwhile, ZTE, a maker of

network equipment and affordable
smartphones, introduced a mid-priced
smartphone aimed specifically at
consumers in North America. NetEase,
a gaming leader, announced plans
to market certain games in North
America. The brand also invested in
an e-commerce platform designed to
speed delivery of products purchased
online by Chinese consumers from
overseas vendors.
MAINTAINING LEADERSHIP
Chinas most valuable brand, Tencent,
continued to leverage its key strength
ubiquity. It increased the number
of monthly users of WeChat, its
messaging and caller app, to over
600 million. And the brand leveraged
WeChats functionality to promote its
payment system, which can be used
for purchasing at physical locations and
online.
Baidu, Chinas largest search

engine, continued to enjoy
strong advertising revenue from
search, although it is rapidly shifting to
mobile, which is less profitable. The
brand worked on building O2O revenue
by connecting some of its online search
functions, such as mapping, with offline
purchasing opportunities.
Sina, the Internet portal, gained revenue
through its many vertical channels, such
as entertainment and sports, and it grew
revenue on Weibo, its micro-blogging
site. And the brand worked to adjust to
the rapid shift to mobile.
Youku Tudou, the popular video site,
similar to YouTube, entered the BrandZ
China Top 100 for the first time, following
its acquisition by Alibaba, as part of the
e-commerce leaders attempt to expand
into digital media.
183
CATEGORIES IN BRIEF
Travel Agencies
CONSUMER TOURISM APPETITE
BOOSTS CATEGORY EXPANSION
With a value increase of 39 percent, travel agencies tied with
airlines as the fifth fastest growing category in the BrandZ
Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016. Both categories
benefited from domestic and international tourism.
Telecom Providers
Two travel agencies ranked in the in the BrandZ China Top

100. CITS, a State Owned Enterprise (SOE), established in
1954, grew 32 percent, and the Internet brand, Ctrip, increased
40 percent. The vitality of the Chinese travel industry drew
competition. Alibaba launched a travel business called Alitrip,
formerly Taobao Travel.
STATE-OWNED COMPANIES
COMPETE TO ROLL OUT 4G
The telecom providers category declined
1 percent in value in the BrandZ Top
100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands
2016. China Mobile, the category leader,
grew 2 percent in value. The other two
providers, China Telecom and China
Unicom, declined 9 percent and 14
percent respectively.
Factors contributing to the weak brand
value performance of these State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs) include the impact of
slowed economic growth, stock market
fluctuation, and the ongoing shift to
market-driven rather than state-owned
brands, as Internet brand leaders attract
customers to services that bypass the
telecom networks.
The telecom providers also experienced
pressure on profits as they invested
in rolling out 4G and reduced pricing,
in response to government desire to
increase data transmission speed and
lower fees. Market leader China Mobile
planned to accelerate roll out of 4G,
184
doubling the number of 4G users it had

at the end of 2015, to reach 500 million
users in 2016.
In a collaborative effort to compete more
effectively against China Mobile, China
Unicom and China Telecom announced
plans to collaborate on building 4G
infrastructure and providing overseas
roaming services. In addition, they
advocated for smartphone
devices that supported six
different technologies, making
it easier for people to switch
carriers.
1%
China is moving towards

the integration of Internet, TV,
and telecommunication. Unlike
in the West, where competing brand
ecosystems drive the process, in China
the integration is government planned.
The telecom providers also supported
the governments Internet+ effort to
connect mobile Internet, big data, cloud
computing and the Internet of Things.
Despite the economic slowdown, China

continued to lead the world in outbound travel.
Chinese outbound travel grew 12 percent
in 2015, according to the World Tourism
Organization, an agency of the United Nations.
The China National Tourism Administration
expects the growth rate to slow slightly to around
10 percent, or 130 million outbound trips, in 2016,
because of devaluation of the yuan and other factors.
39%
Travel is a spending priority for Chinese consumers. In BrandZ

research conducted following the steep decline in the Chinese
stock market, about half of the respondents planned to
complete travel plans, regardless of the stock markets poor
performance; 38 percent indicated they might postpone their
plans; and only 13 percent said they would cancel them.
Travel agencies took steps to benefit from this travel proclivity.
Ctrip purchased a stake in Indias online travel site, MakeMyTrip,
for example. Meanwhile, Ctrip contended with other online
competitors and with several reputational challenges. Ctrips
stock price fell in May 2015, after hackers penetrated its site.
Early in 2016, Ctrip blamed vendor partners for fraudulent ticket
incidents that quickly went viral on social media.
185
T H E S PE E D O F C H A N G E PRO DUC E S R E S U LT S ,
BUT ALSO TENSIONS AND CONFUSION.
04 > The China Top 100 - CEO Q&As
How would you summarize the

Tencent brands many aspects?
Q&A with
Edward Cheng
Corporate Vice President
Tencent
Tencent is the most valuable brand in China and a global leading Internet giant.
Through its products and services, users can have text, voice and video chats
(WeChat and QQ), immerse themselves in an exciting virtual world of games,
comics, literature and movies, search news and information, and buy products and
services online. Established in 1998, Tencent grew in brand value at a 40 percent
compounded annual growth rate to $82.1 billion, since entering the BrandZ
China ranking six years ago. It is the worlds fifth most valuable technology brand,
after Apple, Google, Microsoft and IBM, and ranks number 11 in the most recent
ranking of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands.
IN THE PAST, A BRANDS

DNA WAS EXPECTED TO
REMAIN CONSTANT, BUT
IN THE INTERNET AGE,
EVEN THE BRAND DNA
NEEDS TO EVOLVE.
188
We aim to enrich peoples lives by weaving Internet

technology across everyday life to stimulate work, play and
spiritual needs. Tencent focuses on two key areas. First, we
focus on acting as a connector. We connect people with
people, with services, and with devices based on instant
messaging and social platforms like Weixin/WeChat and
QQ. Second, we focus on digital entertainment and content.
Tencent owns a range of interactive entertainment platforms,
including games, music, videos, online literature and comics.
What do you think Tencents

central role is in peoples lives?
Our role is connecting people with people. By offering a tool of

instant communication we have enhanced connections between
people by making connections more diverse, closer, and warmer.
With the rise of mobile, every key part of the economy and society
will need to be connected with the Internet. With this connection,
it has become possible for us to make commercial functions and
social services an integral part of peoples lives by providing a truly
human-centric user experience and bringing benefits to more
people. Tencent is committed to a future that is mobile Internetcentric. We are building a mobile one-stop online lifestyle services
platform to make life more convenient for our users.
With the rise of a new generation, what

opportunities and challenges does Tencent face?
Young people are more assertive and interaction-oriented. In

the past, a brands DNA was expected to remain constant, but
in the Internet age, even the brand DNA needs to evolve. This
is a challenge for any brand, but Tencent is well positioned
to respond. We have always put the user first. We prioritize
everything based on the value to the customers, and we have
been able to rapidly respond to changes in user preferences.
Users are our best product managers and help us stay ahead
of the curve and innovate constantly. Our pan-entertainment
strategy is an example of our commitment to change to meet
users needs in digital entertainment. There are five major trends
in the age of pan-entertainment: 1 Forms of entertainment
will be no longer independent from each other but will be
interconnected and integrated across the board;
2 The boundary between content creator and content consumer
will be increasingly blurred as everyone can be a creator;
3 The thriving of the follower economy fueled by the mobile
Internet will substantially increase the creation of celebritygenerated intellectual properties; 4 With the wide availability
of interesting interactive experiences, entertainment thinking
will likely reshape peoples lifestyles; 5 With the combination
of science, technology, talent and ubiquitous connectivity,
Internet+ will bring about a great age of abundant creativity.
How is strong branding important

to Tencent? And what factors have
made Tencent a strong brand?
First, we need a strong brand to guide us in our

efforts to explore new possibilities and consider
the emerging issues and consequences. Second,
Tencent is a platform from which an ecosystem
with partners has formed and is evolving
constantly. A strong brand facilitates consensus,
makes an ecosystem diversified and dynamic,
and leads us to a common direction. Third, we
hope that in the future Tencent will be perceived
not only as a company with many well-known
products, but also as a widely respected enterprise
in the world. We hope our brand can motivate our
employees and attract more talent to join us in this
journey to realize our vision together. Our brand
growth has been aligned with the maturing and
development or our organization and business.
What skills will marketers

need in the future?
Marketers will need the ability to build an

ecosystem. The importance of the Internet
continues to grow as it connects all industries
and empowers them to grow further. This is what
we call Internet+. Successful development of the
Internet+ strategy requires effort from the entire
society, and not just Tencent alone. We look
forward to cooperating with partners in other
industries to provide users with better services. We
will continue to focus on user needs to provide the
best user experience and explore new possibilities
with informed understanding of users needs. For
example, in our exploration to connect the Internet
with public services, we have already brought to life
many interesting cases with good word of mouth.
We evolve and keep up with the times. In the mobile
Internet age, every users feedback will be instant
and influential, which brand owners need to be
constantly in tune with and responsive to. Therefore,
apart from brand building and listening to users, the
ability to quickly respond and adapt to changes with
flexibility will be essential. These are the skills that
marketers must absolutely be equipped with.
189
04 > The China Top 100 - CEO Q&As
Q&A with
Wang Zhenghua
Chairman
Spring Airlines
What is the essence of the

Spring Airlines brand?
The most important aspect is safety. We invest heavily in

our pilots and other professionals who guarantee the safety
of the airline. Second is low cost. After that we try to create
something special. Our target customer is young. In fact,
about 80 percent of our ticket sales happen online. And
weve created programs and marketing communications
aimed at young people.
How do you reach young people, your

target customers, and keep them loyal?
Wang Zhenghua started with one plane in 1994. Ten years later, the government
granted him a license to operate an airline. Today, Spring Airlines is a leading
Chinese low-cost carrier devoted to making air travel affordable and available
for more people throughout China. Spring operates mostly domestic flights, but
the airline also flies to some Asian cities and has announced plans for flights to
Moscow, Melbourne, Tokyo and other international destinations. Spring Airlines
appeared in the BrandZ China Top 100 for the first time, at rank 98, with a
Brand Value of $252 million. Called Spring Airlines in English, the name in Chinese
characters is Spring and Autumn Airlines.
SOME PEOPLE TODAY ARE

TEMPTED TO TAKE STEPS IN
DIRECTIONS THEYRE NOT
GOOD AT BECAUSE THEY THINK
THEY CAN MAKE MONEY, AT
LEAST SHORT TERM. THIS WAY
IS NOT OUR WAY
190
First, we try to reach young people in ways that appeal to

them. We promote the brand and sell tickets online and
we sponsor events, like concerts, to build brand exposure.
We have over two million followers on Weibo (the Chinese
social media equivalent to Facebook and Twitter). And
we try to understand our young customers and project a
youthful attitude. We enable passengers to share personal
information when they book a flight. This way, passengers
willing to provide personal information can find a good
match when they select their seats.
How do you see the future for Spring Airlines?
I look forward to continuing our strong growth. Since our

founding in 2004, we have achieved our 10-year plan and
we continue to grow at a steady rate, usually 20-to-30
percent annual increases in sales. Thats because we have
a very clear market positioning. There are two ways to
achieve this goal: either organically or through acquisition.
Some people today are tempted to take steps in directions
theyre not good at because they think they can make
money, at least short term. This way is not our way. We
will continue to focus on what we do well. We will expand
within our core business, adding new products and services
that we think match our strengths.
What values drive the business?
We encourage people to work hard, thats number one.

Second, we want people to have foresight, to plan ahead.
Third, we believe in being frugal. We dont like extravagance.
And we want people who are devoted to what they do,
who make a contribution to the enterprise. I try to influence
people in our company to follow these values.
How are you adapting your knowledge

of western airlines to China?
When I started in the tourism business in the 1980s, I

looked to Europe and the United States for the roadmap
of that industry. Todays airline industry in Europe and
the United States is our future. The popularity of low cost
airlines in Europe and the United States signals the trend of
the next 10 years in China. To adapt this model for China I
will consider Chinese culture, the needs of our customers
and the government regulations.
Looking back over the past 30

years, what are you most proud of?
I still believe that if you work hard you create value. Dont
waste your time or your talent. Everything can be possible
but it depends on the individual to make the effort. This is
the advice that I give to my staff and they are doing well.
I had a dream when I began this business and it remains
a strong motivator for me. China has many low-income
people who have never flown on an airplane. Perhaps it is
their dream to fly someday, but they dont have the money.
Its my dream to help them fly. I will achieve this dream as I
have achieved other dreamswith hard work.
This interview was adapted from The Thoughts of Chairmen Now, a book of insights from Chinese
business leaders, by Jonathan Geldart and David Roth. Published by Grant Thornton and WPP.
For more details, please go to www.thethoughtsofchairmennow.com
191
OUR INSIGHTS
China has a lot of data. Based on IDC
(International Data Corporation), the
nation has 13 percent of all the data in
the world. Forecasts indicate that data
from China will double every two
years for the next five years, reaching
a staggering 8.6 zettabytes by 2020.
Brands seeking to leverage data

partners to generate insight and
create brand experience should look
for those who can help to answer
questions focused on Audience,
Moment, and Channel (sales and
communication), such as:
The value of this sheer volume of

data is insight. Insight that enables
brands to create always-on valuable
experiences, inspires creativity, and
amplifies content relevantly. We have
seen a trend amongst brands in China
embarking on data strategies (what
data attributes to collect, from which
platforms) and making data part
of their core competencies. Some
brands have started building their
own Data Management Platforms
(DMP) to generate a 360degreeview of the customer, with the longterm vision of generating insights for
brand and product innovation.
Audience: Who could potentially

be my customers?
Moment: When is the right time
(when needs arise) to reach and
engage with consumers?
KNOWING WHO,
WHEN AND HOW
The smartest brands will leverage

their own data and insight learning
and map it against external data
sources for targeted acquisition and
optimized consumer engagement.
China is e-commerces
greatest success story to
date. In the five years to the
end of 2015, the amount
spent online has more than
quadrupled to nearly half
a trillion dollars, driving it
past the US (US$300 billion)
as the worlds largest
e-commerce market. The
e-commerce environment
that has emerged in China
is significantly different to the model in
Western markets and more than just a
sales channel; its a potent ecosystem
for brand building, CRM, innovation, test
marketing, and more the foundation
for entire go-to-market strategies.
E-commerce platforms are already the
largest digital advertising channel in
China, with spend on them forecast to
grow 30 percent in 2015 according to
forecasts from GroupM.
E-COMMERCE
WITH CHINESE
CHARACTERISTICS
A POWERFUL BRAND
BUILDING PLATFORM
The rise of local brands such as

Junlebao demonstrates just how
disruptive this distinct online shopping
ecosystem can be. The crucial
192
DATA
Channels: How and where to engage

them for key actions?
E-COMMERCE
CHRIS BONSI
Chief Client and Insights Officer
TNS Asia Pacific
Chris.Bonsi@tnsglobal.com
BRAND
YI LI
Chief Data Officer
OgilvyOne Worldwide, China
Yi.Li@ogilvy.com
difference is that by following a digitalonly brand building strategy and

creating their own branded flagship
store on Tmall, the worlds largest B2C
E-commerce marketplace, Junlebao
is able to cut its marketing costs
significantly and pass the savings on to
consumers. And in the value-conscious
and immensely discoverable online
shopping environment, selling a quality
product at a lower price enables you
to amplify brand awareness quickly
through recommendations and positive
user reviews both of which have been
key elements in Junlebaos marketing
strategy. This approach has significantly
contributed to Junlebao becoming a
top three instant milk formula brand on
Alibabas Tmall site within less than a
year of its launch.
E-commerces hugely disruptive
influence on the brand environment in
China is far from a passing phase, and as
marketing budgets come under greater
pressure, it seems that e-commerce
platforms will emerge as an ever-more
important brand building opportunity.
According to Kantar Worldpanel,the

rise in FMCG consumption across Asian
markets is slowing.However, in China,
70 percent of local FMCG players are
growing their sales, compared
LEVERS with 50 percent of the global
brands operating in the
market. Local brands account
for around 70 percent of the
value of the FMCG market,
and are driving 82 percent
of its growth.In terms of
penetration, 44 percent of
Chinese brands increased their shopper
base in the last year, compared to 33
percent of global brands operating in
China.
There are five power levers of growth

that all the dominant Chinese players
featured in the report were found to have
in common. They are:
GROWTH SLOWS BUT

CHINESE BRANDS
GAIN AT HOME
JASON YU
General Manager
They are masters of metamorphosis:

Shifting from manufacturing-led
Chinese consumers are changing from

seeking low price and convenience in
favor of quality and premium offerings.
Market driven companies in the digital
world, such as BAT, are not only
managing to grow despite the decline in
the economic growth rate but are also
catering to these changing consumers
perceptions. Theyre achieving this
through a variety of methods, by investing
or merging, and by conducting an
Enclosure Movement within digital
categories and even crossover industries.
Within digital categories, huddling for

comfort is the new normal. Virtual
economy big shots are continuously
making investments, mergers or
acquisitions in hot territories, from O2O
and entertainment to e-commerce. They
are also maintaining growth and strategic
placement by leveraging each others
advantages. Examples in 2015 include
the merger of leading share economy
brands Didi and Kuaidi; Alibabas
acquisition of Youku Tudou and the
Tencent and JD.com Plan

to gain more mutual benefits
following their strategic
cooperation in 2014.
to brand-led, evolving along with

consumers and expanding beyond
their country of origin
They have a purpose, and play an
active role in society: Respecting
and caring for consumers, helping
to improve lives and democratizing
categories
World-class innovation with a local
twist: Recognizing that consumers
want to move with the times, but
without sacrificing traditions
They digitize and humanize: Applying
digital technologies both to create
and sell products and to connect with
consumers on an emotional level
Data-led intuition: An instinctive
understanding of what will work,
combined with ongoing market
research that provides unbiased,
actionable consumer insights.
GROWTH
CHANGE, OR BE CHANGED
THE GROWING CROSSOVER BETWEEN

In the long-term, virtual
ONLINE AND TRADITIONAL INDUSTRIES
economy leaders must seek
to extend their play into
traditional sectors, particularly in service
industries such as entertainment and
sports. A good illustration of this is seen
MARK DU
in Alibabas investment in the Guangzhou
Account Director
Evergrande Taobao Football Club in 2014,
Millward Brown
a move that sought to enhance consumer
Mark.Du@millwardbrown.com
association and inspiration through the
brilliant performance of this football club.
To succeed, brands must not only

build meaningful relevance by meeting
consumers changing needs but also stay
salient by circling their service around
consumers daily lives. They must also
figure out the key differentiators and
crossovers between online and traditional
industries, to build consumer trust and
enhance their corporate reputation.
193
OUR INSIGHTS
We have heard constantly how the
past two decades has been a time of
incredible growth.
NEW ERA
GAME OF THRONES
THE CHAOS OF B2B BRANDS IN
THE CHINESE MARKET
PHAT SONG
Managing Partner
Ogilvy PR Beijing
Phat.Song@ogilvy.com
For the vast majority of international

B2B brands, it has been twenty years
of tremendous brand value. Chinese
customers often ignored their actual
needs and made their purchasing
decisions based on the blind worship
of perceived international brand
prestige and advantage.
At this time, the power of these
international brands was practically
guaranteed. However, these so called
best products were not always the
most suitable for the local consumer.
And international brand solutions were
often modeled in foreign environments.
They needed adjustments when
landing in China. However, to do good
business didnt require much effort.
But after two or three decades of
growth, the B2B needs of a majority of
Chinas enterprises and organizations
have matured, and the international
model is no longer proving the most
effective. In many areas, Chinese
customers are global sophisticates,
and an international experience is
Today, the most effective way for

a brand to quickly tap into the
Chinese market is to focus on
the post-80s generation first, and
then expand to other segments of
the population.
The biggest difference between
the Chinese market now and ten
years ago lies in the change of
the leading consumption group. In
the past, the views of middle-aged
consumers would determine the
success and failure of a product
and brand, simply because they
symbolized experience, wealth
and authority. Nowadays in China,
young people have taken center
stage and become the main
force in setting social trends.
194
no longer enough the international

brand halo is dissipating.
In addition, most B2B brands in China
are faced with another challenge. After
thirty years of development, reform and
opening up, many of todays successful
local companies have ushered in
a transition period, and some are
even beginning to move toward the
international market. But there are too
many businesses and markets that are
beyond the conventional successful
growth markers traditionally used as
criteria, so many aspects of business
expansion have not kept up with the
growth in sales and maturity of the
market. Brand building is one of these
markers.
Of course, brand communication
today is intrinsically tied to the social
era, a stage in business development
that is full of uncertainty. However,
this can lead to opportunity. If we
always follow the safe path, how can
Chinese companies leap over Western
counterparts in a very short period of
time? Only by finding opportunities in
this chaos can Chinese brands achieve
in a few years what Western brands
have been doing for decades.
The post-80s generation is

between 25 and 35 years old
INFLUENCE
and account for 41 percent
of management positions in
enterprises and institutions.
Their annual household
expenditure of 34,000 yuan
is the highest amongst all
generation groups. They
are the technological
innovators, product consumption
and upgrade advocators, adopter
and word-of mouth propagators.
LI YAN
Their preferences and experiences
General Manager
cast a direct influence on their
CTR Media & Consumption
children, parents, colleagues and
Behavior Research
friends. The post-80s generation
Ryan_Li@ctrchina.cn
holds the key for brands to
compete successfully in the
present day Chinese market.
DEPLOYING
THE POWER OF
A GENERATION
Today, Chinas marketers are

facing an ever-evolving world of
communication. The prosperous
social media and technology
adaptations have created an elusive
Chinese consumer with fastchanging thinking.
How can marketers be responsive to
these changes? One crucial step is
to understand how brands interact
with consumers throughout their
shopping journeys. In the digital
era, its a must to get access to
consumers digital footprints and
conduct a deep dive of the data to
generate valuable consumer insights.
By turning these insights into actions,
marketers will reap the following
benefits:
Faster adaption: Understanding what
works and what doesnt will enable
marketers to see how to adjust
their marketing activities to achieve
SOCIAL
better ROI. Simply

put, leveraging digital
insights will empower
brand marketers.
RESPONSIVENESS
BUILDING BRANDS IS ALL

ABOUT THE DATA DEEP DIVE
Create meaningful
content that will
engage consumers:
Design the content by media type
to best engage target consumers
in their media journey. Todays
consumers are not passive recipients;
they also actively transmit what
they consider to be interesting and
valuable via their social identities.
Brand marketers should know what
will engage the consumer and use
this knowledge to earn more views
and hits through the consumers
peer-to-peer communications.
ANNIE HSAIO
China CEO
Maxus
Annie.Hsaio@maxusglobal.com
The successful brand marketers in

China are those that can ride the
data wave, leverage the ensuing
insights and use them effectively via
always-on, real-time marketing.
Social Media Marketing is flooding across China, with all

marketers claiming to be focusing on the discipline and
aggressively seeking social media experts to join their team.
But, just ask yourself, of all the many so-called social
campaigns you encounter every day, how many of
MEDIA
them do you remember? The answer is likely to be that
almost none of them are stored in mind. This may
be because China Style Social Media Marketing often
makes the mistake of being fake social marketing.
CHINA STYLE SOCIAL

MEDIA MARKETING
Many marketers come up with content, for example, a

social topic, a video, a poster, a quiz, an HTML5 page
then leverage Key Online Leaders (KOL) to amplify it and pray
for consumers to read, like and share. But this is not true social
marketing; rather its just the creation of self-absorbed content.
JOSEPH TSANG
Head of Digital, Greater China
Grey Group, Greater China
Joseph.Tsang@grey.com
A true social media campaign shouldnt start only in social

media but in a daily life experience felt by real consumers,
enhanced by cultural insights and brand positioning. Following
hot topics and blindly blending in brand elements will only
put consumers off. Marketers should of course have a clear
social media strategy but make sure it is led by the brand and
consumer understanding, not the medium itself.
195
L I F E H A PPE NS ON MOBI L E I N CH I NA , W H E R E T E XT I NG , TA L K I NG ,
A N D SHOPPI NG ON L I N E SE E M S A S AU TONOM IC A S BR E AT H I NG .
05
MARKET SEGMENTATION
Sports Marketing
Youth Marketing
Senior Marketing
CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE

Managing Change and Complexity
E-commerce and M-commerce
Social Media
Agency Response
BRAND
BUILDING
PERSPECTIVES
198
199
05 > Brand Building Perspectives - Market Segmentation
SPORTS MARKETING
SPORTS TAKE
CENTER STAGE
IN CHINESE
MARKETPLACE
THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR BRANDS TO SEIZE
SPORTS MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
John Kristick
Global CEO
ESP Properties
John.Kristick@espglobal.com
200
Jin Wei Toh
Regional Head, APAC,

ESP Properties
Jinwei.Toh@espglobal.com
In the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Games, there was much conversation about
the event being the ultimate use of sport in building Brand China. However,
developments in the years since point to today as the true moment when sport
and sports marketing is poised to play a pivotal role for the country, its domestic
enterprises, and international brands seeking to strengthen their position in market.
The past year alone has witnessed

tremendous investment in sport,
as the Chinese government has
fully committed to success in
international sports, particularly
football. Chinese enterprises
have followed suit with significant
spending to acquire sports rights
and establish global partnerships,
including Tencents reported $700
million digital partnership with the
NBA, and Dalian Wandas $650
million purchase of the Ironman
triathlon series and $1.2 billion
acquisition of global sports agency
Infront.
Perhaps the most important deal
to date is China Media Capitals
five-year, $1.3 billion agreement
for exclusive global rights to
broadcast the top-tier professional
football Chinese Super League. The
agreement values the rights at 20
times what the current broadcast
partners are paying and will filter
through multiple levels of the
sport, providing better coaching
and training, developing better
quality players and improving
infrastructure.
Investments and partnerships like
the above are creating real value in
Chinese sports marketing platforms

for current and potential brand
partners.
GETTING IN ON THE GAME

At the same time, we are seeing
tremendous interest in sports
sponsorship as a platform to
support international expansion by
Chinese brands such as Huawei,
Haier and ZTE, all of which have
signed significant partnerships
with rightsholders outside of
China in the past two years. Their
initial steps could lead to taking
a page out of the playbook used
by others to grow globally, most
notably Japanese and Korean
brands such as Sony, Canon,
Samsung and Hyundai, who relied
on the Olympics, FIFA World Cup,
UEFA and other sponsorships to
demonstrate strength, establish
legitimacy and put them front and
center on the world stage.
Collectively, all of these signs
indicate we are at the inflection
point for sports marketing in China
and by Chinese enterprises. And
it comes at a critical time in the
industrys development.
Data, and the ability to access and

analyze it, is having a profound,
across-the-board impact on
sports marketing, allowing for
personalized fan engagement on a
scale not seen before.
Fans have always been at the heart
of the sports marketing proposition.
However, it is no longer exposure,
impressions generated or image
transfer that drives and determines
value. Rather thanks to databased insights into actual online
and real-world behavior and the
personalization that results
brands are able to engage, involve
and connect with fans and drive
actionable results.
Chinese marketers and those
targeting the China market have
the chance to be part of this
reinvention of sports marketing and
sponsorship.
Success is, of course, not
automatic. It requires a strategic
approach, integration into the
marketing mix and a commitment
of human and capital resources.
But for those who play the game
well, there are plenty of points to
be scored.
201
SPORTS MARKETING
DIRECTIVES FOR BUILDING BRANDS

THROUGH SPORTS PARTNERSHIPS
01
02
Plan for activation
Enhance the experience
Sports sponsorships should start from

the outside in. They should be the
organic answer to the question: What
does the business need? Once it is
determined that a potential partnership
will help accomplish a priority objective
such as raising awareness, changing
perception, creating differentiation,
strengthening loyalty, or driving B2B
and B2C sales the key evaluation
criteria must be alignment of brand
values in concert with audience fit.
Acquiring a set of benefits such

as signage, hospitality rights and
mentions in media is only the first step
in a partnership. To positively impact
the target audience, sponsorships
must be brought to life and made
relevant through promotions, on-site
activities, social media, etc.
The critical question for sponsors

to ask themselves is: Would we be
missed if we left? Simply showing
up will not result in recognition,
interest or loyalty from fans. That
type of credit and gratitude must
be earned by bringing something
valuable to their experience.
04
05
06
Fans increasingly follow and engage

with their favorite sports teams,
leagues and athletes through digital
media. Sponsors can support and
enable these connections by creating,
curating and sharing great content.
Such content must be authentic and
relevant to both the brand and the
rightsholder, and should offer fans the
ability to interact and share.
Fan data, and sports partners ability

to access and analyze it, provides
sponsors with the ability to personalize
offers and messaging, and ensure the
relevancy of activation programs and
communications. Potential partners
should be data-driven organizations
with quality fan intelligence that is
connected and accessible. They also
should be willing and able to analyze
and share data insights to maximize
the value of the investment.
Sports sponsorships should

not be evaluated using mediacentric constructs such as reach,
frequency and efficiency. Such
metrics fail to reveal whether a
partnership is building market share,
changing consumer perceptions,
strengthening brand value, etc. As
with other elements of the marketing
mix, sponsorship measurement
should rely on advanced analytics
tools to gauge overall performance.
Select strategically
Prioritize digital content
202
Use data to inform
03
Measure effectively
203
YOUTH MARKETING
HOW TO GET
YOUR BRAND TO
THE HEART OF
CHINAS POST 95
GENERATION
FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE
Brands that wish to grow need to know how to adapt to every generation,
because each one differs. Studies of Chinas post-95 generation
reveal several best practices that can inform the marketing of brands
determined to make an impact in China. Key amongst these is to be bold.
Values are changing. The studies

we conducted demonstrate the
new values the post-95 generation
now relates to:
Living for the moment and
exploring the world. Instead of
achievement, the word explore
is a much better reflection of
their values. This generation
favors the adventurer over the
CEO.
Be bold in your attempts. Be
silly or be self-deprecating;
any attempt at being seen as
independent thinkers and true
to themselves is highly valued
in this generation. They think
their choices are not influenced
by others opinion, so therefore
they like to set themselves apart
from the crowd.
Enjoy the simple things in
life. Over 80 percent of this
generation shared this view.
This means they consider it less
important to have the traditional
social status symbols of success
such as a nice car or house.
BE BOLD IN THEIR
LANGUAGE
BE BOLD ON THEIR
PLATFORM
What they want, more than any

other generation, is to enjoy
the simple things in life, to love
real, sincere people, and to walk
through life with a sense of lightheartedness. Here light-hearted
doesnt mean superficial, it is their
style, their attitude.
Like many FMCG brands, Harbin

beer wants to be younger. Instead
of hiring young pop stars and airing
million-dollar TVC or pre-roll, they
explored a different route to reach
their potential customers in the
post-95 generation.
Classmate Xiaoming, Xiaoming

Tongxue is one of the brands
launched by Unipresident
Enterprise to the RTD tea market.
This market is already oversaturated
in China, with almost stagnant
category growth. The Xiaoming
Tongxue brand name itself is
a persons name, a name that
appeared hundreds of times
in the English textbooks of the
post-95 generation. This is a
brand that comes with a really
strong personality; from name to
packaging to communication, it
precisely captures the heart of the
post-95 generation.
Bilibili is an online video site famous

among young people for its bullet
screen. This screen allows viewers
to publish comments on the
video content in real time. Harbin
beer launched a series of highly
entertaining, self-deprecating viral
videos on Bilibili. It was ranked
among the top viewed videos in the
Entertainment and life category.
Having brand communications on
the site is in itself a bold statement,
but this unprecedented approach
of making fun of the brand itself to
entertain the audience delivered
the message right to the heart of
post-95 generation.
Lucy Yu
Business Development Director

Millward Brown
Lucy.Yu@millwardbrown.com
204
205
YOUTH MARKETING
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF
CHINAS POST-95
GENERATION MEDIA HABITS
According to AdReaction, a global
study conducted by Millward Brown,
the post-95 generation spends around
3.5 hours using the Internet on their
mobiles every day, compared to an
average of 2.5 hours among young
people below the age of 34. Similarly,
the time spent watching video on
mobile/tablet by the post-95 generation
is 30 minutes longer than average.
One third of the post-95 generation
does not watch TV, and even among
those who do watch, over 70 percent
watch less than an hour per day. They
spend double the time on mobile that
they do on their laptop or TV. Mobile is
undoubtedly the leading device.
The post-95 generation is growing up
with the prevalence of smartphones;
their mobile usage is not only much
heavier, but also more influential.
More post-95s indicated that theyd
rather search for their favorite shows/
content, than watch something their
friends shared online further proof of
their desire to be seen as independent
thinkers, not easily swayed by others
opinion.
FIVE ACTIONS FOR

BRAND BUILDING
AMONG THE POST-95
GENERATION IN CHINA:
01
UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY SEE

DIFFERENTLY: Dont use your values to
create your brand differentiation for them
02
BE REAL AND SINCERE: Dont pretend that

you understand them and dont be afraid
to be completely honest about it
03
BE BOLD: Dont be afraid to adopt an

unconventional route to reach them, talk
to them and touch them
04
BE BOLD IN THEIR LANGUAGE: Find out

what they connect to, what they like, and
use that in your message
05
BE BOLD ON THEIR PLATFORM: Dont just

copy your media plans en masse to target
post-95s. The power of a platform has gone
beyond that of just a communication channel.
206
207
SENIOR MARKETING
China is aging at an unprecedented pace. By the end of 2014, the number of those
over the age of 60 had reached 212 million, representing 15 percent of the total
population. Of this number, about one-third were in the relatively younger age
bracket of 60 to 65 years old. This silver hair consumer segment is important
not just because of its immense size, but because a significant proportion of the
younger members of this cohort are willing to spend and spend more.
TURNING
SILVER
INTO GOLD
48 percent of the 55 to 64 years old

respondents in Shanhaijin, a GroupM
survey on the consumption and
media habits of Chinese consumers,
expressed an intention to spend more
in the next three years. And perhaps
contrary to expectations, these people
are adventurous in their shopping habits
too; 33 percent admitted to having a
tendency to spend without thinking,
while 37 percent said that when a
new product was released, they were
amongst the first to try it.
A DIGITAL-LITERATE, AGING POPULATION

REPRESENT A WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITY
Theresa Loo
Chief Knowledge Officer

Theresa.Loo@ogilvy.com
208
Zod Fang
Director
GroupM Knowledge China
Zod.Fang@groupm.com
Lily Xiong
Associate Research Director

Lily.Xiong@ogilvy.com
Liu Yu
Vice President
GeTui
Liuyu@getui.com
Many of them are also more digitalliterate than most marketers would
expect. For silver hair consumers,
Internet penetration is at 24 percent.
Their access to the Internet via mobile
phones has risen from 4 percent in 2013
to 22 percent in 2015, reaching a high of
44 percent in Tier 1 cities. 34 percent of
silver hair consumers automatically think
of using the Internet when they need
to search for information. 30 percent
update their Weibo or circle of friends
frequently.
Compared with other aging nations,
China has less time to put in place all the
strategies and plans needed to respond
to the challenges posed by its aging
society. The 1:2:4 (one adult to two
parents to four grandparents) ratio and
the fact that many children work and
live away from their parents, mean there
are not enough people and resources
to care for Chinas aging population.
Hence, there is plenty of scope for
marketers to move in to fill the gaps that
governments and society cannot fill.
Now is the time for marketers to turn
silver into gold, and here are some ways
to do so:
LEVERAGE INTERNET PLUS
COMMUNICATE RELEVANCE
Digital connectivity and O2O solutions

can play a big role in addressing the
needs of silver hair consumers. Given
that the younger segment of this group
have a basic level of digital-literacy,
marketers can come up with innovative
solutions that take advantage of Internet
Plus. For example, development by
online retailers can improve the quality
of life of silver hair consumers, as the
former brings greater value for money
by offering better prices and delivery
services.
On the one hand, silver hair consumers

do not want to be patronized because
of their old age. On the other, they want
their special needs to be addressed.
Communication that brings out a
perceptible product advantage best
suited to their needs and budget
will resonate with them. Using an
appropriate spokesperson, especially
age-wise, is a way of avoiding the but
this is not for me syndrome. Themes
used in communication should also be
things they can relate to, such as family,
wisdom and care.
Internet+ solutions that connect

the elderly with families, relatives,
communities and healthcare services
offer lots of potential. They can use big
data collected via wearable devices to
track the daily activities and health of
silver hair consumers, enabling doctors
to make diagnosis remotely and helping
children tend to the wellbeing of their
parents from afar. O2O services can
also be deployed to align community
and neighborhood resources to care for
silver hair consumers, so that the latter
will not feel lonely or isolated. Robots
that perform the functions of maids,
home healthcare aides and companions
will help silver hair consumers to live
independently in their own homes and
communities for longer as they age.
PROVIDE PRODUCT
AFTERSALES SERVICES AND
EDUCATION
While all the above-mentioned Internet
Plus solutions are useful, silver hair
consumers might have difficulties
mastering them. Marketers need to
invest in educating these consumers on
how to use new products and provide
comprehensive aftersales services so as
to ensure product usage.
RESEARCH TO FILL
KNOWLEDGE GAPS
Most of the marketing professionals
who target products and services to
silver hair consumers have never been
old themselves. They do not really
understand what growing old means.
There is lots of diversity in the personal
circumstances, attitudes and behaviors
of the silver hair consumers. A wealthy,
healthy and successful 68-year-old
businesswoman has very different
needs and motivations from a poor,
unemployed female with failing health
of the same age. It is important to not
rely on superficial insights or resort to
stereotypes when tackling silver hair
consumers. Currently, most research is
on 15 64 years old. Research extending
to 65 years old and above is much
needed for marketers to understand
silver hair consumers.
Data quoted in this paper is based on Shanhaijin survey of

2013, 2014 and 2015. Shanhaijin is GroupMs proprietary
consumer market research, independently developed
to identify and understand market trends, covering an
extensive scope of Tier 1 to Tier 4 cities. The largest and
most extensive project of its kind in China, Shanhaijin deepdives into the interaction between consumers and their
external environment, providing an in-depth understanding
of modern China for marketers and brand owners.
209
05 > Brand Building Perspectives - Changing Media Landscape
MANAGING CHANGE AND COMPLEXITY
NAVIGATING
THE EVOLVING
ADVERTISING
LANDSCAPE
OF CHINA
CONTENT VARIATION HELPS
OVERCOME MARKET COMPLEXITY
Mainland China continues to be the largest contributor to global advertising growth1.

However, recent years have seen some dramatic changes in the advertising landscape.
The rebalancing of the Chinese economy entailing softer GDP growth, regulated and
rationed TV advertising, aggressive attempts by local Chinese brands to stretch their
budget have all contributed to an unprecedented growth of the digital ecosystem.
The Internet industry has doubled

its spending, while more than 150
Application (APP) based brands are
now advertising their products.
Yes, content is still King! However,
in this super connected age,
attention is at a premium an
average Chinese consumer flirts
with multiple screens and spends
56 percent of their leisure time on
a smartphone. This is more than
double the time spent on TV in a
normal day2. A creative that is well
branded and engaging is critical to
grabbing their attention in a small
time window of 3 seconds3.
The infectious excitement of this
frenetic digital growth rubs-off
on marketers, with many eager
to be first in the market with their
communication. But an absence of
optimal content or targeting could
be a recipe for failure.
The recent performance4 of the
most expensive ad (5m USD for a
60 second spot) is testimony to this.
Despite the use of ten celebrities
and repetition of its advertising
message 20 times, the Youxin
second hand car ad could not
entice consumers.
Maneesh Choudhary
Head of Client Service and Solutions

Millward Brown Beijing
Maneesh.Choudhary@millwardbrown.com
Jenny Ma
Group Account Director

Millward Brown Beijing
Jenny.Ma@millwardbrown.com
Where did it go wrong? The absence

of a compelling benefit and irritation
with the style of engagement
meant it simply did not resonate. To
avoid such disappointment, here

are some essential truths to bear
in mind when seeking to create
advertising content that is effective
and efficient:
THERE IS NO
MAGIC BULLET
China is complex. Analysis of our
Ad database reveals that only one
in two ads perform successfully
across the country (a difficulty level
similar to Europe). The variations
in ad performance are driven by
cultural variations, stage of category
development, stature (how big
or well know the brand is) and ad
literacy. For example, the Eastern
consumers demand advertising
that is stylish, more creative,
with an aspirational mood and
tone. Emotional warmth family
bond, nationalism and optimism
resonate strongly with Northerners.
Meanwhile, pragmatic culture rules
in the South, so it is no surprise
that a simple and straightforward
storyline is more suitable for
consumers in this region. In the
lower tiers, providing information
(vs. entertainment) and a strong
reason to believe is critical.
Time schedules and budgets do
not often allow creation of multiple
ads. Our learnings suggest that
universal truths around family
values, optimism or children travel
well. Giving these themes a different

perspective or dramatizing benefits
through creative formats that are
new to the category are some of
the ways to make ads travel across
the country.
THE RIGHT MEDIA GIVES

YOUR CREATIVE WINGS
Chinese audiences seek different
payoffs and have different behaviors
across TV vs. online video. TV and
mobile is more about overcoming
boredom and offering stimulation,
less about gratification. Online
viewing is goal oriented, where
consumers are actively seeking
information and hence have less
patience to watch ads that do not
capture their imagination (most
even press mute while watching
them). This means we need
to engage with our audience
differently. From our studies, we
see there is low transference of TV
copy when tested in online pre-roll
environment. Analysis of TV ads
successfully re-purposed for online
gives us some helpful insights, for
example, make the brand stand out
by ensuring branding is present in
most of the frames and through
close up shots of the brand. Single
minded messaging is paramount
in this 3-second time window. For
mobile ads, making it humorous
greatly increases its acceptance.
1 GroupM 2015 global advertising forecast. 2 Millward Brown 2015 Ad Reaction Study.
3 Average duration a typical consumer will look at an online display ad based on Millward Brown Eye Tracking learning. 4 Results from Millward Brown ad testing study
210
211
MANAGING CHANGE AND COMPLEXITY
EXPLOIT THE FORMAT TO MAKE

YOUR BUDGETS WORK HARDER
Increasingly marketers are experimenting with
different ad lengths to convey their brand
proposition across categories. The ubiquitous
30 second creative is on the decline. Success
depends on using the format in sync with
the advertising and brand objective. A 30-sec
creative is well suited for a new product or a new
campaign and supports transmission of complex
or multiple messages while a 15-sec works well
in tandem as a cut down to communicate basic
ideas and act as a reminder. The longest video
ads can of course deliver multiple and complex
messages. They have been found to work as a
reward for the fans and provide an opportunity
for enjoyable engagement.
MARKETING TO LAZY BRAINS

Our brain, despite being extremely powerful and
capable of complex processing, avoids thinking
wherever possible. It does this by finding mental
shortcuts to achieve decisions and actions.
These shortcuts form a dual system of thinking.
System 1 denotes fast thinking and also that
which is heavily intuitive or emotional. System 2
reflective or slow thinking is more cumbersome
and effortful and hence avoided. Just as we
arent motivated to think hard in many brand
decisions, we are rarely motivated to expend
time and energy deliberately reflecting on the
advertising we see. Effective ads need to access
our System 1 by being instantly meaningful.
Measuring these non-reflective take-outs requires
methods that go beyond direct questioning.
Cutting edge neuroscience techniques are being
used along with survey based responses, with
great success. Facial expression analysis (Millward
Browns Facial Coding technique) is one of the
tools that allow marketers to gauge spontaneous
emotional response to their ads and provide
guidance in optimizing it. Moreover, brands in
sensitive categories (such as sexual well-being,
female products) are using this tool exceptionally
well to reveal intuitive reaction where it is difficult
for consumers to describe intimate or personal
scenes.
212
ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS TO
MAKE YOUR ADVERTISING
BUDGET WORK HARDER
01
ACHIEVING PAN-CHINA ADVERTISING SUCCESS

THROUGH ONE CREATIVE IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY:
Overcome this hurdle by delivering a universal
truth with a twist, bring new news to the category
or dramatize benefits to appeal to your audience.
02
THE RIGHT CREATIVE FOR THE RIGHT

MEDIA WILL GIVE YOU MAXIMUM
RETURNS: Aim to incorporate easy fixes to
your TVC to make it suitable for online airing.
03
AD LENGTH PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN

ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES: Use a combination of
formats to make the best use of your budgets.
04
DELIVER INSTANT MEANING TO YOUR

AUDIENCE: Use neuroscience techniques
to develop powerful creative that excite,
engage and resonate with your audience
without making them work to understand it.
213
E-COMMERCE AND M-COMMERCE
SUCCESSFUL
BRANDS
EMBRACE THE
POWER OF THE
PLATFORM
IF A BRANDS NOT MOBILE,
ITS GOING NOWHERE
Nils Roehrig
Chief Digital Officer

GroupM China
Nils.Roehrig@groupm.com
214
When Alibabas Singles Day sales hit 91.2 billion yuan this year it set a new record
not least because over 68 percent of transactions were made on wireless devices
such as smartphones and tablets. More proof (were it needed) of how fast consumers
purchasing behavior is shifting from offline to online and mobile. Smartphone
penetration in China is around 70 percent, accounting for close to 700 million
devices. In July 2015, m-commerce revenues bypassed web-based e-commerce
revenues for the first time and its unlikely m-commerce will ever fall behind.
Two factors are driving the fast growing eand m-commerce arenas. Firstly, the younger
generations lifestyle in China is more digital and
mobile than anywhere else in the world, even
more so than in the US. Due to comparably weak
Internet connection in non-Tier 1 and 2 cities,
mobile usage is heavy the mobile device is the
gateway to the digital media world. Secondly, low
retail penetration in Tier 2-4 cities has prompted
increased demand for e- and m-commerce. Its the
main reason for the incredible success and scale of
Chineses e-commerce platforms both of which
are supported by the Chinese government. The
Internet+ program embeds offline services into
online Apps like WeChat and e-commerce platforms
are the perfect infrastructure to give a broader
population the perception that they too are part of
the growing wealth of the nation.
BRANDS ARE GETTING ON BOARD

For brands, e- and m-commerce platforms with
inherent performance marketing capabilities are
mandatory. Almost all platforms have a related
data-driven offering within their ecosystem. The still
growing online purchasing trends, real-time and
data driven capabilities, and dynamic optimization
possibilities make these platforms crucial to a brands
communication plan.
Currently for performance driven clients, SEM
and SEO are the most common media type (as
elsewhere) but we are also seeing the emergence
of programmatic buy display ads. Alibaba goes even
further, enabling video pre-roll buying across its
strategic video site partners.
215
E-COMMERCE AND M-COMMERCE
HOW CAN BRANDS DO MORE TO AMPLIFY

THEIR INFLUENCE ON THESE PLATFORMS?
01
02
03
216
MARKET BASKET ANALYSIS

Its not a new concept, but it works online as well as well as it does
offline. The data is there, but the key is to manage these assets. As the
oil of the new age, data can tell you more about your consumers. We
can identify the closely related products that consumers purchase
together, then adjust our media strategy or promotion plan accordingly.
For example, by continuous tracking and analysis, we discover that
those who bought toothpaste in the past week have a higher chance of
also buying towels. Thus, a toothpaste brand can present themselves on
the page of towels, or package its products with towels for promotion.
E- AND M-COMMERCE ARE NOT SEPARATE

A holistic media planning and optimization approach is almost mandatory.
Users are not only active on one e- or m-commerce platform, they are
surfing the online world. Being able to identify a user across different
screens and platforms will create a more accurate consumer portrait,
helping you meet your target audience in the right channel using the right
content at the right time, then leading them to your e- or m-commerce
page. Although the biggest challenge lies in the isolated data among
different platforms, we believe this will be resolved in the near future.
E- AND M-COMMERCE ARE NOT JUST ABOUT SALES EFFECTIVENESS

Driving sales is absolutely the key motivation for brands to get involved
in e-commerce platforms, but generating brand buzz is another
benefit that can be considered as PR value for brands. Your products
search volume on e- and m-commerce platforms is also an indicator of
your brands awareness level. A lot of people browse these pages even
if they do not actually buy anything, so make sure e- and m-commerce
platforms count in your brand building communication plans.
217
SOCIAL MEDIA
LEVERAGING
WORD OF MOUTH
THROUGH
WECHAT
CONTENT ANALYSIS REVEALS HOW TO WIN
FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE ON WECHAT
Chinese consumers trust in brand advertising is low. They would rather

hear from friends and personalities whom they can trust than listen
to brand communication. Hence, influencers and content that lead to
positive Word Of Mouth (WOM) carry real weight in brand selection.
In the advent of todays online social communities,

much of this discussion is happening through
WeChat.
Yet WeChat is restrictive in terms of what key metrics
data it enables marketers to get their hands on. The
latter can only track competitive activities through
publicly available information, but not data within
a friends circle. Marketers are working in isolation
and attempts at monitoring are often inward looking.
With few dimensions and benchmarks to evaluate
this social media platform, there are information gaps
in how to create relevant content and engage with
consumers effectively.
Deploying content analysis at an industry level can
be informative and useful. Kantar Media CIC and
Ogilvy carried out systematic research to look at how
WeChat is used across nine industries. Following
are some of our research findings and tips on how
WeChat can be deployed more effectively:
INCREASE SHARE OF CONSUMER

ENGAGEMENT BY ACTIVATING
MULTIPLE WECHAT FUNCTIONS
Sam Flemming
Founder & CEO

Kantar Media CIC
Sam@cicdata.com
Monica Zhao
Head of Research Innovation

Kantar Media CIC
Monica.Zhao@cicdata.com
Theresa Loo
Chief Knowledge Officer

Theresa.Loo@ogilvy.com
WeChat is not just a free messaging platform. It has

evolved to provide a holistic consumer experience
and can be deployed to fulfill a wide range of
marketing and communication objectives. Yet, our
audit finds that marketers have different functional
bias in terms of how they use their WeChat accounts.
The top three functions marketers use WeChat for
are to (1) promote products, (2) provide customer
service and (3) create awareness, followed by a long
tail of other functions.
Of the nine industries, FMCG demonstrates the
widest use of WeChat, extending the use to six
different functions, such as branding and industry
218
news sharing. Beauty and automobiles are the

runners-up, utilizing five and four WeChat functions
respectively. The strengths of WeChat in conducting
customer engagement and CRM are, surprisingly,
under-utilized. Marketers should increase share of
customer engagement by expanding the number of
marketing and communication functions used on
WeChat.
USE KOLS WITH AGILITY

Chinese consumers are more actively following Key
Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and celebrities compared
with following brands on social media. A crossindustry review of beauty, fashion and infant nutrition
shows that KOL accounts achieve better reach
performance than brand accounts in these industries.
Brands should use KOLs to help enrich content by
leveraging their personalities to bring in entertaining
content.
Brands should also not limit the use of KOLs to
those within the same industry. Chances are, the
competition is using the same KOLs and the latter
are over-exposed. FMCGs are good at using crossindustry KOLs from the fashion or art industry to
bring a fresh look to their communications. Using
KOLs from other non-related categories can bring in
new perspectives and also help brands extend their
target audience pool to different groups.
In the infant nutrition industry, there are only 12
significant KOLs, who are mainly nutritionists and
pediatricians by background. 12 is way too small a
number for such a huge industry. There is much
room for brands to groom their own KOLs. A followup ranking exercise and a content analysis of the KOL
accounts can then guide marketers to choose upand-coming KOLs that are relevant for their brands.
219
SOCIAL MEDIA
GENERATE ORIGINAL AND

CREATIVE CONTENT
There is a lack of originality in WeChat content.
Brands have to become publishers on WeChat
and create better content to remain relevant
to their audience. The content duplication rate
for the beauty and infant nutrition industries
are 42 percent and 40 percent respectively.
There are lots of ways to be clever with content.
Deploy pictures of scenic spots to trigger either
curiosity or memory; use horoscopes to appeal
to consumers self-identities; bring in news
about cultural differences; turn mundane topics
into games and quizzes; utilize trendy net-slang
to become adorkable (adorable in a dorky
way).
EXTEND BRAND PERSONALITY

Some brands take on the tone and manner
of the industry instead of letting their brand
personalities come through in WeChat. Take the
infant nutrition industry for example, food for
baby is a sensitive topic given a past history of
melamine contamination. As a result, the brands
all present themselves on WeChat as being very
professional but the flipside of professionalism
can be dry and serious. However, if we look at
advertisements of infant nutrition brands, they
are caring, emotional and blissful. These brand
personalities should surface in their WeChat
accounts to win over the hearts of consumers.
APPLY RICH DISPLAY FORMATS

While it is common sense that a picture is better
than a thousand words, this principle is not
well practiced in WeChat. In regards to infant
nutrition on WeChat, 19 percent of content
is text only, 75 percent has one visual format
and only 6 percent has more than two visual
formats. Yet, moving up from one to three visual
formats can garner 50 percent more reach and
246 percent more likes. And do not forget the
increasing importance of video clips. With the
fast development of social video such as Meipai
and Weishi, consumers are embedding videos
into their WeChat messages. They are going to
expect the same from brands.
220
221
AGENCY RESPONSE
THE FUTURE
IS NOW - HOW
ARE MEDIA
AGENCIES
RESPONDING?
The year 2015 saw fierce competition amongst BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and
Tencent). These kingmakers of Chinas Internet were shaping the market,
changing consumers behavior and the media world. But marketers are
left feeling somewhat confused. The new media landscape offers limitless
opportunities but also risks in terms of which marketing channels to
choose, how to make decisions and how much to spend. The more options
available, the more important your investment decision is likely to be.
That makes the role of media agencies in helping manage
the complexity even more important than ever before.
New-media owners like BAT are extremely knowledgeable,
but their data and knowledge comes from within their own
ecosystem. Media agencies, like GroupM, by contrast, may
not have the same depth of information, but have a much
broader perspective. BAT might be part of the answer but
not all of it. You cannot consider either Baidu, Tencent,
or Alibaba as the single solution to a companys entire
marketing challenge. Therefore, brand owners need to work
with those who have a much wider view of all the marketing
opportunities out there and who have a more neutral,
objective opinion about them.
CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS

Look beyond BAT and we see how TV stations thrived in
2015 by offering their variety shows and dramas, with highquality content and cross-screen interaction. These hot
programs have also generated buzz online. Before too long
we could see packed cinemas, more Chinese-produced
movies and associated advertising opportunities. Meanwhile,
its worth noting that OOH (Out of Home advertising) grew
15 percent in the first half of 2015 year-on-year.
As marketers, we must look at the full picture of the media
landscape to help us figure out effective solutions.
Patrick Xu
CEO
GroupM China
Patrick.Xu@groupm.com
222
We see the evolution of media agencies toward a more

holistic offering, realizing synergies between data, content,
communication planning and trading disciplines. Moreover,
bringing these disciplines closer and allowing them to
inform one another beyond their usual scope will provide
more effective media solutions. Technology is inevitably
the biggest engine with which to drive the process. From a
media agencys perspective, technology represents the way
we target and interact with customers, as well as the way we
manage data.
GEARING UP
The importance of developing a technology stack for
data management cannot be overstated. Its the key to
maximizing advertising performance and pricing. GroupM
has developed its own technology to collect, optimize
and store data on a proprietary Data Management
Platform (DMP) and is rigorous in continuously expanding
the stack with new solutions and companies. Soon it
will be necessary for all brands to have their own DMPs,
combining many data sources that can be accessed in
order to know their target audiences better, for example,
their socio-demographic, content consumption, interest,
media behavior, and purchasing power.
Meanwhile, technology has evolved rapidly towards
buying advertising spots across most screens and
media types. This effectual technology has enabled us
to deliver dynamic and more personalized creations to
different audiences, as well as real time optimization in
performance. Programmatic buying will greatly enhance
the efficiency and effectiveness of the whole media
buying industry. With more premium media inventory
coming into the pool, especially from mobile and video,
we can expect 2016 to be another boom year for this
field, especially PDB (Premium Direct Buying) which
allows brands to purchase with media reserved inventory
as well as fixed cost. This is despite the challenges in the
digital space such as viewability, fraud, measurement and
currency, all of which we expect to be solved by market
forces.
The only constant is change. Only by analyzing the full
media landscape, and using DMPs to gain better data
insights, as well as automated trading desks ensuring real
time performance, can a marketer be more confident in
his/her media investment decision.
223
OUR INSIGHTS
CULTURE
for Chinese businesses
is increasingly important.
Brand China matters.
The hunt for growth is familiar to

companies the world over. Twenty
years ago global brands looking to
expand turned to China, nowadays
it is China turning to the world for
growth opportunities.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CQ
Where IQ aims to measure

rational intelligence and EQ the ability
to identify and assess emotions, we
see a new quotient on the horizon.
That is CQ, or cultural intelligence,
defined as the ability to recognize the
cultural factors that drive how different
people, organizations and civilizations
view the world. Just as global brands
with low cultural intelligence failed
when they didnt adapt their products
and business models to China, so
will Chinese companies fail if they
dont respond sensitively to cultural
differences overseas.
The early days of Chinas outbound

investment were marked by hardpower considerations securing
strategic stakes in key natural
resources critical to sustaining
Chinese growth; and in markets in
which geopolitical alliances could be
forged to promote Chinese interests.
Customers and partners tended to be
governments and large multinational
corporations.
Today, soft-power has come to the
fore as many Chinese companies look
to access consumers in the markets
they are expanding into. Building
relationships and a respectable name
INSIGHT &
CHINA OUTBOUND
LYNDON CAO
Managing Director
China Practice, Ogilvy & Mather
In this current phase of outbound

investment Chinese companies
will need to focus on their cultural
intelligence like never before.
In todays digital and data-enabled

world, the fastest growing businesses
are those that put insights and
analytics at the center of their
strategy. As validated in
our global Insights20201
ANALYTICS
study, over-performers
foster a more customercentric culture and
build structures and
capabilities to deliver
insight-led strategies.
UNLEASHING CUSTOMER
CENTRIC GROWTH
BENOIT GARBE
Managing Director
Kantar Vermeer
Greater China, Africa, Middle
East, Asia Pacific
Benoit.Garbe@mbvermeer.com
SCOTT KRONICK
CEO
Ogilvy Public Relations, Asia Pacific
Scott.Kronick@ogilvy.com
Chinese businesses outperform the

global average in delivering Data
Driven Customization and Touch
Points Consistency. Chinese brands
also stand out from their global
counterparts, scoring higher on
Experimentation and Collaboration.
In China, the cost of waiting is high,
the cost of failing low Chinese
brands experiment more and learn
faster.
However, Chinese companies do not

seem to be as customer obsessed
as their global counterparts.
Customer Centricity is a top priority
for the leaders at 91 percent of the
global over-performing companies,
compared to only 67 percent in
China.
Its not due to lack of data. In fact,
we often hear of Infobesity. Insights
and Analytics teams that leverage
the power of data effectively are
in a position to shape the business
agenda. This, though, requires a
significant change in capabilities.
Chinese companies have an
opportunity to catch up with global
over-performers in making Insights
& Analytics more business focused,
in taking a more whole-brain
approach to data, and in being better
storytellers to create more impact.
1
325 businesses, marketing, and I&A leaders were interviewed, and more than 10,000 practitioners
from 60 countries participated in the online Insights2020 survey.
224
China is undoubtedly riding the digital

trend, as evidenced by the rapid
growth in the use of smartphone,
e/m-commerce, mobile payment,
smart TV, etc. This gives advertisers
unprecedented opportunities to
reach consumers through diverse
digital channels, but it also creates
challenges. We now see only a
fragmented view of consumers
across multiple devices, making it
more difficult to provide coherent ad
delivery.
Complicating matters is the

increasingly cluttered business
environment in China. Advertisers
now have to work harder to make
more cost efficient campaign delivery
and use more accurate targeting
to make every RMB count. As a
result, reaching Chinese consumers
effectively and efficiently while making
advertising engaging is a key focus.
BUSINESS TO
Fortunately, advertisers now have

access to abundant consumer data
and enhanced technologies
to help them find creative
solutions to these
MEDIA
challenges. Key amongst
these is programmatic
buying. A data-driven
approach, programmatic
buying allows advertisers
to target audiences more
intelligently by identifying who they
are and how to reach them. For
example, Xaxis deploys our own Data
Management Platform, Turbine, to
leverage client 1st party, 3rd party
data and Demand Side Platform
(DSP) to maximize our ability to
target the right audience, serve the
best ad, and create value for the
client. As the benefits become more
widely recognized, we anticipate
programmatic buying is set to play an
even bigger role in Chinas integrated
marketing strategy.
PROGRAMMATIC
BUYING GAINS GROUND
The past twelve months saw WeChat

gaining tremendous velocity in the
social media space. Amongst the 600
million users globally, 570 million are
considered active users in
China. These Chinese users
HUMAN
rely heavily on WeChat for
social networking. Statistics
reveal that 57.3 percent
of them get to make new
friends via WeChat while
86.1 percent have increased
interactions with friends.
IN THE B2H ERA,

EVERYONE CAN BE A
BRAND ADVOCATE
ONIE CHU
Deputy Managing Director
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Onie.Chu@hkstrategies.com
Not only are instant messaging,

and sharing moments becoming
daily routines, engaging in group
conversations is emerging as an affinitive
behavior. Private chat groups ranging
from tens to the maximum of 500 users
have mushroomed. Some of those
groups focus on a certain interest, some
are for educational purposes, some for
e-commerce, and some are simply for
daily networking. Within the groups, the
sharing, commenting and endorsing of
MICKEY ZHANG
Managing Director
Xaxis China
Mickey.Zhang@xaxis.com
discussions can easily accumulate to

thousands of messages per day.
This huge exchange of content on the
mobile platform challenges brands to
rethink their communication model.
Like it or not, brands cannot simply
practice B2B or B2C communications,
its officially the B2H communication
era. While drawing the stakeholder map,
brands need to consider the interest
of the public at large in addition to
distinctive groups. Always put a purpose
at the core of the brand narrative, inject
it with creativity, and articulate into
relevant stories to tell. To catch eyeballs
and be sharable, the content has to carry
a bit of humor, timeliness and relevance.
When everything is done right and by
leveraging the power of WeChat sharing,
brands will be surprised at the number
of advocates they have. Indeed, every
individual is an influencer.
Its said that once we step into the B2H
era, theres no turning back!
225
06
BRANDZ VALUATION METHODOLOGY

BRANDZ ELIGIBILIT Y AND DEFINITIONS
BRANDZ REPORTS, APPS AND IPAD MAGAZINES
WPP COMPANIES
WPP COMPANY CONTRIBUTORS
WPP COMPANY BRAND BUILDING EXPERTS
BRANDZ CHINA TOP 100 TEAM
AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT WPP
BRANDS VALUATION CONTACT DETAILS
WPP IN CHINA
BRANDZ ONLINE AND MOBILE
RESOURCES
226
227
06 > Resources
METHODOLOGY
BrandZ Brand
Valuation Methodology
INTRODUCTION
The brands that appear in this report
are the most valuable in China. They
were selected for inclusion in the
Chinese Brands 2016 based on the
unique and objective BrandZ brand
valuation methodology that combines
extensive and on-going consumer
insights with rigorous financial analysis.
The BrandZ valuation methodology
can be uniquely distinguished from
its competitors by the way we obtain
consumer viewpoints. We conduct
worldwide, on-going, in-depth
quantitative consumer research, and
build up a global picture of brands on
a category-by-category and marketby-market basis.
Globally, our research covers three
million consumers and more than
100,000 different brands in over 50
markets. This intensive, in-market
consumer research differentiates
the BrandZ methodology from
competitors that rely only on a panel
of experts, or purely on financial and
market desktop research.
228
Before reviewing the details of this

methodology, consider these three
fundamental questions: why is brand
important; why is brand valuation
important; and what makes BrandZ
the definitive brand valuation tool?
IMPORTANCE OF BRAND
Brands embody a core promise
of values and benefits consistently
delivered. Brands provide clarity
and guidance for choices made by
companies, consumers, investors and
others stakeholders. Brands provide
the signposts we need to navigate the
consumer and B2B landscapes.
At the heart of a brands value is its ability
to appeal to relevant customers and
potential customers. BrandZ uniquely
measures this appeal and validates it
against actual sales performance. Brands
that succeed in creating the greatest
attraction power are those that are:
MEANINGFUL
In any category, these brands appeal
more, generate greater love and meet
the individuals expectations and needs.
DIFFERENT
These brands are unique in a positive way
and set the trends, staying ahead of the
curve for the benefit of the consumer.
SALIENT
They come spontaneously to mind as
the brand of choice for key needs.
IMPORTANCE OF
BRAND VALUATION
Brand valuation is a metric that
quantifies the worth of these powerful
but intangible corporate assets. It
enables brand owners, the investment
community and others to evaluate and
compare brands and make faster and
better-informed decisions.
Brand valuation also enables marketing
professionals to quantity their
achievements in driving business growth
with brands, and to celebrate these
achievements in the boardroom.
DISTINCTION OF BRANDZ
BrandZ is the only brand valuation
tool that peels away all of the financial
and other components of brand value
and gets to the core how much
brand alone contributes to corporate
value. This core, what we call Brand
Contribution, differentiates BrandZ.
THE VALUATION PROCESS

STEP 1: CALCULATING FINANCIAL VALUE
PART A
We start with the corporation. In some
cases, a corporation owns only one
brand. All Corporate Earnings come
from that brand. In other cases, a
corporation owns many brands. And we
need to apportion the earnings of the
corporation across a portfolio of brands.
To make sure we attribute the correct
portion of Corporate Earnings to each
brand, we analyze financial information
from annual reports and other sources,
such as Kantar Worldpanel and Kantar
Retail. This analysis yields a metric we
call the Attribution Rate.
We multiply Corporate Earnings by the

Attribution Rate to arrive at Branded
Earnings, the amount of Corporate
Earnings attributed to a particular brand.
If the Attribution Rate of a brand is 50
percent, for example, then half the
Corporate Earnings are identified as
coming from that brand.
PART B
What happened in the past or even
whats happening today is less important
than the prospects for future earnings.
Predicting future earnings requires
adding another component to our
BrandZ formula. This component
assesses future earnings prospects as

a multiple of current earnings. We call
this component the Brand Multiple.
Its similar to the calculation used by
financial analysts to determine the
market value of stocks (Example: 6X
earnings or 12X earnings). Information
supplied by Bloomberg data helps us
calculate a Brand Multiple. We take the
Branded Earnings and multiply that
number by the Brand Multiple to arrive at
what we call Financial Value.
STEP 2: CALCULATING BRAND CONTRIBUTION
STEP 3: CALCULATING
BRAND VALUE
So now we have got from the total value

of the corporation to the part that is the
branded value of the business. But this
branded business value is still not quite
the core that we are after. To arrive at
Brand Value, we need to peel away a few
more layers, such as the in-market and
logistical factors that influence the value
of the branded business, for example:
price, availability and distribution.
and rational affinity), being Different (or

at least feeling that way to consumers),
and being Salient (coming to mind quickly
and easily as the answer when people are
making category purchases).
Now we take the Financial Value and

multiply it by Brand Contribution,
which is expressed as a percentage
of Financial Value. The result is Brand
Value. Brand Value is the dollar amount
a brand contributes to the overall
value of a corporation. Isolating and
measuring this intangible asset reveals
an additional source of shareholder
value that otherwise would not exist.
What we are after is the value of the

intangible asset of the brand itself that
exists in the minds of consumers. That
means we have to assess the ability
of brand associations in consumers
minds to deliver sales by predisposing
consumers to choose the brand or pay
more for it.
Heres what makes BrandZ so unique

and important. BrandZ is the only brand
valuation methodology that obtains
this customer viewpoint by conducting
worldwide on-going, in-depth quantitative
consumer research, online and faceto-face, building up a global picture of
brands on a category-by-category and
market-by-market basis. Our research
now covers over three million consumers
and more than 100,000 different brands
in over 50 markets.
We focus on the three aspects of

brands that we know make people buy
more and pay more for brands: being
Meaningful (a combination of emotional
We identify the purchase volume and any

extra price premium delivered by these
brand associations. We call this unique
role played by brand, Brand Contribution.
229
06 > Resources
METHODOLOGY
Eligibility criteria
and definitions
ELIGIBILITY
DEFINITIONS
The brands ranked in the BrandZ

Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands
2016 report meet all of these eligibility
criteria:
BRAND CONTRIBUTION
The brand was originally created by

a Mainland Chinese enterprise; and
The brand is owned by a publicly
traded enterprise, or whose
financials are audited by major
global accounting practice and
published in the public domain;
Bank brands derive at least 20
percent of earnings from retail
banking.
Brand Contribution is a BrandZ measurement

of a brands uniqueness in the mind of the
consumer and the impact of brand alone,
without any other factors, on future earnings.
Brand Contribution is expressed as an index on a
scale of one to five, with five being the highest.
BRAND POWER
Brand Power is a BrandZ measurement of a
brands competitive position in its category. It
roughly correlates with volume share. Brand
Power is a BrandZ component of brand equity,
which is the consumer predisposition to choose
one brand over another.
MEANINGFUL,
DIFFERENT, SALIENT
MEANINGFUL
Consumers feel an affinity for the brand or think it
meets their needs.
DIFFERENT
The brand feels different to other brands in the
category, or sets trends for the category.
SALIENT
The brand comes to mind quickly and readily when
activated by ideas related to category purchase.
230
231
06 > Resources
BrandZ on the move

Get the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global
Brands, Chinese Top 100, Latin American Top
50, Indian Top 50 and many more insightful
reports on your smartphone or tablet.
BRANDZ REPORTS, APPS AND IPAD MAGAZINES
To download the apps for the BrandZ rankings

go to www.BrandZ.com/mobile (for iPhone
and Android). BrandZ is the worlds largest and
most reliable customer-focused source of brand
equity knowledge and insight. To learn more
about BrandZ data or studies, or view one of
our industry insight videos, please visit www.
BrandZ.com, or contact any WPP company.
BrandZ - the ultimate

resource for brand
knowledge and insight

Global Brands 2015

Indian Brands 2015

Indonesian Brands 2015
This is the definitive global brand valuation

study, analysing key trends driving the
worlds largest brands, exclusive industry
insights, thought leadership and a
retrospective look at 10 years of BrandZ.
This ground-breaking study analyses

the success of Indian brands across
13 categories, examines the dynamics
reshaping the Indian market and offers
insights for building valuable brands.
This new study explores the achievements

of Indonesian brands, examining the
dynamics shaping this fast-emerging market
and offering insights for building valuable
brands.

Latin American Brands 2015
The report profiles the most valuable brands
of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico
and Peru and explores the socio-economic
context for brand growth in the region.
For the iPad magazine, search
BrandZ Latin America on iTunes.
232
Spotlight on Myanmar
8 Retail Trends in China
The story of Myanmar is one of huge

potential, as a new era of openness signals
strong growth opportunity. Now is the time
for brands to make an impression in this
emergent economy.
With the continued rebalancing of the Chinese

economy, 2016 - The Year of the Monkey,
could be characterized as another year of
change for China. The retail sector is at the
intersection of much of this transformation,
and with the rapid growth of e-commerce,
Chinese retail is changing and adapting fast.
Unmasking the individual

Chinese Investor
The Power and Potential

of the Chinese Dream
The Chinese Golden Weeks

in Fast Growth Cities
The Chinese New Year

in Next Growth Cities
This exclusive new report

provides the first detailed
examination of Chinese
investors, what they think about
risk, reward and the brands they
buy and sell. This will help brand
owners worldwide understand
market dynamics and help build
sustainable value.
The Power and Potential of

the Chinese Dream is rich
with knowledge and insight,
and forms part of a growing
library of WPP reports
about China. It explores the
meaning and significance
of the Chinese Dream for
Chinese consumers as well as
its potential impact on brands.
Using research and case

studies, the report examines the
shopping attitudes and habits
of Chinas rising middle class
and explores opportunities for
brands in many categories.
The report explores how

Chinese families celebrate this
ancient festival and describes
how the holiday unlocks yearround opportunities for brands
and retailers, especially in
Chinas lower tier cities.
TrustR
ValueD
RepZ
CharacterZ
Engaging Consumers in
the Post-Recession World
Trust is no longer enough.
Strong brands inspire both
Trust (belief in the brands
promise developed over time)
and Recommendation (current
confirmation of that promise).
This combination of Trust plus
Recommendation results in a
new metric called TrustR.
Balancing Desire and

Price for Brand Success
Desire is primary. High Desire
enables Price flexibility. A new
metric, ValueD, measures the
gap between the consumers
Desire for a brand and the
consumers perception of the
brands Price. By quantifying
this gap, ValueD helps brands
optimize their profit and,
market-positioning potential.
Maximising Brand and

Corporate Integrity
Major brands are especially
vulnerable to unforeseen
events that can quickly
threaten the equity cultivated
over a long period of time.
But those brands with a better
reputation are much more
resilient. Four key factors drive
Reputation: Success, Fairness,
Responsibility and Trust. Find
out how your brand performs.
Brand personality analysis

deepens brand understanding
Need an interesting and
stimulating way to engage with
your clients? Want to impress
them with your understanding
of their brand? A new and
improved CharacterZ can
help! It is a fun visual analysis,
underpinned by the power
of BrandZ, which allows
detailed understanding of your
brands personality.
For the iPad magazine, search

Golden Weeks on iTunes.
For the iPad magazine search

for Chinese New Year on iTunes.
233
06 > Resources
These companies contributed

expertise and perspective
ADDED VALUE
Added Value is a leading
global strategic marketing
consultancy providing
brand strategy, innovation,
insight and communications
services. We are driven by one
thought to make marketing
that works. Our approaches
include qualitative insight and
ethnography, segmentation
and portfolio planning, brand
positioning, cultural insight,
innovation, brand equity studies,
communications optimization
and tracking. Added Value has
17 offices in 11 countries across
Europe, North America and
Asia-Pacific, and is accredited
among Best Companies to
Work For 2014.
Added Value is part of
Kantar, the data investment
management division of WPP,
the world leader in marketing
communications services.
www.added-value.com
Reggie Jin
Managing Director
Reggie.Jin@added-value.com
ALWAYS MARKETING
SERVICES
Always is the largest Field
Marketing Services Agency in
China, providing Total Field
Marketing Solutions from
Sell In to Sell Out, from
Activation Strategic Planning
to On-The-Ground Execution.
With a network of 90+ fullyowned offices throughout
China, Always has the
capabilities to activate in 600+
Tier 1 to Tier 6 cities. Service
Offerings include Promoter &
Field Marketer Management,
In-Store Activation / Promotion,
Retail Audit / Mystery Shopper,
Event / Road Show, POSM
Management and Premium /
Gifting.
Always manages 800+ projects
on an annual basis across
500+ cities, executing more
than 3.5 million activations on
behalf of a portfolio of BlueChip Clients. Client partners
include Unilever,Nestle,Colgate,
Johnson & Johnson, Ferrero,
Nokia, Intel, Microsoft, Shell,
VISA, Pfizer and many more...
www.alwaysmkt.com
Cai Hua
CEO, China
Cai.Hua@alwaysmkt.com
CTR
ESP PROPERTIES
GREY
GREY DIGITAL
GROUPM
CTR Media & Consumption

Behavior Research analysts and
experts help advertisers, media
owners and advertising agencies
measure their media image
and impact. Born and raised
in China, Chinese culture and
values are a part of our DNA.
We have witnessed the seismic
transformation of the market,
experienced numerous industry
reforms, while building expertise
in media management, brand
and advertising communications
and consumer research.
ESP Properties is a commercial

and creative advisor for
sports and entertainment
rightsholders, helping these
organisations unlock greater
value from their audiences and
brand partnerships.
Grey, with 121 offices in 116

cities in 94 countries, ranks
among the largest global
advertising companies. Our
long-standing reputation for
launching and building many
of the worlds leading brands
is rooted in our bluechip
client roster, which includes
one- fifth of all Fortune 500
companies. Grey today is a
full-service agency with a total
offering that delivers best-inclass brand communications
in every channel, with one
uncompromising focus: to
accelerate the potential of our
clients brands with powerful
strategy and creative ideas
across all touch points.
Grey Digital, a Grey Group

company, believes in creating
unique and engaging digital
experiences with the vision
to lead the industry as digital
lifestyle enablers, specializing in
digital engagement, activation
and retention strategies.
GroupM is the leading

global media investment
management company
serving as the parent to WPP
media agencies including
Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom,
and Maxus, each global
operations in their own right
with leading market positions.
GroupMs primary purpose
is to maximize performance
of WPPs media agencies
by operating as leader and
collaborator in trading, content
creation, sports, digital, finance,
proprietary tool development
and other business-critical
capabilities. GroupMs focus is
to deliver unrivaled marketplace
advantage to its clients,
stakeholders and people.
Our in-depth knowledge

of the local market, with a
global perspective, enables us
to discover the insights that
make sense of what is hidden
beneath todays developments.
We inspire our clients to make
informed decisions based on
our unparalleled and profound
understanding of the
critical challenges they face in the
Chinese marketplace. This is what
we bring you, China insights. We
can do this because we know
China better. China Insight is at
the core of our brand value. We
aim to share unique viewpoints,
look behind the numbers,
beyond the trends and between
the lines. In short, our job is to
help companies and brands
understand the Chinese market,
its people, and to win in China.
The Consulting team assesses,

and advises how to grow,
the value of rightsholders
commercial programs, through
a full range of services across
data, digital and content
development to better
understand their audience, and
create more relevant ways to
engage with them.
The Sales team provides
partnership strategy and sales
representation to the worlds
most active sponsors, within
and beyond the WPP network.
www.espglobal.com
John Kristick
Global CEO
John.Kristick@espglobal.com
www.grey.com
Nirvik Singh
Chairman & CEO, Asia Pacific
Nirvik.Singh@grey.com
Over the years, Grey Digital has

garnered many international
awards, features in publications
and actively involved in the
student community. Besides
commercial work, we often find
ourselves hatching our own
digital properties, fueled by
our passion for creativity. This
includes: Hardboiled the CSR
Magazine; GotCharacter? the
Design Competition; End Earth
the non-Linear Digital Comic;
SixtyFive the Music Portal and
our other emerging projects.
These initiatives are our
testament to what we do best
and love doing - to be highly
creative, absolutely fun and
digitally daring.
www.grey.com
Joseph Tsang
Digital eCosystem Director,
Greater China
Joseph.Tsang@grey.com
www.groupmchina.com
Patrick Xu
CEO China
Patrick.Xu@groupm.com
HILL+KNOWLTON
STRATEGIES
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
was the first international
communications consultancy to
establish a presence in China in
1984. Headquartered in Beijing,
with offices in Shanghai and
Guangzhou, H+K China is one
of the largest PR agencies in this
market, employing 250 bilingual
communications professionals
who provide cross-sector,
integrated communications
services to many Fortune 500
companies.
With 30 years of market
experience and insights, H+K
China has established itself as
an industry leader in corporate
communications, marketing
communications, public affairs,
media relations, crisis and
issue management, and digital
communications. Hill+Knowlton
Strategies, Inc. is headquartered
in New York, with 86 offices
in 49 countries, as well as an
extensive associate network.
www.hkstrategies.com
Ye Yu
Chairman, China
Ye.Yu@hkstrategies.com
www.ctrchina.cn/en
Ruoyu Chen
President, China
Ruoyuch@ctrchina.cn
236
237
06 > Resources

KANTAR
KANTAR HEALTH
KANTAR MEDIA CIC
KANTAR RETAIL
Kantar is the data investment

management arm of WPP
and one of the worlds
largest insight, information
and consultancy groups. By
uniting the diverse talents of
its 12 specialist companies,
the group is the pre-eminent
provider of compelling data
and inspirational insights for the
global business community. Its
30,000 employees work across
100 countries and across the
whole spectrum of research
and consultancy disciplines,
enabling the group to offer
clients business insights at
every point of the consumer
cycle. The groups services are
employed by over half of the
Fortune Top 500 companies.
Kantar Health is a leading global

healthcare consulting firm
and trusted advisor to many
pharmaceutical, biotech, and
medical device and diagnostic
companies worldwide. It
combines evidence-based
research capabilities with deep
scientific, therapeutic and
clinical knowledge, commercial
development know-how, and
brand and marketing expertise
to help clients evaluate
opportunities, launch products
and maintain brand and market
leadership. Its 600+ healthcare
industry specialists work across
the product lifecycle from
preclinical development to
launch, acting as catalysts to
successful decision-making
in life sciences. Kantar Health
is part of Kantar, the data
investment management
division of WPP.
Kantar Media is a global leader

in media intelligence, providing
clients with the data they need
to make informed decisions
on all aspects of media and
social media measurement,
monitoring and selection. Part
of Kantar, the data investment
management arm of WPP,
Kantar Media provides the
most comprehensive and
accurate intelligence on media
consumption, performance and
value.
Kantar Retail works with

leading retailers and branded
manufacturers to transform the
purchase behavior of consumers,
shoppers, and retailers. Kantar
Retail has over 400 employees
and offices in 15 markets around
the globe. The company is
headquartered in London and
is part of the Kantar Group of
WPP. Kantar Retail has been
present in China since 2004 and
offers retail insights, consulting,
retail analytics, and capabilities
development services to clients.
www.kantar.com
Jules Young
Global Account Director, China
Jules.Young@kantar.com
www.kantarhealth.com
Diana Tan
General Manager China
Diana.Tan@kantarhealth.com
Asia-Pacific branch Kantar Media

CIC is Chinas and regional
leading social and digital
business intelligence provider.
The experts from Kantar Media
CIC enable enterprises to fully
leverage the power of social
media and other Internet based
big data intelligence across
the organization. Since 2004,
Kantar Media CIC has pioneered
social technology, research and
consulting. Founded as CIC, it
was acquired by WPPsKantar
Media in 2012.
www.ciccorporate.com
Sam Flemming
CEO, China
Sam@cicdata.com
238
www.kantarretail.com
Oceanne Zhang
Director of Retail Insights
and eCommerce
Oceanne.Zhang@kantarretail.com
KANTAR
WORLDPANEL
Kantar Worldpanel is the
world leader in continuous
consumer panels. Our global
team of consultants applies
tailored research solutions and
advanced analytics to bring you
unrivaled sharpness and clarity
of insight to both the big picture
and the fine detail. We help our
clients understand what people
buy, what they use and the
attitudes behind shopper and
consumer behavior. We have
more than 60 years experience
in helping companies shape
their strategies and manage
their tactical decisions; we
understand shopper and
retailer dynamics; we explore
opportunities for growth in
terms of products, categories,
and regions and within trade
environments. Together with
our partner relationships, we
are present in more than 50
countries in most of which
we are market leaders which
means we can deliver inspiring
insights on a local, regional and
global scale. In China, we are
one of services of CTR.
www.kantarworldpanel.com/cn-en
Jason Yu
General Manager, China
LANDOR
MAXUS GLOBAL
MILLWARD BROWN
As a global leader in brand

consulting and design, Landor
helps clients create agile brands
that thrive in todays dynamic,
disruptive marketplace. Our
work enables top brands from
Barclays to BMW and Tide to
Taj to stand for something
while never standing still.
Landors branding services
include strategy and positioning,
identity and design, brand
architecture, innovation, naming
and verbal branding, research
and analytics, environments and
experience, engagement and
activation, and digital and social
media.
Maxus is a global media

agency with services including
communications strategy,
media planning and buying,
digital marketing, social media
strategy, SEO, SEM, direct
response media, data analytics,
and marketing ROI evaluation.
Were experts in advertising,

marketing communications,
media, digital and brand equity
research, and we work with
90 percent of the worlds
leading brands. We know
brands that are meaningfully
different capture more volume
share, command premiums
and grow their value. Our
key areas of focus are brand
strategy, creative development,
channel optimization and
brand performance. Our team
includes some of the most
talented market researchers,
consultants, storytellers and
neuroscience experts in the
industry. With offices in 56
countries, we understand the
importance of both a global and
local focus and we understand
consumers. Today, many brands
are a companys most valuable
asset. We can help you manage
your brands to drive financial
growth and wealth creation for
your organization.
Founded by Walter Landor in

1941, Landor pioneered many
of the research, design, and
consulting methods that are
now standard in the branding
industry. Today, Landor has 27
offices in 21 countries, working
with a broad spectrum of worldfamous brands. Clients include
Jin Jiang Group, Shougang,
Coca-Cola, Tong Ren Tang,
Jiangkang, Yuanda, Midea,
Leiyunshang, BMW, ECADI and
Chia Tai Group among many
others.
Maxus help marketers build

profitable relationships between
consumers and their brands,
combining the disciplines of
communications planning and
customer relationship marketing
to deliver Relationship Media,
our new model powered
by creative media thinking
and sophisticated, real-time
customer data.
www.maxusglobal.cn
Annie Hsiao
President, China
Annie.Hsiao@maxusglobal.com
www.millwardbrown.com
Rana Deepender
Head of Greater China
Deepender.Rana@
millwardbrown.com
www.landor.com
Connie Leung
President Greater China
Connie.Leung@landor.com
239
06 > Resources

MILLWARD BROWN
VERMEER
Millward Brown Vermeer is the
consultancy arm of Millward
Brown, dedicated to unleashing
purpose-led brand growth. In
todays global and technologyenabled market, brands and
businesses face unprecedented
complexity, constant disruption
and profound questions: What
business are we in? Why do we
exist? And how do we build our
organization?
Millward Brown Vermeer is
the only global marketing
consultancy focused on the
development and embedding
of consumer insight-led
marketing strategy, structure
and capability.
Our fusion of practitioner
and consulting experience
means we provide wholebrain solutions to strategic
marketing challenges, rooting
our approach in consumer
research, stakeholder
understanding and financial
analysis.
www.mbvermeer.com
Benoit Garbe
Managing Director
Benoit.Garbe@mbvermeer.com
240
OGILVY & MATHER

Ogilvy & Mather is one
of the largest marketing
communications companies
in the world. It was named the
Cannes Lions Network of the
Year for four consecutive years,
2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015;
and the EFFIEs Worlds Most
Effective Agency Network for
two consecutive years 2012
and 2013. The company is
comprised of industry leading
units in the following disciplines:
advertising; public relations
and public affairs; branding
and identity; shopper and
retail marketing; healthcare
communications; direct, digital,
promotion and relationship
marketing; consulting, research
and analytics; branded content
and entertainment; and
specialist communications.
O&M services Fortune Global
500 companies as well as local
businesses through its network
of more than 500 offices in 126
countries. It is a WPP company
(NASDAQ: WPPGY). For more
information, visit our website,
or follow Ogilvy on Twitter at @
Ogilvy and on Facebook.com/
Ogilvy.
OGILVY PUBLIC
RELATIONS
Ogilvy Public Relations
Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a
global, multi-disciplinary
communications leader
operating in more than 80
markets. Named Large Agency
of the Year by The Holmes
Report and PRNews, Ogilvy PR
blends proven PR methodologies
with cutting edge digital
innovations to craft strategic
programs that give clients
winning and measurable results.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary
in business, Ogilvy PR provides
strategic public relations counsel
to a variety of clients across its
social marketing, public affairs,
healthcare, consumer marketing,
360-degree digital influence,
corporate, and technology
practices.
www.ogilvypr.com
Scott Kronick
President, China
Scott.Kronick@ogilvy.com
OGILVYONE
TNS
XAXIS
OgilvyOne China is part of

OgilvyOne Worldwide, the
worlds leading customer
engagement agency as ranked
by Forrester Research, Inc. Our
core promise to clients is to
help unlock the full value of
their customers by turning big
ideas and data into personal
experiences. This will bring our
clients more customers and
makes them more valuable.
We achieve this by tapping
into talent both at home and
from our global network
of more than 4,500 digital
and customer engagement
specialists. In China, we have
approximately 300 in-house
experts across Beijing, Shanghai
and Guangzhou. We lead in
both B2B and B2C multichannel
marketing, and have deep
industry expertise in categories
spanning high technology,
travel, consumer packaged
goods, automotive, logistics
and luxury. OgilvyOne China is
a unit of Ogilvy & Mather, a WPP
company (NASDAQ: WPPGY),
one of the worlds largest
communications services
groups.
TNS advises clients on specific

growth strategies around new
market entry, innovation, brand
switching and customer and
employee relationships, based
on long-established expertise
and market-leading solutions.
With a presence in over 80
countries, TNS has more
conversations with the worlds
consumers than anyone else
and understands individual
human behaviors and attitudes
across every cultural, economic
and political region of the world.
Xaxis is the worlds largest

audience buying company that
programmatically connects
advertisers to audiences
across all addressable
channels. Through the expert
use of proprietary data and
advertising technology along
with unparalleled media
relationships, Xaxis delivers
results for over 2,800 clients
in 45 markets across North
America, Europe, Asia Pacific,
Latin America and the Middle
East. Advertisers working with
Xaxis achieve exceptionally
high return on advertising
spend through the companys
proprietary media products,
as well as through its specialist
companies, Light Reaction,
plista, Bannerconnect, and
ActionX. Xaxis is a GroupM
company that is part of WPP.
TNS is part of Kantar, the data

investment management
division of WPP and one of
the worlds largest insight,
information and consultancy
groups.
www.tnsglobal.com
Grace Liu
CEO China
Grace.Liu@tnsglobal.com
www.xaxis.com
Michel de Rijk
CEO APAC
Michel.Derijk@xaxis.com
www.ogilvyone.com
www.ogilvy.com.cn
Chris Reitermann
CEO, China
Chris.Reitermann@ogilvy.com
Jacco Schegget
President, China
Jacco.Schegget@ogilvy.com
241
06 > Resources
Mikko Lan
WPP COMPANY BRAND BUILDING EXPERTS
Onie Chu
Maneesh Choudhary
H+K Strategies
These individuals provided brand

and category knowledge and insights
Leon Zhang
Yi Li
Millward Brown
Annie Hsiao
Maxus Global
ESP Properties
Rajshekhar Mylavarapu
Landor
Millward Brown
Jason Yu
Mickey Chak
Joseph Tsang
Grey
Ogilvy & Mather
ZJ Wang
Kantar Worldpanel
Jenny Ma
Always Marketing Services
Ogilvy One
Ken Qiu
Always Marketing Services
Millward Brown
Barry Leung
Mike Zhu
Charles Laporte Aust
GroupM
Adele Li
Nils Roehrig
Grey
Jason Yu
Mark Du
Kantar Worldpanel
Jin Wei Toh
Millward Brown
Huang Lei
ESP Properties
Oceanne Zhang
Kantar Retail
CTR
Patrick Xu
GroupM
Kantar Media CIC
Phat Song
Zod Fang
Lucy Yu
Mickey Zhang
GroupM
Lyndon Cao
Millward Brown
Xaxis
Scott Kronick
Ogilvy & Mather
Li Yan
Jules Young
Kantar
Kantar Health
GroupM
242
Haidong Guan
Ogilvy One
Sam Flemming
Ogilvy One
Benjamin Wei
CTR
GeTui
Jacco Schegget
OgilvyOne
John Kristick
Peter Mack
Liu Yu
Millward Brown
Lily Xiong
Ogilvy & Mather
CTR
Benoit Garbe
Millward Brown
Panos Dimitropoulos
Added Value
Monica Zhao
Kantar Media CIC
Fisher Yu
Chris Bonsi
TNS
Theresa Loo
Ogilvy & Mather
Landor
243
06 > Resources
BRANDZ CHINA TOP 100 TEAM
These individuals created the

report, providing research,
valuations, analysis and insight,
editorial, photography, production,
marketing and communications
Claire Pan
David Roth
Claire Pan is Senior Analysis Executive for research

and development at Millward Brown, where she is
responsible for brand research and analysis covering
many categories to provide solutions for clients and
detailed information for the BrandZ ranking studies.
David Roth is the CEO of the Store WPP for

Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia,
and leads the BrandZ worldwide project.
Prior to joining WPP David was main Board
Director of the international retailer, B&Q.
Amandine Bavent
Elspeth Cheung
Ken Schept
Raam Tarat
Amandine Bavent is a BrandZ Valuation Manager for

Millward Brown. She manages the brand valuation projects
for BrandZ Her role involves conducting financial
analysis, researching brands and performing valuations.
Elspeth Cheung is the Global BrandZ Valuation Director

for Millward Brown. She is responsible for valuation, analysis,
client management and external communication for the
BrandZ rankings and other ad hoc brand valuation projects.
Ken Schept is a professional writer and editor specializing in

reports and books about brands and marketing. He helped
develop WPPs extensive library of global publications and
has reported on the international retail sector as an editor
with a leading US business media publisher.
Raam Tarat is part of the Global Communications and

Marketing team at Millward Brown. He project managed
the production of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Chinese Brands 2016 report, as well as marketing
communications for other BrandZ projects.
Miquet Humphryes
Cecilie stergren
Doreen Wang
Christine Zhang
Miquet Humphryes is Director of Global

Corporate Marketing at Millward Brown. She
is responsible for overseeing the marketing
and communications for the Top 100 ranking.
Cecilie stergren is a professional photographer based

in Denmark, she has worked closely with WPP agencies
since 2009. Cecilie specializes in documentary,
consumer insight and portraits. She has travelled
extensively in China, Brazil and other locations to
photograph images for the BrandZ reports.
Doreen Wang is the Global Head of BrandZ, and

a seasoned executive with 16 years experience
in providing outstanding market research and
strategic consulting for senior executives in
Fortune 500 companies in both the US and China.
Marketing Director of Millward Brown Greater China,

Christine is responsible for Millward Brown Greater Chinas
brand communication and strategies, and helps organize
research and fact checking for the BrandZ China ranking.
With special thanks and appreciation to: Peter Walshe for work on Brand China, Aman Aggarwal, Richard Ballard,
Tuhin Dasgupta, Tamsin Grant, Jay Makwana, Anthony Marris, Ben Marshall, Gaurav Mittal, Katie Pearce,
Amit Singh, Igor Tolkachev, Meimei Wang and Vivian Wang
244
245
06 > Resources
The BrandZ brand

valuation contact details
TM
WPP is the worlds largest communications

services group with billings of US$76 billion
and revenues of US$19 billion. Through its
operating companies, the Group provides
a comprehensive range of advertising and
marketing services including advertising & media
investment management; data investment
management; public relations & public affairs;
branding & identity; healthcare communications;
direct, digital, promotion & relationship
marketing and specialist communications.
The company employs over 190,000 people
(including associates and investments) in over
3,000 offices across 112 countries.
The brand valuations in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable

Chinese Brands are produced by Millward Brown using market
data from Kantar Worldpanel, along with Bloomberg.
The consumer viewpoint is derived from the BrandZ database.
Established in 1998 and constantly updated, this database of brand
analytics and equity is the worlds largest, containing over three
million consumer interviews about more than 100,000 different
brands in over 50 markets.
For further information about BrandZ contact any WPP Group
company or:
DOREEN WANG
WPP was named Holding Company of the Year
at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival
of Creativity for the fifth year running. WPP was
also named, for the fourth consecutive year, the
Worlds Most Effective Holding Company in the
2015 Effie Effectiveness Index, which recognizes
the effectiveness of marketing communications.
For more information, visit www.wpp.com.
Global Head of BrandZ

Millward Brown
+1 212 548 7231
Doreen.Wang@millwardbrown.com
ELSPETH CHEUNG
Global BrandZ Valuation Director
Millward Brown
+44 (0) 207 126 5174
Elspeth.Cheung@millwardbrown.com
MARTIN GUERRIERIA
Global BrandZ Research Director
Millward Brown
+44 (0) 207 126 5073
Martin.Guerrieria@millwardbrown.com
BLOOMBERG
The Bloomberg Professional service is the source of real-time
and historical financial news and information for central banks,
investment institutions, commercial banks, government offices and
agencies, law firms, corporations and news organizations in over 150
countries. (For more information, please visit www.bloomberg.com)
246
247
06 > Resources
WPP in China
WE HELP BUILD VALUABLE BRANDS
In Greater China, WPP companies (including associates)
generate revenues of $1.5 billion with almost 15,000 people
in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and many other cities and
provinces.
WPP is the worlds largest communications services group with billings in 2013 of $72.3 billion
and revenues of $17.3 billion. Through its operating companies, WPP provides a comprehensive
range of advertising and marketing services including advertising and media investment
management; data investment management; public relations and public affairs; branding and
identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing and
specialist communications. The company employs over 179,000 people (including associates) in
over 3,000 offices across 111 countries. To learn more about how to apply this expertise to benefit
your brand, please contact any of the WPP companies that contributed to this report or contact:
TB SONG
Chairman, WPP Greater China
TB.Song@wpp.com
BESSIE LEE
Chief Executive Officer, WPP China
Bessie.Lee@wpp.com
JULIANA YEH
Head of Corporate Communications, WPP Asia Pacific
Juliana.Yeh@wpp.com
For further information about WPP companies worldwide,
please visit: www.wpp.com/wpp/companies
or contact:
DAVID ROTH
CEO The Store, WPP EMEA and Asia
David.Roth@wpp.com
Online and
Mobile
EXPERIENCE THE
NEW BRANDZ APP
AND WEBSITE
GET THE FREE APP
If you are interested in brands you need this
app, valuation data and a lot more at your
fingertips:

Latest brand news in real time

View individual brand profiles and videos
Unique content and Insights
Share articles and data across social media
Save your favorite articles
Access on and offline
On any Android and Apple device just search for BrandZ
...OR VISIT US ONLINE!

View the latest BrandZ valuation
rankings from across the world
The latest thought leadership,
research and insights on brands
Create your own ranking tables, and
sort by value or brand
Create interactive graphs for brands
you want to compare
New media and AV gallery
Create & print your own reports
Test your brand knowledge with our
BrandZ Quiz
Visit us at www.brandz.com
248
249
Writing Ken Schept

Photography Cecilie stergren
Design Kay Blewett
www.brandz.com

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2016 China Top100 EN

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BRAND VALUE RISES 13%

DESPITE TURBULENT YEAR

CONSUMERS PURSUE THE CHINESE DREAM

TOP 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016

The events of Chinas past year

Lets adjust the lens so that we are not

2010. Compare that result with the

THE UNPARALLELED CHINA

been engaged in China for over 30

Using the BrandZ brand valuation

TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE

Five of the Top 10 brands

Market-driven brands comprise

Top 100 Rank

Jewelry Retailer - Market-Driven

Top 100 Rank

Top 100 Rank

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Oil & Gas

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Total Category Value

Download the Mobile app

5 CATEGORIES NEW 2 NEW CATEGORIES

$ Total Brand Value

Brand Value $1.5 billion

CATEGORY VALUE CHANGES

Brand Value $3.8 billion

Revenue % from International Business

Personal Care - Market-Driven

Top 100 Rank

Baby Care - Market-Driven

Real Estate - Market-Driven

TOP 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016

TOP 100 STOCK

36 THE CHINESE DREAM

108 THE CHINA TOP 100

200 MARKET SEGMENTATION

228 BrandZ Valuation Methodology

Top 20 in Brand Contribution

BRAND AS CAPITAL ASSET

Top 20 Risers in Brand Value

By Doreen Wang, Global Head

THE NEW NORMAL

THE CHINA TOP 100

144 THE TOP PERFORMERS

By Leon Zhang, Director,

Chinese brands must