02.13
* Sorry for that, and for every pun you’re about to see below.
[This post was originally published on FutureBrand's FBlog.]
In the world of branding, it’s almost sacrilegious to question the authority and prowess of Apple. Signs of the brand’s superiority are everywhere:
The list goes on, and to add some anecdotal evidence, I believe it’s safe to say that every branding professional has had a client say they want their company to be the Apple of [insert industry here]. (And most of us have heard this request enough to know the best answer, albeit a bit snarky: “Sure, as soon as you prove you’re the Steve Jobs of [insert industry here].”)
But beneath Apple’s brushed-silver sheen, I’ve started to wonder whether something isn’t rotten at the core—whether this megabrand has, in fact, peaked. It started when I read a statement made by the president of HTC at the Mobile Future Forward conference last September:
I brought my daughter back to college…and I talked to a few of the kids on her floor. And none of them has an iPhone because they told me: ‘My dad has an iPhone.’ There’s an interesting thing that’s going on in the market. The iPhone becomes a little less cool than it was. They were carrying HTCs. They were carrying Samsungs. They were even carrying some Chinese manufacturer’s devices…iPhones are not that cool anymore (italics mine). We here are using iPhones, but our kids don’t find them that cool anymore.
At first I thought he was just trying to upset the apple cart—nothing more than a desperate maneuver from an envious, second-rate contender. But the comment stayed with me, and the more I thought about it the more I saw other signs that Apple may have outstayed its welcome at the top of the heap.
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03.14
It’s been two weeks since I moved from Shanghai to Singapore to join FutureBrand, but I still have one last post in my “top brand stories from China” series. Previously, I posted five of 2010’s top brand stories in China, a recap of something I wrote for last December’s issue of Labbrand’s LABReport. This final post looks at the overarching trends and “brands to watch” related to each of the five stories. Each story demonstrated a broader trend that will continue in the near and long term.
To read the original five stories, click the links below:
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01.28
This is the fourth in a series of posts about 2010’s top five brand stories in China. All five are listed in the December issue of Labbrand’s LABReport.
Hermès Launches Shang Xia (上下)
What Happened
French luxury giant Hermès helped fund the creation and launch of Shang Xia, a new luxury brand designed and manufactured in China. Aside from owning over 75% of the company, Hermès’ specific involvement is not yet clear. The first Shang Xia boutique is in Hong Kong Plaza, a luxury shopping mall in Shanghai.
The brand’s products are slightly more affordable than those of Hermès, which has 20 stores in China already. Also, Shang Xia is positioned as a Chinese brand, led by a designer from Shanghai (although trained in France), with products—such as tea sets, apparel, and jewelry—made from local materials and designed based on traditional Chinese craftsmanship.
Why It Matters
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01.20
This is the third in a series of posts about 2010’s top five brand stories in China. All five are listed in the December issue of Labbrand’s LABReport.
Levi’s Launches dENiZEN in Shanghai
What Happened
137-year old American apparel company Levi Strauss & Co. launched its first brand to debut outside the US in August of 2010. Dubbed dENiZEN, the lower-priced sub-brand is targeted at 18 to 28 year-old men and women in Asia, and specifically China, where Levi’s has been operating for 10 years. Levi’s hopes dENiZEN will present a more affordable entry point for Chinese consumers, and has emphasized the brand’s accessibility by using amateur models—“everyday people”—in runway shows and advertisements. dENiZEN first launched in Shanghai, with plans to expand to Beijing and other cities.
Why It Matters
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01.04
The fourth-quarter issue of Labbrand’s LABReport contains an article on the top five brand stories in China for 2010. I’ll post them here individually over the next month or so, but if you’d like to read them all right away, including our point of view on the underlying trends involved, please follow the link above (and subscribe to receive LABReport for free, while you’re at it!). This article was written and researched with help from Kevin Gentle and the rest of the Labbrand team; thanks for your help, everyone!
I’d love to hear feedback on what stories we missed, where you agree or disagree, etc. Here’s the section on Li-Ning:
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10.27
Last week I was honored to be asked to present to a group of French business students called Le Club des étudiants français de Shanghai. I was asked to discuss “branding,” but keep it high-level and light rather than getting too didactic or detailed. When one of the club’s founders invited me to speak, he thought it would be fun if I introduced myself in French, which I can’t even pronounce correctly much less speak. At first I declined, citing the stereotype that Americans are monolingual. And then I realized that would be an interesting way to kick off a conversation about brands. Here’s basically what the presentation (above) covers:
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