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As northern European companies strengthen in the 2000s, and the People's Republic of China joins the WTO, how will branding strategies change from the predominantly occidental-American model? Will it be pushed gently from Scandinavia into new areas and will the discipline be influenced by a need to discover more about the mainland Chinese consumer? As a new world economy emerges with governments being more cooperative after September 11, 2001, the author examines how branding might look in the next few years-and how they might be remembered. The new forces in branding WITH recent events, including September 11, 2001, globalization, Swedish business principles, the Nordic school of marketing thought, Asia and media integration are likely to be major influences behind branding over the next few years. With the exception of the events of September 11, none of these are 'new', but the author believes that they will properly enter the branding dialogue in a stronger way. National branding and related topics such as country-of-origin marketing have been discussed for many years, but identity and branding experts did not pay attention to them in recent times until the BBC's The Money Programme examined the branding of Britain. The idea caught on in Germany, where ZDF commissioned a similar study from identity consultancy Wolff Olins. Lately, aspects of national branding have become more important as a means to differentiate products that are becoming more homogenous, and an awareness of 'the relationships between country, brand and product images on purchasing behaviour' grows.[1] In the 2000s, related concepts, namely the behaviour of nations that must drive this branding, are bound to influence branding. Meanwhile, Sweden has been noticeable because some of its products have carved a niche based on strong design. In CAP, Playsam toys, the original Saab car and Swedish web pages have been mentioned in relation to design. Scandinavian settings look exotic to the Anglo-American eye when it casts itself over Latin letters in unusual sequences. Online, Swedish businesses got noticed when boo.com collapsed, a development regarded as inevitable by CAP Online.[2] The magazine had been more confident of other Swedish businesses, however. Online digital editions of Swedish magazines and newspapers, mail order companies such as BC Company and fashion label Hennes & Mauritz came to our attention on the web. They were marked by strong design and the latest developments: it was no surprise that boo.com tried to stretch even further, because its origins were in a country that was, and perhaps still is, one of the most ready to embrace the possibilities of the web.[3] It takes more than smart policies to encourage such growth. One might think Sweden would not be a candidate, given her high-taxation social welfare programme. Crainer says that taxes still account for 52·1 per cent of GDP.[4] But Sweden has two elements that make her a strong nation: (a) her outward visions for international companies that encourage it to listen and gain knowledge from its audiences; (b) a positive country-of-origin effect that seems to transcend product categories successfully-witness Absolut Vodka, Ikea, Saab and Volvo. Both contribute to the identities and brands of the country's exporting organizations. In the beginning of this decade, Swedish management and marketing practices could become more prevalent. In the 1980s and 1990s, relationship marketing ideas from the Nordic school began to make their way into the marketing journals and the bookshelves,[5] at the same time another concept, that of brand equity, emerged from David Aaker.[6] The internet has seen both become more important. Customer service models were studied as etailers tried to find a way to create consumer trust, which CAP had found, through anecdotal evidence, as almost paramount in the digital arena.[7] The one-on-one relationships advocated by the Nordic school were made possible through database advances. Brands had to stretch from offline ventures or be conceived to deal with the addition of a new medium. Virtual organizations needed to be branded and their relationships with allied firms, contractors and customers needed to be managed using relationship marketing principles.[8] In the last five years, successful Swedish online ventures have built themselves around these concepts. While northern Europe begins to influence the rest of the world, there may be an equal measure of change in branding and marketing strategy as the People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization. Reports seemed to question whether communism in a country still controlled by an oppressive politburo would be buried. With WTO membership, the PRC could speed free-market reforms[9]-but could the same happen to press freedoms, the cessation of alleged (and often denied) attempts to censor the internet,[10] the crackdown on corruption or the advent of proper human rights? In recent years, Chinese culture has permeated western society more, especially in movie-making techniques and æsthetics.[11] This has taken place largely after 1997, after the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic. Companies have been enthusiastically trying to enter China, with its promise of 200 million people with consuming power, for decades. Therefore, unlocking Chinese concepts of 'face' have played a part in marketing and branding agenda, particularly as the Middle Kingdom's consumers begin to attain affluence. Given that the roots of marketing and branding strategy have been based on American models, and that nine of the world's top ten brands are American,[12] then will the mould be stretched by both west and east? The United States, in a more globally cooperative, post-September 11, 2001 mood, is more willing to embrace new cultures diplomatically. And in reverse, too: Russia is willing to cooperate with the US. The economic isolationists within the Bush administration have been silenced. Laws were passed rapidly against terrorism and the money-laundering that often finances it, and, although negotiations are far from smooth, there are likely to be biological and chemical weapons' conventions. Companies may well follow suit to prevent greater losses during a recession. It potentially points to a new era of branding which is more sympathetic to alternative marketing models. Nations that listen September 11, 2001 does not mark the first day of change in how companies brand. The forces moulding and changing the field have been around for many years. It may, however, have set off realizations that global change means a revised approach to branding. With nations beginning to examine branding-most recently the Philippines began considering it after a seminar by Philip Kotler there[13] and New Zealand's influential Unlimited devoted a feature story to its own national brand[14]-companies may find inspiration from nations, rather than the other way around, as the first aspect to the new era. Even the United States has questioned its image. Why was there anti-American sentiment and why were McDonald's branches targeted by demonstrators in Pakistan and Indonesia? A recent New York Times article by David Barboza, already discussed in CAP, sought to discover the origins.[15] Every nation wants to be portrayed as progressive, environmentally conscious, a good place to do business, culturally significant and friendly. No national branding programme will succeed if the image does not stand up to scrutiny.[16] Logically, the easiest foundation is to base the programme on national culture, the strongest differentiator. In brief, where the country of origin is not at odds with the product category, there are grounds for saying that the former can be used for marketing the product.[17] If nine of the top ten brands are American, then American culture is bound to influence the practice of branding in some way. It has already influenced short-term selling: 'buy American' and patriotic slogans were overused by corporate America after September 11.[18] Diane Brady recently wrote, 'Everything from bed sheets to underwear is suddenly boasting images of Old Glory,' and General Motors adopted its 'Keep America rolling' tagline.[19] However, since the United States is so diverse-the author recently stated that it would be accurate to say 'As American as chop suey,' in light of where the dish was first served-what binds her many cultures together? Since September 11, the United States has taken the opportunity to cultivate alliances. This is a healthy move, because it sets an example for others. With her isolationists silenced, the US could possibly pursue a policy based around conservatism and federalism, respecting those nations that do not have power, leading the world in a more democratic fashion and, as pointed out by John Lewis Gaddis, consulting, rather than instructing, her allies.[20] Are listening and respecting (one's own and others') freedoms not the foundations of the American nation? This more collaborative world atmosphere, based around listening, not dictating, can feed through to organizations that had been run through edicts from top management. With 1999-2000's many alliances and the rise in virtual working during this decade, a fairer method of decision-making might become more prevalent, sometimes out of necessity. The new awareness of overseas cultures, recently highlighted by the press coverage of the strikes on Afghanistan and the Bonn peace conference, and in some ways by the televised millennium celebration coverage, also plays a part in championing differences of others' cultures. On a more everyday level, President Bush stressed to Americans in the wake of the attacks that Islam is a peaceful religion. By extension, the United States did not want her citizens to see any differences between themselves based on creed. The idea that the world is divided into the terrorists' ideals of a pure Islam and the 'great Satan' of the United States is what drove the September 11 attacks. Unwittingly for the perpetrators, the attacks had set off greater unity amongst people. To the author, it has further highlighted that unity does not come at the price of cultural destruction. The 2000s are likely to see globalization but within that context, the uniqueness of individual cultures will emerge. Each culture has unique aspects that can be claimed by anyone regardless of colour or creed as part of a shared human heritage or experience, rather than exclusively held on by one narrow group. The fashion industry has been doing this for decades and is likely to continue. Most recently, Swedish fashion labels H&M and BC Company showed collections inspired by American ranch life and Latin flair.[21] The result is often enriching, although it can bring accusations of parody or that it was an unfaithful or insensitive execution. How Swede it is On the face of it, the European Union does not appear competitive. Crainer, citing the European High Level Expert Group on the Intangible Economy finds that 'the US environment is at least 100 per cent more attractive than the [European] Community.'[22] Many German companies have embraced American management techniques and even floated on the New York Stock Exchange. However, branding is a discipline that often disagrees with economics and finance: it is based more on consumer behaviour and has regularly produced economically unexpected results. Crainer examines Vin & Spirit AB, a state-owned former monopoly that owns the successful, high-profile Absolut, the fifth-largest spirits' brand worldwide. 'V&S has succeed largely because of its commitment to being boldly different. ... 'Senior management at V&S say state ownership is really irrelevant in assessing the dynamics that drive this company,' he reports.[23] Hardly the sort of behaviour commonly associated with a state-owned enterprise. Göran Lundqvist, Absolut's CEO, believes that Sweden has succeeded because there has always been a start-up management style[24] and an international perspective, well before Silicon Valley began its dot-com rise. When the internet did come, the country's ventures seem poised. Export nations are treated as home markets, although few could argue that Absolut does not bring 'Swedishness' into its marketing. There is no sanitized, dull 'global' culture to Absolut's imagery, but daring and risk-taking understood across its markets. Sweden's small size gives her an advantage as her many companies must look toward export markets for greater success. A similar phenomenon was found by the author in his analysis of Australian and New Zealand dot coms.[25] Crainer rightly points out that this helps overcome national stereotypes, leading to a new set of management skills that are suited to the global market-place. The concepts hardly seem radical so it is a wonder that not more companies practise them. The start-up management style means no hierarchies and consensus, something that can be achieved today through virtual means. A company can become more democratic because intranet technology is available to tally votes on an issue, for instance. It minimizes internal opposition, allowing an organization to present a more consistent face to its publics-one of the necessary antecedents in best-practice branding.[26] Other adventurous ideas have emerged from Sweden. Management consultant Stefan Engeseth put forward an idea about serving Coca-Cola and milk directly to consumers' homes, a year before that company trialled it in New York. The first English edition of his Detective Marketing[27] advocated marketing consistency and being at 'one' with consumers, bringing them in to the development process or the culture. A milk brand, for example, may find that urban consumers have no conception of its use of a cow for its imagery, so a park could be converted into a make-believe farm. When Ericsson did its product placement in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, why not, he asked, have the firm send text messages to buyers, telling them to pick up a secret package (a free gift) at their local retailer, getting them in to the movie's spy culture? For his concept of 'one', Engeseth uses Napster[28]-an example where users have formed an organic structure which could, conceivably, run the company-and The Late Show with David Letterman, where the audience plays a part in shaping each episode. Perhaps the roots of this can be found in Grönroos's words:[29] An integral part of service marketing is the fact that the consumption of a service is process consumption rather than outcome consumption, where the consumer or user perceives the service production process as part of the service consumption and not only the outcome of a that process as in traditional consumer packaged goods marketing. Engeseth's ideas are radical 2000s' evolutions of the services' marketing tradition. He also advocates an idea related to the author's 'moral globalist': companies can work for global advancement, rather than corporate finances. The author had noted, in his article, Hennes & Mauritz's quick response to the hint that it had used sweatshop labour.[30] The arguments for that have been discussed elsewhere but the caring global organization's emergence in the 2000s is more than likely. It is not Sweden alone, but other Scandinavian countries such as Finland, considered the most globally competitive by the Global Competitiveness Report 2001 (Sweden comes in at number six; Denmark is eighth).[31] Finland also leads the World Economic Forum's growth competitiveness table, with Norway sixth and Sweden ninth. Relationship marketing made possible through databases, being not just one-on-one with consumers but one with them and a moral edge-in fact, the use of honour as a differentiator-are the northern European forces that will evolve the branding model.
Footnotes: [1]. Jaffe and Nebenzahl: National Image and Competitive Advantage: the Theory and Practice of Country-of-origin Effect. København 2001, p. 38. [2]. Yan: 'Boo.com boo hoo', CAP Online, May 19, 2000, . [3]. Crainer: 'And the new economy winner is ... Europe', Strategy & Business, no. 23, second quarter, 2001, at p. 5. [4]. Ibid., p. 4. [5]. For example, Grönroos: Service Management and Marketing: Managing the Moments of Truth in Service Competition. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books 1991. For a useful introduction to the Nordic school's research traditions, see Gummesúson: 'Relationship marketing and imaginary organizations: a synthesis', European Journal of Marketing, vol. 30, no. 2, 1996, pp. 31-44. Both credit the origin of the term to Berry: 'Relationship marketing', in Berry, Shostack and Upah (eds.): Emerging Perspectives in Services Marketing. Chicago 1983. [6]. Aaker: Building Strong Brands. New York 1991. [7]. Yan: 'Online branding: an antipodean experience', in Kim, Ling, Lee and Park (eds.): Human Society and the Internet. Berlin: Springer 2001, pp. 185-202. [8]. Gummesson, op. cit., at p. 32. [9]. Lee: 'Is China burying communism for good?', San Francisco Examiner, November 20, 2001. [10]. There is evidence that this is both being relaxed and applied inconsistently and arbitrarily by Chinese censors. Shaw: 'Internet censorship in China', Online Journalism Review, May 6, 1998, . [11]. See Yan: 'The moral globalist: making globalization work', CAP Online, May 2, 2001, . [12]. 'The 100 top brands', Business Week Asian Edition, August 6, 2001, pp. 52-5. [13]. Selirio: 'Philippines has to work on 'branding' the nation', INQ7.net, October 23, 2001, . [14]. Oram: 'Brand New Zealand', Unlimited, December 2001, pp. 41-5. [15]. Barboza: 'When golden arches are red, white and blue', The New York Times, October 14, 2001. [16]. For an example of this, see Roberts: Vision for New Zealand. Address to the Resource Management Law Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, October 6, 2000. Roberts argues that the New Zealand 'clean, green' image is bound to fail: 'The way we market ourselves internationally should be honest and engaging, about who we are and not some fantasy. ... "Pure" is at odds with reality. ... Agricultural pollution, chemical fertiliser run-off into rivers and coastal zones, toxic waste, air pollution in down-town Auckland exceeding World Health standards, failure of most exporters to meet international environmental standards and so on.' [17]. Jaffe and Nebenzahl, op. cit. [18]. Brady: 'Patriotic ads-and minuses', Business Week Online, November 8, 2001, . [19]. Ibid. [20]. Gaddis: 'On leadership and listening', Hoover Digest, winter 2001, pp. 84-94. [21]. Knol (ed.): 'A frilling spring', Lucire, December 5, 2001, ; Knol (ed.): 'Down home in Sweden', Lucire, November 25, 2001, . [22]. Crainer, op. cit., p. 3, citing the European High Level Expert Group on the Intangible Economy: The Intangible Economy: Impact and Policy Issues. Luxembourg 2000. [23]. Ibid., at p. 5. [24]. Something that New Zealand, with its high entrepreneurship index, could easily adopt. See Frederick and Carswell: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor New Zealand 2001. Auckland 2001. [25]. Yan: 'Online branding', op. cit. [26]. Yan: 'The business of identity', CAP, vol. 4, no. 3, spring 2000, pp. 4-10, 22. [27]. Engeseth: Detective Marketing. Stockholm 2001. [28]. Ibid. He is careful to note that his example does not take into consideration Napster's copyright issues. [29]. Grönroos: 'The relationship marketing process: interaction, communication, dialogue, value', Second WWW Conference on Relationship Marketing, 1999, , citing Grönúroos: 'Marketing services: the case of a missing product', Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 13, no. 4-5, pp. 322-8. [30]. Yan: 'The moral globalist', op. cit. [31]. World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2001. Oxford 2001.
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