July 21, 2007. Foshan - The China Europe International Business School Executive Forum, held in Foshan today, attracted more than 400 domestic Chinese entrepreneurs and executives for a half-day event offering expert strategies and advice on brand-building.
The forum, co-organized by the Foshan Federation of Industry & Commerce, featured
CEIBS Professor of Marketing and Strategy Willem Burgers, who serves as the school’s Bayer HealthCare Chair in Strategy and Marketing. There was also a five-member panel discussion with representatives from well-known Foshan firms including Vice President of Foshan Lighting Cai Jiantai (CEIBS MBA 96 alumni) and President of Eagle Brand Ceramics Zhang Mengyou.
In his address, entitled “The New Rules of Playing the Branding Game,” Prof. Burgers outlined the value that branding brings to both companies and consumers. For companies, brand building generates revenue by encouraging repeat purchasing, by increasing the likelihood of launching successful new products, and by securing larger market share. For consumers, brand building reduces risk by offering a method for carefully and accurately selecting products.
Burgers drew upon real life examples to illustrate the power of successful branding campaigns. He told how the Fairfield Inn U.S.-based hotel chain built its occupancy rates by 15% overnight simply by adding the world-renowned Marriott mark to its name. Burgers also shared details from Hitachi’s recent promotional efforts in the U.K., which resulted in the Japanese company selling twice as many television sets as GE despite charging consumers US$75 more per TV set. Burgers said the only products that need not invest in branding are those which enjoy strong consumer demand but no relevant competing products.
As an example of a company that has successfully built its brand, Burgers pointed to computer chip maker Intel. In launching its highly successful “Intel Inside” campaign, the company combined prime time TV advertising using the catchy tag line with “Intel Inside” stickers prominently placed on computer packaging. Today, the company has achieved a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry, and brand equity of US$17 billion, by building extremely high brand awareness and a strongly positive brand image among consumers.
“A good strategy is to be different,” Burgers told attendees in his concluding remarks. When formulating a corporate or brand strategy, it is vital to identify the company’s focus and its unique core qualities, then develop a compelling tag line which expresses these attributes. Burgers said companies must develop “one sentence that says it all.”
The CEIBS Executive Forum held in Foshan is part of a series of events organized by CEIBS in Tianjing, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.
Commenting on future CEIBS Executive Forums to be held throughout China, CEIBS Assistant President Snow Zhou highlighted the vital role the business school plays in creating and disseminating knowledge. "CEIBS is proud of its world-renowned faculty team of which Prof. Burgers is an outstanding representative. He has cutting-edge management ideas and research achievements, which the school is eager to share with different areas of the country,” Dr. Zhou said. “We hope to have more chances to communicate and exchange ideas with government officials and business practitioners in areas other than Shanghai." Upcoming CEIBS Executive Forums will discuss solutions and strategies to assist executives in addressing real-life business challenges.
For more information, contact Yuan Mei at ymei@ceibs.edu or 021-28905122.
