branding

China’s intellectual property environment and legislation has been significantly strengthened and standardised in recent years, with a number of key intellectual property rights cases being ruled in favour of international companies. Tim Van Gardingen looks back over some of the biggest IP cases and policies changes in 2021 In October 2020, Dow and Johnson Matthey won a major intellectual property case against Shanjun Clean Energy Technology over the two companies’ jointly …

From Tesla to Bulgari, an increasing number of brands are choosing to collaborate with CGI/AI-generated influencers to promote their products and avoid celebrity controversies. Dao Insights explores what this means for the future of the influencer industry in China Online influencers, normally consisting of well-known celebrities and popular live streamers, have long been a dominating force in China’s digital marketing landscape. But these real-world celebrities are facing increasing competition from …

Why are people in China going crazy for a pink fox called LinaBell that debuted at Shanghai Disneyland, and what can British cartoon brands like Peppa Pig learn from her popularity? Unlike Mickey Mouse or Elsa from Frozen, LinaBell has never appeared on the big screen; yet this fluffy pink fox has still captured the hearts of thousands of visitors to Shanghai Disneyland — as well as millions of Internet …

China’s coffee consumption is booming, with local brands like Manner Coffee threatening the supremacy of Western brands like Starbucks. Juliette Pitt examines what the success of homegrown brands means for the future of consumer brands in China While China is still regarded highly for its tea, young Chinese people have recently been turning to coffee to get their caffeine fix. According to the Qianzhan Research Institute, China’s coffee market is …

From Alibaba and WeChat to Beike, Chinese companies are starting to actively target the elderly market in China – and it’s big. As Miranda Yuan from Dao Insights argues, brands that understand the problems facing older people and offer effective solutions to them will have a major advantage going forward While technology offers a window to the outside world for younger digital natives, older people are often locked out of …

One week after Singles’ Day (11.11), the figures for the annual shopping festival show that consumer confidence in China remains strong despite recent outbreaks of Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant, although public coverage was muted due to the ongoing ‘Common Prosperity’ campaign, writes Mark Tanner from The China Skinny Singles’ Day 2021 wrapped up last week, clocking a whopping RMB 540.3 billion (£63 billion) of goods sold on Alibaba …

A new video series produced by Alibaba explores the role China has played in the growth of three British brands, with a particular focus on the challenges of expanding internationally amid the Covid-19 pandemic, this time featuring Sweaty Betty When the pandemic hit and retail stores closed, British activewear brand Sweaty Betty had to ramp up its online offering overnight. Luckily, the brand has always taken a “digital first” approach, …

The priority for most brands as Q3 draws to a close is ensuring that plans have been finalised and locked in for Singles’ Day. The shopping festival has now become a month-long opportunity to gain more traction through e-commerce stores, write Ryan Molloy and Frank Ren from RedFern Digital  There are three major components to Singles’ Day (falling on 11 November and also known as 11.11 or Double 11) that …

In this series we look at China-based entrepreneurs, the businesses they have developed, and how they have coped with recent obstacles created by the pandemic. Christiana Zhu, founder of plant-based yoghurt brand Yeyo, recounts her China journey I moved to China in 2014 to work on a growth project as a specialist marketing consultant for sustainable travel company WildChina. At the time I was 5 years into my career in …

What is Pinduoduo – the fastest growing social commerce giant in China – and why brands should get on the bandwagon, according to Sara Danese from Azya, a digital specialist for wine and spirits brands entering China Pinduoduo – now China’s third-largest e-commerce platform with a 10.5% market share – is the fastest-growing Chinese social commerce platform with roots in lower-tier cities in China. Starting out fulfilling the needs of …