BEIJING, Jan. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WPP and Millward
Brown today announced the fifth annual BrandZ™ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands, with internet service company Tencent becoming the most valuable Chinese brand
for the first time, and newly-listed online retailer Alibaba
entering the ranking at No.2. Both brands leapfrogged long-time
leader China Mobile, which had held the top spot since the ranking
launched in 2011.
The 2015 ranking, carried out by marketing and brand consultancy
Millward Brown in conjunction with
WPP, clearly shows a rapid rise in the brand value of technology
and tech-related retail brands. Technology companies have become
brand powerhouses, and as a result the technology category has now
surpassed financial institutions as the highest value category
($106.9 billion), contributing 23% of
the Top 100's total value.
Brands from private enterprises (also known as 'market-driven'
brands) dominate in terms of value growth, rising 97% since 2013,
while SOEs (state owned enterprises) declined 9%. Whereas five
years ago the Top 5 brands were all SOEs, three of this year's Top
5 – Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu – are
market-driven. Together the three represent around half (48%) of
the value of the Top 10, led by Tencent which nearly doubled in value in the past
year alone.
The total brand value of the Top 100 Chinese Brands is
$464.2 billion, a rise of 59% since
the ranking launched in 2011. This growth has outpaced that of the
BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands (+41%), and has also
surpassed the most valuable brands in Brazil (which fell 40% in value from
2011-2014) and Latin America
(which have grown only 3% since the Latam ranking launched in
2012).
Analysis of the brands in the Top 100 as a stock portfolio
proves that investment in brand-building delivers strong
shareholder return. Between July 2010
and October 2014 the brands in the
Chinese MSCI stock index increased 4% while those in the Top 100
appreciated 32%.
Retail, cars, technology are the fastest growing
categories
Retail was the fastest growing category, with a phenomenal
increase of 3,827% due to the inclusion of new entrant Alibaba.
Even without taking Alibaba's value contribution into account, the
category grew by 64%, after a year of successful innovation by
brands. The car category grew 141% in value after new entrant Great
Wall enjoyed success with its SUV sales, and technology increased
its value by 78%, again driven by consumers' positive response to
the creativity and innovation of brands in the category.
Meanwhile, lower economic growth in China and government policy changes
contributed to a decline in seven categories including alcohol,
apparel and financial institutions.
Five-year trends
Now in its fifth year, the BrandZ ranking of China's most valuable brands shows evidence of
a long-term trend: the rise of 'market-driven' brands and the
relative slowdown among SOEs. Looking at the Top 50 brands over the
past five years, the brand value of those that are market-driven
has grown 278%, compared with 6% for SOEs. Currently, the total
value of the Top 100 is roughly evenly split between market-driven
brands (47%) and SOEs (53%).
While SOEs remain significant contributors to the ranking (and
play key roles in China's broader
economy), their performance highlights the increasing competition
SOEs currently face in the Chinese market.
As Chinese companies improve the way they develop and execute
marketing strategies, the gap between Chinese brands and
multinational brands in China is
also narrowing. Consumers increasingly see little difference
between the two – choosing brands based on the value they offer,
rather than provenance (their history as a business in China). Five years ago Chinese and
multinational brands were 26 points apart on the BrandZ™ Brand
Power Index, which measures a brand's competitive position in its
category. Today their scores are almost identical.
Other key trends highlighted in this year's report
include:
- The convergence of technology and retail. Retailers are
adopting more technology as consumers' shopping behavior changes,
partnering with technology brands to deliver digitalized products
and services, mobile payment solutions and online to offline (O2O)
commerce solutions, for instance.
- The growing global presence of Chinese brands. Two
brands derived over half of their revenue from outside China in 2014: technology company Lenovo
(+62%) and ZTE, the telecom equipment maker (+53%).
- Innovation and creativity is flourishing. Brands are
responding to increasing market competition, and the rising demand
for innovation from Chinese consumers who are more sophisticated
and better informed. This trend can be seen particularly clearly at
the intersection of technology and retail.
David Roth, CEO EMEA and
Asia, The Store, WPP's global
retail practice said: "2015 marks the
fifth year of the BrandZ™ China
ranking, giving us a clear insight into how brands have
strengthened during an extremely dynamic period. Those which have
grown in value have constantly innovated, based on a sound
understanding of rapidly evolving technology and consumer behavior.
Investment in brand, innovation and connecting with consumers will
now be the critical success factors for brands operating in
increasingly competitive categories."
Doreen Wang, Global Head of
BrandZ, Millward Brown, commented:
"Consumers increasingly accept Chinese brands because they see them
as meaningful and dynamic, not only because they're well-known. The
big question now is what brands must do to be accepted in
international markets. Success will depend on understanding
consumers' behavior and needs, integrating technology to improve
the brand experience and playing on China's unique identity to offer meaningful
points of differentiation."
For the full rankings and analysis, including a detailed report,
graphics, videos and infographics, visit www.brandz.com.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands (previously Top
50) – now in its fifth year – is part of the suite of BrandZ
rankings which also includes the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable
Global Brands, the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American
Brands and the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands.
Background and methodology
The brand valuation behind the Top 100 was conducted by
Millward Brown. The methodology
mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ Top 100 Most
Valuable Global Brands ranking, which reaches its tenth year of
publication in 2015.
The ranking combines financial data from Bloomberg and Kantar
Worldpanel with consumer opinions gathered from interviews with
over 405,700 Chinese consumers in total since the ranking first
launched in 2008, and 23,000 in 2014. The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most
Valuable Chinese Brands is the most definitive and robust ranking
of Chinese brands available.
The brands ranked in the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese
Brands 2015 report meet these four eligibility criteria:
- The brand was originally created by a mainland Chinese
enterprise.
- The brand is owned by a publicly traded enterprise.
- The brand reported positive earnings for the period covered by
the ranking.
- Banks derived at least 20 percent of their earnings from retail
banking.
The BrandZ rankings are the only valuations in the world that
take into account what people think about the brands they buy,
alongside rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations,
analyst reports and risk profiles. Consumer perception of a brand
is a key input in determining brand value, because brands are a
combination of business performance, product delivery, clarity of
positioning and leadership.
About Millward Brown
Millward Brown is a leading
global research agency specializing in advertising effectiveness,
strategic communication, media and brand equity research.
Millward Brown helps clients grow
great brands through comprehensive research-based qualitative and
quantitative solutions. Specialist global practices include
Millward Brown Digital (a leader in digital effectiveness and
intelligence), Firefly Millward Brown (our global qualitative
network), a Neuroscience Practice (using neuroscience to optimize
the value of traditional research techniques), and Millward Brown Vermeer (a strategy consultancy
helping companies maximize financial returns on brand and marketing
investments). Millward Brown
operates in more than 55 countries and is part of Kantar, WPP's
data investment management division. Learn more at
www.millwardbrown.com.
About WPP
WPP is the world's largest communications services group with
billings in 2013 of US$72.3 billion
and revenues of US$17.3 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 179,000 people (including associates) in over 3,000
offices across 111 countries. For more information, visit
www.wpp.com.
WPP was named Holding Company of the Year at the 2014 Cannes
Lions International Festival of Creativity for the fourth year
running. WPP was also named, for the third consecutive year, the
World's Most Effective Holding Company in the 2014 Effie
Effectiveness Index, which recognizes the effectiveness of
marketing communications.
SOURCE WPP