Global brands face the challenge of maintaining their strategic identities while meeting the needs of the local consumers.

Global brands face the challenge of maintaining their strategic identities while meeting the needs of the local consumers.

What happened to Barbie in China?Answer in 150 words or less

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Global brands face the challenge of maintaining their strategic identities while meeting the needs of the local consumers. As they enter new markets, these brands need to be tactical in implementing adaptive and relevant modifications and strategies for communications to relate with the consumers. In entering into the Chinese market, various factors have to be considered to prevent value and image dysfunctionality (Erdener &Lianxi, 2010). China is among the global leaders in export and a top economic powerhouse. Recent analysis suggests that this market may surpass the U.S in terms of GDP and purchasing power, which makes it attractive for global brands. Among the factors to consider is the culture of the locals. China has a different culture from that of many western countries. For example, the locals are more concerned with collectivism than individualism and, therefore, social experiences drive most of their shopping. It is important to understand Chinese consumers and adjust the brand according to their preferences. Most local shoppers prefer international brands with particular status symbols (Mueller, 2017). Therefore, a brand has to adapt the offerings of the locals while considering their values and culture. Failure to consider these factors can result in distorting the meaning of the brand, and it can be misunderstood, interpreted negatively, or shallowly (Erdener &Lianxi, 2010). This calls for an accurate translation of the brand by involving the locals and making it easy to remember and pronounce. The marketing, advertisement, and communications concerning the brand have to be adapted to the local channels. For example, the Chinese use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter differently and, therefore, social media marketing that does not adapt to Weibo and WeChat may not succeed (Mueller, 2017). These tools are not very common in marketing in most western societies, but they are prevalent in Chinese social media marketing.

References

Erdener, K &Lianxi, Z. (2010). Special issue on brand equity, branding, and marketing communications in emerging markets. Journal of Global Marketing, Vol. 23 Issue 3, p171-176

Mueller, S. (2017). Doing business in China: Eight important considerations when entering the Chinese market. Retrieved from https://medium.com/ming-labs/doing-business-in-chi…