Brand Warriors China: Creating Sustainable Brand Capital
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reviewer supposes that an unfortunate consequence of being asked to critique a book, or any idea of someone else’s initiation for that matter, is the inevitable tendency to wish to demonstrate one’s own intelligence. Apologies should therefore be given in advance for any commentary that might be construed as self-serving, rather than objective. For if Fiona Gilmore and Serge Dumont had not taken it upon themselves to author such a text, there would be nothing whatsoever to review. Thus, the reviewer would like to begin by applauding the effort alone. ‘Brand Warriors China’ provides an intriguing introduction to the enigmatic world of Chinese business. There is a conspicuous dearth of useful information about business in the so-called Middle Kingdom. That which is available seems predominately to rely upon either inferences made due to a lack of first-hand knowledge or the analyses of a small group who have more intimate experiences. ‘Brand Warriors China’ presents rare glimpses into the machinations of 15 very different companies about which most of the world in all probability knows very little. The industries
covered are as varied as each company’s respective approach to branding and business in general. As such, this book is an interesting prologue for anyone — professional or academic — who intends to study or work with China. Unfortunately, no true appraisal would be complete without some discord. In this case, three salient factors stand out. The first issue of note is that ‘Brand Warriors China’ offers very little context for its cases. Secondly, only the branding of big organisations has been considered. Finally, the authors provide very little additional perspective with respect to the actions of the companies in question. Regarding the first point, ‘Brand Warriors China’ provides little context about either China or the industries within which the selected case studies compete. Without provision of these details, readers have no way to judge for themselves the merit, or lack thereof, of any given statement made or branding tactic presented, and consequently must take each case only as given. As a general illustration, the authors have placed very little emphasis on
䉷 HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1479-1803 BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 11, NO. 6, 463–469 JULY 2004
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the Chinese Government’s influence on each example’s success or failure in China. Although it has indeed made rapid economic development and reforms, China is still a planned economy with a vested interest in protecting domestic industries and the entities within those industries that support the country’s economic plan. That said, seven of the cases presented are outright state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with the state owning a majority interest in an eighth case. A ninth case revolves around branding one of China’s most famous cities, a city that the Government has made overt promises to support, backed by significant financial investment. Of the remaining examples, one owes more than 80 per cent of its revenues to servicing all four
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