Developing brands and emerging markets: An empirical application

Abstract

Developing nations often face a series of economic hurdles in route to developed status. As they transition from one economic phase to another there is a general need to modify the basis of competitive advantage that they attempt to achieve in the marketplace. The authors present a place brand platform that can be used by developing nations to limit the cyclicality of demand, reliance on mass production, and the necessity for price competition. The framework is developed based upon a review of branding efforts and marketing theory. The basic framework is applied to a case study in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) and parallels are drawn for regional nations.Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (2007) 3, 86 -99.

Brand types applied by emerging markets’ firms: Country of brand origin and brand use motives

“…The interviews transcripts were subjected to content analysis in search for patterns that concern central concepts of the study. As a theoretical framework for the analysis of the types of brands applied by emerging markets' firms in terms of the COBO, we adopt the typologies proposed in the literature, namely: 1. direct or indirect reference to the COBO vs the neutralisation of the COBO (Aichner, 2014;Hynes, Caemmerer, Martin, & Masters, 2014;Herstein, Berger, & Jaffe, 2014), and 2. a) a company acquires an already existing well-known brand, b) an occidental-style brand created ex nihilo, c) a brand that already exists in the home country, and d) a 'local-go-global' brand (Chailan & Ille, 2015).…”

“…When choosing the brands applied in the international market, firms may directly or indirectly refer to the positive image of the COBO (Aichner, 2014;Hynes, Caemmerer, Martin, & Masters, 2014) or neutralise (hide, suppress) the poor image of the country from which brand originates (e.g. Herstein, Berger, & Jaffe, 2014).…”

“…By using brand name suggesting an origin from the country with a desired image (e.g. a Western brand name), firms may reduce the bias caused by the negative effect of the COBO and increase the effectiveness of their international strategy (Kim, 2006;Herstein, Berger, & Jaffe, 2014). Emerging markets' firms may not only create new 'Western-style' international brands, which takes time, but also acquire an already existing well-known international brand (Huang & Hsieh, 2011).…”

Brands and corporate power

“…This has shifted the balance of power in the global economy away from firms engaged in production in many industries. 193 Where upstream firms are not well placed to market their products directly to consumers and attract specific demand, they are more vulnerable to the bargaining power of downstream marketing and retail firms that are well-placed to do so. 194 Here, the effect of branding is to intensify competition within supply chains in terms of price, reliability and speed of production, but not necessarily for the benefit of consumers who are dependent on the effectiveness of competition further downstream at the marketing and retail stages and who in any event may face substantial switching costs.…”

An investigation of the relationship between cluster brands and individual brands: A place branding perspective

“…It is the process whereby a place actively seeks to create and communicate a unique and competitive image for itself (Kotler, Haider, & Rein, 1993). Today, places at every spatial level have branded their respective locations, including multiple regions (e.g., Nordic region), countries (e.g., Thailand), cities (e.g., Shanghai), intra-country regions (e.g., California), specific sites (e.g., Haight Street in San Francisco), or clusters (e.g., Silicon Valley) (Andersson & Ekman, 2009;Freire, 2006;Kotler et al, 2004;Govers & Go, 2010;Szondi, 2007;Zerrillo & Thomas, 2007). The primary application of branding in the place context is to differentiate and promote the place and its offerings to target customers by communicating a unique, strong, and favorable place image (Kavaratzis, 2004;Kotler et al, 2004;Singleton & McKenzie, 2008;Wills & Moore, 2008).…”