---
title: Achieving global ambition depends on facing today’s urgent challenges
description: Achieving global ambition depends on facing today’s urgent challenges
---

[Member News | CGCCUSA ](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news)

# [Achieving global ambition depends on facing today’s urgent challenges](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/achieving-global-ambition-depends-on-facing-todays-urgent-challenges)

 Written by [CGCC](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/author/cgcc) | November 12, 2020

**Source:** [Oglivy](https://www.ogilvy.com/ideas/how-can-chinese-brands-achieve-global-ambition)  
**Author:** Chris Reitermann, Chief Executive, Asia & Greater China Oglivy  
**Published:** October 2020

*This piece was part of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable  
 Chinese Brands report. Access the full report *[*here*](https://www.brandz.com/China)*.*

“It’s China’s World” claimed  
 Fortune magazine on the release of its eponymous list of the top 500 companies  
 for 2019. For the first time in the 29-year history of the Fortune Global 500,  
 Chinese companies surpassed their American counterparts, accounting for 129 of  
 the world’s 500 largest corporations by revenue.

Chinese consumers’ appetite  
 for new technology, combined with a fierce entrepreneurial spirit and low  
 barriers to digitization have propelled Chinese tech and e-commerce companies  
 to the forefront of their industries and helped them gain a strong foothold on  
 the global stage.

The shift in economic power  
 is undeniable. But in terms of brand power, the imbalance between China and its  
 foreign peers remains; Chinese brands still punch far below their weight on the  
 global stage. Of the 24 Chinese companies ranked in the Fortune 100, only six  
 made it into the 2019 BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking. One  
 major factor for this lag in performance is limited exposure to the  
 fundamentals of branding among Chinese CEOs and CMOs. For decades, Chinese  
 companies have put short-term tactics with a focus on boosting the bottom-line  
 at the core of their strategic agendas. This exclusively sales-oriented mindset  
 is no longer sustainable, especially at a time where Chinese companies are  
 relying on overseas expansion for growth.

What’s holding Chinese  
 brands back on the global scene? What will it take for Chinese brands to become  
 true household names in the next decade? To succeed abroad, Chinese brands need  
 to overcome three urgent challenges: trust, talent, and cultural differences.

**Establishing trust**

Establishing trust is now  
 more than ever a major stumbling block on Chinese companies’ global expansion  
 journey. Research we conducted in late 2019 among 40 high-profile Chinese  
 companies confirms this: 46 percent of surveyed CMOs identified local policy and  
 navigating local regulations as the number one challenge in achieving their  
 global ambitions. In an economic climate underpinned by growing protectionism,  
 fragile trade alliances and slowing growth, concerns surrounding Chinese brands  
 and their rapid cross-border expansion are only intensifying. Add to that some  
 deeply-rooted negative perceptions and skepticism towards “China Inc.” Chinese  
 brands are required to redouble their efforts to be viewed overseas as reliable  
 manufacturers, business partners, or even employers.

There needs to be a  
 fundamental shift in the way Chinese companies perceive branding; more than a  
 set of marketing tactics, branding should be the driving force behind the  
 company’s overall business strategy, affecting everything from the company  
 purpose (why are we in business and why is it good for the world and the  
 consumers who buy our products?) all the way to product innovation (how is this  
 product delivering on the overall company purpose?). A strong brand can lay the  
 foundation for a successful overseas expansion, it can drive familiarity and  
 with it trust that resonates with key stakeholders. Successful brands today all  
 have one thing in common: they meet the needs of all their stakeholders, from  
 investors and governments to media and consumers. The essence of a brand needs  
 to be universal, but the delivery needs to consider local cultures.

**Finding multi-talented  
 people**

People are the linchpin to  
 business performance and competitiveness in any market. But with global  
 expansion

 comes the need for a new breed of talent, and more specifically employees that  
 master multiple languages, boast extensive industry knowledge and possess  
 strong cross-cultural management skills. Among our China CMO survey  
 participants, 43 percent highlighted “attracting talent” as one of their  
 biggest challenges when expanding overseas.

Finding the right talent at  
 the right time in the right place can already prove difficult for brands in  
 their domestic market. How can they solve the talent equation at a global scale?  
 At Ogilvy, we believe this all boils down to establishing and nurturing a  
 strong employer brand. The ROI on employer brand building can be tremendous: a  
 strong employer brand, supported by a well-articulated vision, results in  
 increased staff motivation, engagement, and retention, all contributing to a  
 better overall image for the brand at a macro level.

**Impact of cultural  
 differences**

There is no shortcut to  
 global success— brands that believe they can simply replicate their domestic  
 success in foreign markets often learn the hard way. On their quest for clout  
 overseas, Chinese firms often underestimate the impact of cultural differences  
 on their interactions with key stakeholders, including:

**Employees: **The results from our China  
 CMO Study showed that cultural differences were the number one challenge  
 (identified by 57 percent of respondents) faced by globalizing Chinese  
 companies as part of their talent strategy. Chinese brands must acknowledge any  
 discrepancies in working hours, communication styles and approaches to  
 hierarchy when expanding into new markets. Compare for example the quirky perks  
 that have turned internet giants in Silicon Valley into iconic employers to the  
 grueling 996 work schedule prevalent in the Chinese tech industry. Without transcending  
 the “Chinese way” of thinking and acting, Chinese brands’ global ventures will  
 be doomed from the outset.

**Business and institutional  
 partners: **The  
 most successful global brands are the ones that are committed to understanding  
 the divergence in decision-making patterns, business etiquette and  
 administrative protocols between their country of origin and the country they  
 are expanding to. Understanding these differences is a prerequisite to  
 establish trust with trade partners, suppliers, government agencies and to  
 preserve the brand’s reputational health on the long term.

**Consumers: **Chinese brands need to  
 strike the right balance between maintaining their unique identity and  
 localizing their communications and marketing campaigns to their target audiences.  
 Brands need to be culturally relevant and reframe their message to foster an  
 emotional connection with their potential customers. The idiosyncratic nature  
 of the Chinese digital and social media ecosystem also means that brands need  
 to familiarize themselves with an entirely new set of platforms and apps to get  
 their message across.

Every globalization journey  
 is unique, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy that can guarantee  
 success for all aspiring global Chinese brands. As we enter a new decade and  
 despite the economic ebb and flow, Chinese brands’ ambition to outclass their  
 foreign competitors is still intact, if not stronger than before. Our study—  
 Globalizing in a New Economic Reality: Making Chinese Brands Matter  
 Globally—confirms what we firmly believe. China can reshape the global brand  
 landscape in a record time. But it depends on fusing time-tested best branding  
 practices to earn trust, attract to talent, and surmount cultural differences  
 with Chinese companies’ entrepreneurial mindset and stellar innovation  
 capabilities.

[CLICK HERE](https://www.cgccusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Chris-Reitermann_Going-Global_BZ_China_EN.pdf?hsLang=en) to view  
 the article in PDF

For questions regarding the article, kindly contact Chris  
 Reitermann ([Chris.Reitermann@ogilvy.com](mailto:Chris.Reitermann@ogilvy.com))

[View full post](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/achieving-global-ambition-depends-on-facing-todays-urgent-challenges)

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