Apple remains the BrandZ^TM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand for 2013, worth $185 billion. Apple grew just +1% in the last year compared to a +51% growth from its closest competitor, Samsung, which is now no.30 in the global ranking with a brand value of $21 billion.

Google is also a serious challenger for the no.1 spot, reversing last year’s decline to grow +5% in brand value this year. The brand is no.2 in the ranking with a value of $114 billion. IBM is no.3 in the ranking with a brand value of $112 billion.

The combined value of the Top100 has grown by 77% since 2006. They are now worth $2.6 trillion.

Key findings highlighted in this year’s research report include:

Top risers provide meaningful differentiation: The Top 10 brand value growth risers score significantly higher than average on the BrandZ™ equity measures of Meaningful, Different and Salient. Prada grew the most in brand value, by +63%. Outstripping the performance of all other luxury brands it is now no.4 in the luxury category (95 globally) and worth $9.5 billion.

Brewers experienced a rapid rise: The world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, beer, was the highest growth category in the rankings this year. The Top 10 beer brands grew by +36% and are now worth a combined $63 billion. The sector has benefited from growing sales in Latin America and China. Global brewer Heineken is the third largest beer brand worth $8 billion, and profited from publicity around the James Bond Skyfall movie. Brazil’s Brahma beer grew by +61% in the last year and is worth $4 billion.

High value brands provide faster growth: An analysis of the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands as a ‘stock portfolio’ over the last eight years shows a highly favorable performance compared to a current stock market index, the S&P500. While the value of the companies in the S&P500 index grew by 23%, the BrandZ™ portfolio grew by 58%, proving that companies with strong brands are able to deliver better value to their shareholders. A graphic is available here.

Technology brands continue to dominate the ranking，Tencent exceeds Facebook for the first time: Technology and telecom brands continue to dominate the ranking with 29 brands in the global BrandZ™ Top100, worth 43% of the total value of the Top 100, more than $1 trillion. Growth in this sector remains flat. In contrast to a decline in Facebook’s brand value, its Chinese equivalent, Tencent, rose 52% to exceed Facebook, making it one of the Top 10 risers in the ranking with almost 800 million active users. Yahoo also joins the ranking after the appointment of a new CEO from Google lifted expectations and share price which drove the appreciation of brand value.

Chinese brands need more progress in innovation and internationalization: A total of 12 Chinese brands made it into this year’s Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands, with a combined brand value reaching $270 billion. Six of the top 10 Asian brands are Chinese brands, surpassing Japan and Korea, yet most of the Chinese brands on the list are state-owned enterprises. This year, there is a decrease in both the number and total brand value of Chinese brands, indicating a bottleneck in Chinese brands’ growth. Chinese brands need to not only be more technologically innovative, but also more international.

The list of Chinese brands:

The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study is available online. It includes a ranking and analysis of the most valuable brands for key regions of the world and 13 market sectors. Download the complete BrandZ™ ranking here, including regional and category breakdowns, and in-depth insights from WPP companies. The rankings and a great deal more brand insight are also available as a free interactive mobile app for Apple and Android and as an iPad magazine.

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1. 你幸福吗？Ni xing fu ma? – Are you happy?

During the National Day holiday last year, CCTV launched several random interviews in the street asking Chinese people the same question, “Are you happy?”. Thousands of bizarre responses drew attention to this mundane question. Among the answers, the classic was, “My family name is Zeng, not Fu”, which was humorous because the Chinese question “are you happy” sounds similar to “Is your family name ‘Fu’?”, resembling the joke of “Who is Hu” which sounds like “Who is who” (Hu is the family name of the former Chinese President). CCTV intended to broadcast such interviews to show how happy Chinese people are living in China, but many Chinese people took it as an ironic question, asking the government how can they can live a happy life with such high real estate prices and other social issues.

2. 正能量 Zheng neng liang – Positive Energy

Originally from physics, “positive energy” was once used by Stephen W. Hawking in his well-known book A Brief History of Time, “The matter in the universe is made out of positive energy”. However, when Richard Wiseman, a British professor at the University of Hertfordshire for the Public Understanding of Psychology, introduced “positive energy” into his book Rip It Up to encourage people to unleash their powerful hidden potential, these words became widely used by the media and highlighted within newsletters and any form of advertising to pass the passion to encourage and inspire citizens when there is a disaster or just when an unpleasant incident occurs.

3. 元芳，你怎么看 Yuan Fang, ni zen me kan? – Yuanfang, What Do You Think?

Di Renjie: Yuan Fang, what do you think?
Yuan Fang: Your majesty, I think it is queer.

The above dialogue comes from a popular Chinese TV series called Amazing Detective Di Renjie and happened between Di Renjie and his deputy to show internal discussion about a case. The reason why it is re-used in Chinese daily life came after an obvious murder was ruled a suicide by Chinese police in Quanzhou, Zhejiang province. A netizen suspected there must be something that had to be hidden to protect the police. Afterwards, this catchphrase began being used to express suspicion and how ridiculous a situation is.

4. 屌丝 Diaosi – “Loser”

It seems Chinese people are beginning to get used to self-mockery with the emergency of the Diaosi concept. Many Chinese men like to call themselves “Diaosi” to self-deprecate themselves as a helpless, poor, and tiny character. Compared to social elites and bigwigs, “diaosi” are poorly educated, engaged in low-paid jobs, addicted to animation and online games, have never had a girlfriend, and live a poor life. Even people who do not fit this characterization often refer to themselves as “diaosi” for humor.

5. XX Style

The song “Gangnam Style“, with repeated rhythm and popular dance steps, led another gust of Korean culture into China, where it quickly became the hottest and most demanded song in KTVs. Additionally, Chinese people use XX-Style with other key words to discuss a specific topic in order to hide a topic or just replace the word “thing”.

6. 躺着也中枪 Tang zhe ye zhong qiang – Get Shot Even When Lying Down

Usually, ducking or dropping to the ground when bullets fly can drastically reduce one’s chances of getting hit. Therefore, getting shot even when lying down came to represent being innocently involved in or dragged into in a dispute.

7. 高富帅 Gao fu shuai – Tall & Rich & Handsome

This set of adjectives has become a label for any man who is good looking, 185cm (or above), and is considered second generation rich (the child of rich parents). It has become a standard for date-selection or even son-in-law selection among women (and their parents and grand-parents), and subsequently inspired a standard for women: “White, Rich, and Beautiful”.

8. 中国式XX Zhong Guo shi XX – Chinese-style XX, or XX with Chinese Characteristics

This originally came from a novel called Divorce with Chinese Characteristics that illustrated a typical way married Chinese couples ultiamtely get divorced going through phases of fierce fighting, a Cold War [mutual disregard], and finally the dissolution end of the marriage. After that, every single phenomenon typically found in China had the short phrase “with Chinese characteristics” or “Chinese-style” added to mock Chinese social problems. For instance, Chinese-style street crossing.

9. 压力山大 Ya li shan da – “Pressure The Size of a Mountain”

This homophone of the foreign name “Alexander” became a new way for Chinese people to express the feeling of too much stress or pressure while keeping a sense of humor. The Chinese characters themselves spell out 压力 (pressure) and 山大 (big as a mountain).

10. 赞 Zan – Approve

You’ve probably used the small blue “Like” icon on Facebook. Zan, is a kind of dialect from the mid-east of China (Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang province), and serves a similar function to “Like”, by showing agreement, praise, and / or appreciation.

Author: Li Mo from Daxue Consulting China

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An internationally renowned art director, Nils learnt his craft in London at some of the UK’s best design companies and advertising agencies.

Inquisitive about the world, Nils left Europe in 2001. His first stop Japan, with extended periods in the US, and since 2004, China during a career spanning over two decades.

Last year he moved to Y&R in China, after spending the last 5 transforming Ogilvy & Mather China into one of the most celebrated agencies in the entire WPP network.

In 2005 he create the iconic and highly successful Motoral RAZR Cut campaign, then continued to build a body of Motorola work widely acclaimed for its fashion aesthetic. Notably the work created for Motorola in this time was commissioned in China yet ran worldwide.

By 2006, Ogilvy Beijing was voted Media Magazines Asia agency of the year, in the same year his Motorola client was voted Asia’s client of the year. In 2007 he was runner up as Media Magazines Asia creative of the year. 2008 was equally fruitful where he and his team won China’s first ever, yellow D&AD pencil.

All these firsts for any China agency.

Through his knowledge and unique experiences, Nils has become an invaluable partner for international brands wishing to enter the China / Asian market as well as Chinese breands wishing to expand beyond the country.

This is part two of a two part interview with Nils where he talks about his journey into advertising, work across his career, trends in the Chinese industry and the bright future for the Chinese market.

How would you describe the creative talent / level in China? How does in compare on a worldwide and on an Asia wide scale?

It is still a very young industry here. However, the talent is there.

It’s just a question of the colleges and the industry fully developing those talents. And the more exposure to what ‘great’ is, the better everyone will become.

The truth is that there is very average work produced everywhere. In the US and the UK too. But when the work is good in those markets it can be brilliant. Those heights have yet to be hit here, beyond a few examples seen at awards shows. However, over time as the market demands it, it will come.

How does the creative quality compare to when you first arrived in China?

I have seen many changes over the last 8 years.

There was almost no presence whatsoever for any Chinese based agency at the international shows. And many clients had a slave and master relationship with their agency.

Though those days are not behind us, there is definitely more of an appreciation for what creativity can do for a brand.

The main difference since I arrived is that China has now arrived at the place where sales growth has been carried largely by distribution. But we are now at the edges of the country. Distribution cannot be everything any more. What remains is brand, and that is China’s next chapter.

Both for international brands truly connecting, not just using work from the West. And for Chinese brands finding their own unique voice. Take Li Ning for example. A Chinese brand with a great brand story. An Olympic gold medallist who started his own sports brand.

On the face of it, better credentials than either Nike or Adidas. Yet the young Chinese consumer is now so aware of what is going on worldwide, that unless the marketing and product is up there at the same level, they can struggle to compete. Even if the competition is within the country.

Do you feel good talent is hard to retain in the China? In your experience in China do you feel employees are more loyal to their boss or to the company?

The best people in this business are mavericks. They stay around as long as it is useful to them. In China I don’t find that any different.

What is your feeling towards the trend of job hopping for promotion and/or higher salary? (Do you see this happening?)

Yes, I am aware of this. All you can do is to continue to create an environment to which people are drawn. Where they feel they can grow.

What are Y&R China doing to retain and develop talent?

We simply try to get the best out of people. In doing that those who want to make a difference will hopefully stay. I remember being advised as a student to never take a job just for the money. Always go where you are able to show what you can do, as then the money will follow.

We have heard that you are very strong at presenting your creative ideas, what can people do to improve themselves in this area?

If you can’t articulate the potential for something precious that you have, that is a real disadvantage. I recommend everyone past a certain stage in this business goes on a presentation course. It helped me.

I also think it is really important to try to put yourself into the shoes of the consumer/client when presenting anything. People buy people they would like to work with, as they often aren’t sure what is a good idea or is not. And don’t use advertising jargon. It can sound pretentious. Just use language everyone can associate with.

Do you have any advice for budding creatives in the China?

Look and you shall find. Go to galleries. Listen to music. Don’t work late every day. Take your girlfriend or boyfriend to dinner. Go abroad if you can, and look at other galleries, and soak everything in. We are nothing without reference. Be brave, even stupid and dream of getting famous work out. And make sure you have a book.

You’ve spent time in both Beijing and Shanghai, do you think the city rivalry extends into the ad industry?

They are very different cities. Personally, I’ve yet to get the whole Shanghai thing, but I’m sure I will. As far as this industry, Shanghai seems to be more of an advertising/media centre, but there still isn’t a true heart to the industry here. You just can’t invent these things.  They have to happen. As pop culture develops, so will the creative community.

Can China be a leader in creative quality? Do you see this happening?

Eventually China will be just that. However, it’s a journey and it’s still early days. At the heart of that journey is innovation, through quality. That means it’s not just advertising or the media driving it. It must be the brands themselves foraging for uniqueness in all aspects. Then the work that celebrates that will follow.

As the Chinese ad industry continues to grow and strengthen, do you see more brands moving their Asia ad hubs to China?

Yes, I think this is inevitable. The sheer scale of the market demands it. You can’t understand China from a distance. It’s going to be the largest market in the world for just about everything after all. Including advertising.

Are there any industry trends you are seeing that people should watch out for in the near and distant future?

The move from being force-fed, to choosing the content you want to be involved with, is just getting started. My son, for example doesn’t watch TV. He simply downloads what he wishes to watch, when he wants to watch it.  Advertisers have to understand how to become part of programming and the digital media. I was recently lucky enough to spend a week with Facebook and Google in California. What they are trying to do is frankly amazing. One experiment even involved mind mapping images that feed off the firing of your synapses. Not what you see through your eyes.

Although that may be out there, brands getting used to having a conversation with the consumer, not just traditionally boring people with a message is the future.

And that after all, can only be a good thing for us all.

Thanks, Nils for speaking with us.

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The Coca-Cola Company and Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai have joined hands to develop a new art and digital campaign that celebrates a unique approach to “happiness creation.” O&M teamed up with Chinese photographer Kurt Tang, who returned to China after years of living abroad to find a dispiriting sense of isolation and loneliness that afflicts many Chinese living in the country’s major metropolises. Determined to do something about it, Tang walked through the streets of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and invited complete strangers to come together and share a moment of connection in front of his camera lens.

A young cyclist, a grandmother sitting in a park, diners seated at separate tables in a restaurant and many others all became part of the “Friendship Experiment,” in which these chance meetings and potential friendships were captured by Tang and developed into a photography series that exhibited at the Fei Gallery in Guangzhou. In addition to the photo exhibition, the photographs and “making-of” videos are being shared online through Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Network” digital channels and through Chinese social media, including Sina Weibo and Renren.

Debuted in Guangzhou, the “Friendship Experiment” is being shared online as of April 22.
Subsequent “experiments” are under consideration for Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore.

Project Title: Coca-Cola Friendship Experiment

Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai
Chief Creative Officer: Graham Fink
Executive Creative Director: Sean Sim, Francis Wee
Creative Director: Golf Nuntawat
Client Supervisor: Richard Cotton, Victor Vieira, Ming Alterman
Art Director: Jasphine Chew
Copywriter: Sean Sim
Photographer: Kurt Tang
Account Directors: Martin Murphy, Oli Goulden, Anita Beveridge
Public Relations: Fengmei Liang, Xiufan Huang, Qingxin Li, Lisha Deng, Yanyan Wu
Agency Producer: William Huen
Production House: Carrot Films
Director: William Dhawan
Producer: Steven Ng
Exposure: Print, Digital, Event

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IHAVEANIDEA’s Portfolio Night and Ogilvy & Mather China today announced the start of the official recruitment for young creative talents to participate in the world’s largest simultaneous advertising portfolio review. Taking place in 24 cities around the world on May 22, 2013, Portfolio Night 11 will feature hundreds of top creative directors who will meet with thousands of aspiring creative hopefuls in one night to offer professional guidance, network and recruit.

Every candidate who attends will receive 45 minutes of undivided attention with top creatives from a number of the world’s best agencies. Paid internships and potential job opportunities will be offered to candidates who demonstrate the most impressive portfolios.

In addition, for the first time this year, each city will also nominate their best creative candidate and fly him or her to New York in August to participate in the Portfolio Night All-Stars competition. The 24 candidates will compete against each other for the All-Stars title in a week-long creative challenge and work on a real client brief, while being mentored and coached by members of the Arts Directors Club community.

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