Posts Tagged ‘global marketing’

We were all so excited when the Russian market opened up.  Then after a few containers of Levis and Marlboros set sail, it seems like the party was over.

The Chinese people will soon be buying a lot of stuff.  I’m just worried it won’t be American stuff.  Much of what they need they can make themselves, for less. Some would say, if we are becoming a service economy, we don’t need to make anything anymore.

I would argue, if we want play in a global economy anchored by China, we need to make something — specifically, the one thing we know how to make better than anyone in the world — brands. But not American brands. We need to make Chinese brands. Things Chinese people want to buy because they represent being Chinese.

That means understanding the needs and motivations of people unlike ourselves — which doesn’t come naturally to most Americans.  But it does to American marketers.