China has no brands in any real sense...?

From English, People's Daily Online: "I never said that Haier and Lenovo are not brands"

"As Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide based in New York, Shelly (Lazarus) has long been touted by Chinese media as a female who knows brands best in the world than anyone else."
"Unfortunately everything changed all of a sudden after November 8, 2004. According to a news story on that day, American Business Week correspondent did an interview with Shelly in Beijing. During the interview, Shelly was quoted as saying "Lenovo and Haier are not brands at all and so far China has no brands in any real sense". The remarks made by Shelly have drew widespread attention in China. Some passionate and patriotic newspapers attacked her assertions as nonsense."

In order to find out it Shelly Lazarus really thinks brand building of Chinese companies a futile effort, People's Daily Washington-based correspondent Yong Tang conducted an exclusive interview with her.

Some interesting statements out of this interview:
"I never said that Haier and Lenovo are not brands. They are brands. They are brands with huge potential. They are just not yet as fully developed as brands can be. "

"Yong Tang: Can you name a few Chinese enterprises which could hopefully become global brands in the future?
Shelly Lazarus: There are already some Chinese companies, such as Haier and Lenovo that are well on their way to becoming global brands."

Shelly Lazarus about Ogilvy:
"Ogilvy China is one of the leading marketing communications groups in the country, both in terms of revenues and people. The company is the only network able to offer a genuine 360 degree offering of marketing disciplines. In each area - advertising, direct marketing and public relations, Ogilvy is the unmatched leader.
It has a list of blue-chip Chinese and multinational clients who are deeply committed to brand building in China. Our Chinese clients include: China Mobile, Great Wall Wine, Bright Dairy, Haier, TCL, Tsingtao Beer. Our multinational clients include: Coca-Cola (Sprite), Cisco, GSK, IBM, Kodak, Motorola, SAP, Unilever. "

Read more