Bottled water sales have dropped in the US due to the recession and consumer concerns about environmental issues of using plastic bottles. This has led manufacturers to look to Asia for growth, where demand for safe hygienic water is rising. The latest brand to enter China is Glacéau’s Vitaminwater, a fruity vitamin enriched drink with comes in a kaleidoscope range of colours and flavours.
From New York Now In Beijing, is the tagline being used at promotional stands around Beijing. In my office building last week the promotion drew a large crowd of young office workers eager to try the next new thing. All you had to do was spin the wheel and see what free flavour you could receive. My spin ended up on the mystery triangle, so I was lucky to get a free bottle, as well as Vitaminwater branded glass.
Glacéur Vitaminwater was originally launched in New York in 2000 and became the top selling enhanced water brand in the US. In 2007 it was sold to Coca Cola for US$4.2 billion in cash, to enhance its portfolio of non-carbonated brands. The brand went international in 2008 launching in the UK and Australia amongst others before coming to China at the end of last year.
The Vitaminwater brand has very strong look and feel, which has broken out of the ‘blue zone’ of typical water packaging. The use of black as a core brand colour allows the flavour and product colours to stand out, creating a striking impactful design used across its advertising and marketing materials.
The bottle shape is somewhat generic and the simple packaging has a medicinal feel to the label design. However, using bright candy colours creates a modern and fresh design that has an immediate shelf impact at point of sale. The product is aimed at a younger more fashion conscious consumer. So the packaging works attracting this trendy demographic, that wants to stand out from the crowd and be noticed.
However, despite the fresh packaging I am not sure that Vitaminwater is all that healthy. According to recent studies Vitaminwater contains 33 grams of sugar. While it may be a healthy alternative to a Sodas, as Coke has 39 grams of sugar, it’s a long way of having the pure quality of water. It also concerns me when the website has a section on ‘hydrate responsibly’. As it makes me think it can be all that good for you if consumed in large quantities.
The concept of Vitaminwater is good and will probably launch quite successfully in China, as consumer are always looking for something new. The drink tasted good and my colleagues were intrigued to try the other flavours, though the cost of the product sounded high. Selling for around RMB 15 yuan, compared with just RMB 3-5 yuan for a coke or bottle of water, positions Vitaminwater at the high end of the drinks market.
In the short term Vitamin Water tastes refreshing and looks good with its candy coloured packaging. However, long term the product might end up looking too sweet and tasting too sugary for Chinese consumers, looking for a healthy alternative to plain water.
Red and green Christmas decorations have only just come down across China, but are now being replaced by red and gold Chinese New Year decorations. Year by year in China, the biggest holidays in the western calendar are merging with the biggest holidays in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Plaza 66, Shanghai’s premier shopping centre has come up with a novel and creative way to approach this issue. A few weeks ago they had a huge gold tree and flower outside the complex to celebrate Christmas. When I went back this week the display had turned to red and gold the ubiquitous colours of Chinese New Year.
This two-in-one festive period is most evidently apparent at hotels and shopping centres, as retailers decorate their premises for the upcoming festival season. This year it’s actually a three-in-one as the Chinese New Year starts on the 14th February, which is also the western Valentines Day celebration.
The celebration of western holidays, including Christmas and Easter has become more popular among younger Chinese. Valentines Day is one of the biggest and has been widely adopted across China especially in the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The growth is driven by an internet savvy Gen X/Y population (18-29+) in China, who want to experience a western culture. And is fuelled by retailers, restaurants and hoteliers who view this as a commercial opportunity to promote special Valentines Day events. Normally increasing the prices dramatically, but it doesn’t seem to stop the demand for these events among China’s 200+ million Gen X/Yers.
The three-in-one decorations outside Plaza 66 are probably the biggest you will see in on the Mainland. But then Shanghai is the skyscraper capital of China, so everything in the city is big – even the roses.
When Obama visited Beijing last year he took time out from his busy schedule to take in some city sights. The Great Wall is a must see for any visitor, so naturally he was photographed on the wall. I remember watching the news that night and questioning myself to his choice of clothing.
November is cold in Beijing, but being on the Wall can be even colder and windier, as you are exposed to the harsh elements. Despite this Obama wore a rather short black jacket. Oddly enough all his staff and security were wearing long thick black coats.
So when photographs of Obama appeared on Times Square advertising this brand of jacket, it got me thinking. Was this a conspiracy theory to subliminal product placement or even undercover brand endorsement by Obama.
President Barack Obama became a presidential pitchman on Wednesday after the clothing company Weatherproof used his photograph on a Times Square billboard without permission.
The outerwear company used a recent news photo of the president in front of the Great Wall in China for the advertisement, with the tagline “A Leader In Style”.
I love living in Beijing as it has the buzz of a capital city and all the trappings of a big modern international metropolis. Like most great capitals it has art, culture, history and a fast changing nightlife and restaurants scene. But is this enough to make people happy?
Well according to a new survey Hangzhou is the happiest place to live in China – and Beijing doesn’t even make the top 10. Infact it’s it not even ranked in the surveys top 20 sub lists. Well I still love Beijing, but of course it can always improve, so lets hope it does better next year.
The city of Hangzhou again tops a list of the 10 “happiest cities” in China, published by Oriental Outlook magazine, which is affiliated with China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
The magazine claims nearly 30 million people participated in the survey via questionnaires in newspapers or over the Internet or mobile phones. There was also an independent survey involving a total of 600,000 people from 100 Chinese cities. The evaluation looked at factors such as pace of life, “human touch,” opportunities to make money, convenience, natural environment, culture and entertainment options, safety as well as the gap between rich and poor.
Late last year I wrote a story about the Made In China commercial that was aired on local and international stations. Despite the good intention I felt the overall message would only reinforce negative views of China.
This recent article by Calum MacLeod at USA Today explores this issue in more detail and has a couple of quotes from me. Reinforcing my point of view on the ad, but also my long term positivity in the future of Chinese brands.
Tainted toothpaste, drugged catfish, lead-painted Elmos, poison pet food.
Scandals involving Chinese-made products have ordinary people here worried that a bad reputation threatens to derail their status as No. 1 exporter in the world.
So what to do? Call in Madison Avenue.
“Made in China, made with the world” is the theme of an ad campaign masterminded by DDB Guoan, the Chinese branch of Manhattan-based agency DDB.
I gave an interview last week with Emily Chang from CNN, just before the first ever Mr Gay China pageant was due to be held in Beijing. Surprising the event was shut down at the last minute due to the organiser’s ‘paperwork’ not being in order.
Last summer I wrote about Shanghai’s Gay Pride event, which was allowed to go ahead albeit without any public events. At the end of last year a Government funded gay bar opened in Dali in Yunnan Province. And then only a few weeks ago, a gay couple held the first ever gay marriage ceremony in China. Despite the fact that same sex marriages are not recognised in the country.
“The reality in China: it’s still hard to be gay,” says Ray Ally, a social commentator with Landor Associates in Beijing. “It’s still very hard to be openly gay with your friends, with your work colleagues and there’s still a stigma or taboo about being gay.”
It would appear the issue is still a confusing one for authorities, as they try to figure out a consistent approach to the subject.
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of China’s Big Four State run banks has recently unveiled a new retail fascia using the English acronym ABC. This brings it into line with other Chinese banks, most notable Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which uses the acronym ICBC.
This new look is undoubtedly linked to its upcoming listing later this year in Shanghai and Hong Kong. As the last of the Big Four, it plans to raise 150 billion yuan and join the other acronymed Chinese banks by selling its shares. China Daily reports:
The hefty size of the much-awaited IPO of ABC is comparable to the record-setting $21.9 billion share float of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in 2006 and surpasses the 120 billion yuan and 100 billion yuan raised by China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of China (BOC) between 2005 and 2007.
The use of acronyms in business naming is nothing new. The trend began in the 1940s, when International Business Machines introduced a new logo with the acronym IBM. Later the company pioneered one of the first corporate identity programmes lead by Elliot Noyes. He commissioned Paul Rand to redesign the now iconic IBM logo, the most famous acronym in the world.
In banking this trend was introduced by Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank back in 1990, when it changed its name to HSBC. This was part of its strategy to globalise operations and become the worlds local bank. Creating the acronym HSBC, which would work in any part of the world. It made the brand less tied to its historical routes, as the name Hong Kong and Shanghai has little relevance around the world. The new name was shorter, easier to pronounce and more immediate to communicate in any language.
Photo: Ray Ally - ABC's Old Fascia
The recent global economic crisis has forced many banks around the world into restructuring and rebranding. As they try to convince their shareholders they are still safe, reliable and trustworthy institutions. The big banks in China have fared much better through tighter controls, in part due to the fact that they are still mostly government controlled.
ABC is the weakest of China’s big four which specialises in servicing the agricultural industry and China’s 800 million farmers. Despite this it has the largest network of over 24,000 branches across China.
From a branding perspective its new fascia and acronym makes sense. However creating credibility and trust for consumers takes time and is more than just a change of logo. However, we will have to wait and see what investors will think, but the solution might not be as simple as ABC or 123.
For the last few weeks everyone has been putting together their own ‘best of the year’ or ‘best of the decade’ stories and events. One story that seems destined to continue into this year is the trend in China for Naked Weddings.
The rising cost of property in China is forcing young couples to get married without having the usual house, car, wedding ceremony or ring. Having just had my own ‘Half Naked Wedding’ in Beijing I have first hand experience of the pressures these couples feel.
BEIJING, Dec. 24 — “Naked wedding,” a popular catch phrase in China coined amid the background of skyrocketing property prices, reflects the reality of many young people in China today. It refers to a marriage without a house, a car, diamond ring, and fancy wedding ceremony – just a nine-yuan marriage certificate.
Freezing temperatures this week in Beijing have brought temperatures as low as -15C. Most of Europe and the UK have also been suffering, with the unusual cold weather and heavy snowfall causing havoc on the railways.
Its been a long time since I took a train in the UK, probably 10 years or so, but from what I hear from family and friends the service is still terrible. Despite being one of the world’s leading countries (who invented the steam train) we do have a run down and antiquated rail service. The best rail system I have ever experienced was in Japan, but this new Guangzhou to Wuhan line looks pretty impressive.
In the week that Britain’s high speed rail link closed down because the wrong sort of snow interfered with the engine’s electronics, China unveiled the world’s fastest train service on one of the coldest days of the year.
Days after thousands of passengers were left stranded when Eurostar services were cancelled, China’s new system connects the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 217mph – and it took just four years to build.
Cinema attendances have been dwindling in China for many years due to cheap availability of pirate DVDs and people downloading movies from Bit Torrent file sharing sites. The high cost of movie tickets RMB 70 yuan (US$10) is another barrier the industry needs to overcome.
However, the opening this week of Director James Cameron’s Avatar in China has brought people back to the cinema for a 3-D experience. Despite tickets costing RMB 12 yuan (US$17.50) for the 3-D version, the film looks like it will become most successful film in China.
Science – fiction blockbuster Avatar took in more than 33 million yuan (US$4.8 million) on its first day at the box office in China this week, setting a new record.
James Cameron’s ground-breaking 3-D epic, which has already grossed one billion U.S. dollars worldwide, opened on Monday in China to enthusiastic crowds of film goers. The state media quotes a spokesman for distributor China Film Group Corporation as saying Avatar is likely to surpass disaster flick 2012 as the top-earning film in China.
China currently allows 20 foreign films to be shown in local movie theatres every year on a revenue – sharing basis.
Photo: Ray Ally
A new year, a new decade and a new feature to this blog called Dim Sum Stories. Often in my work I come across interesting stories that I want to shed some insight or share with my readers, but then just don’t have to time to write a full blog post.
So I decided [...]
Photo: Ray Ally
Despite China’s huge population, I guess that less than 1% of its people would know who Ben Bernanke was and that he was voted the Time Magazine Person of The Year in 2009. However I estimate 99% of China’s population would know the person who was one of the runners up in that [...]
Car Photo: Ray Ally – Crash Photo: Xinhua News
The will they or wont they story of Geely attempts to buy distressed carmaker Volvo have been dragging on since June. However it now looks like the sale will go ahead early next year.
What I find ironic is that Volvo, the world’s ’safest’ car brand is now [...]
Photo: Ray Ally
While Obama is trying to reform the healthcare system in the US, my recent hospital stay in Beijing has given me some first hand insight into the problems facing China’s healthcare. Which will be a huge opportunity for western medical brands to benefit from.
Despite having over 19,246 hospitals and more than 270,000 medical [...]
Welcome to X-Ray China. A creative look at life in Beijing and what’s happening in the world of design and branding in China.
As an English graphic designer, I have spent half my working life in Europe and half in Asia, which has given me a unique East/West perspective on the world. As an expert in design and branding I have extensive global experience and a deep appreciation for Chinese art and culture.
I hope you find my site interesting, insightful and inspiring, into what is happening in China—the fastest growing brandscape in the world.
2. Jan 2010 – New ad campaign touts 'made in China'
BEIJING, China (USA TODAY) – “The government says it’s going down well, but if you read the blogs and the undercurrent, there’s been a lot of criticism,” says Ray Ally, a brand consultant at Landor Associates in Beijing. Ally says China intends to…
3. April 2009 – Western brands eye Chinese women:
BEIJING, China (CNN)—”H&M is targeting young women from the age of 20-35,” said marketing consultant Ray Ally. “They’re looking for a very kind of Western fashion. They want clothes they can’t buy in China from local brands.”
4. Feb 2009 – Landor brands condoms, naughty or nice:
BEIJING, China (Media Magazine)—“Sex in China used to be taboo, but times have changed and younger people are now more openly discussing the subject,” said Ray Ally executive director of brand consultancy, Landor Associates…
Bidding for brands: India and China acquire a taste for luxury:
MUMBAI, India (Financial Times)—“Although Jaguar is historically a very strong brand, I think what they [Ford] tried to do was keep the old look of Jaguar instead of modernising it and making it more relevant,” says Ray Ally, executive director…
The £500m Chinese takeaway:
LONDON, UK (Media Week)—”It is all about localisation,” says Ray Ally, executive director for brand consultancy and design firm Landor Associates. “The foreign multinational corporations realise they need to be more of a partner to China…
Your video of Beijing CCTV fire:
BEIJING, China (BBC World News)— viewer Ray Ally filmed the moment the CCTV building in Beijing caught fire, during celebrations to mark the end of Chinese New Year.
From New York Now In Beijing, is the tagline being used at promotional stands around Beijing. In my office building last week the promotion drew a large crowd of young office workers eager to try the next new thing. All you had to do was spin the wheel and see what free flavour you could receive. My spin ended up on the mystery triangle, so I was lucky to get a free bottle, as well as Vitaminwater branded glass.
