Brand strategy boosts Shandong prosperity

Celebrating the success of its branded goods strategy: local officials gather to mark domestic and overseas success in Shandong.

The rise of its well-known branded products and the growth of its industrial clusters have played a crucial role in promoting Shandong as China's second most prosperous province with a 2008 GDP of 3.11 trillion yuan.

"Shandong province is the home to many famous brands in China. The government has successfully implemented a number of brand strategies, all of which enhance the competitiveness of its local products in domestic and overseas markets. They have also provided a dramatic boost for the province's economy," said Wang Junmin, vice-governor of the province.

Shandong has cultivated a range of well-known brands across several sectors, including manufacturing, innovation, and culture, as well as successfully enhancing its own urban profile. The brand strategy has become one of the key engines for driving the province's economic growth.

Guo Dalei, an officer with the Shandong Bureau of Technical Supervision, said, "During the 1990s, Shandong was a pioneer in promoting brand awareness in China. In October 2002, the Shandong Famous Brand Strategy Promotion Committee was established and initiated its long-term strategy.

"By the end of 2008, the number of famous brands originated in the province ranked the third in China. Currently, Shandong is home to 266 leading Chinese brands, 1,479 leading Shandong brands, 134 Chinese famous trademarks, 1,676 well-known Shandong trademarks and 203 respected brands in the service sector. Haier refrigerators and washing machine were recently recognized as global-level Chinese brands, two of only 10 Chinese brands to be awarded this distinction."

A large number of world-renowned branded products and businesses have their roots in the province, including Haier, Hisense, Inspur, SinoTruk and Tsingtao beer. In addition, 32 products have acquired the rights to assert their geographical origin, including Yantai apples, Longkou bean vermicelli, Zhanhua winter jujube, Rizhao green tea and Weifang radish.

These recognized brands significantly boost the competitiveness of products made in Shandong in the domestic and overseas markets. According to official statistics, by the end of 2008 the sales revenue of famous-brand businesses accounted for 25.1 percent of turnover of all companies above a certain size across the province, although the number of companies in the sector only accounted for 3.1 percent of the total.