World Brand Lab Releases China's 500 Most Valuable Brands 2024
NEW YORK, June 18, 2024 (Newswire.com) - The 21st World Brand Summit took place on June 19th in Beijing, where World Brand Lab unveiled the "2024 China's 500 Most Valuable Brands" report. This annual report, which considers financial data, brand strength, and consumer behavior analysis, revealed that State Grid secured the top spot on the list with a brand value of 653.89 billion RMB. Joining State Grid in the top five were Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Haier, PetroChina, and China Life, all of which have achieved world-class brand status. Management gurus from Harvard, Yale, Oxford and INSEAD attended the summit and delivered keynote speeches. They discussed with on-site entrepreneurs on the topic of "Disruption and Reinvention: A roadmap for enhancing brand value through digital technology".
The total value of China's 500 Most Valuable Brands of 2024 is 38.57 trillion RMB, an increase of 12.35% over last year. Dr. Steve Woolgar, Chairman of the Academic Committee of World Brand Lab and Emeritus Professor of Marketing at University of Oxford, said, "Over the past 20 years, I have witnessed the remarkable rise of Chinese brands, some of which have already had a strong global influence. These brands include State Grid, Haier, Sinochem, China Resources, China Southern Power Grid, Poly, HBIS, China Huadian, Wuliangye, Xuzhou Construction Machinery, TSINGTAO Beer, Air China, Beidahuang, Dongfang Electric, Tongwei, Bosideng, Feihe, China National Aviation Fuel, Hengli, Golden Concord Group, Power Dekor, JOMOO, Changhong, Double Star, etc."
The competitive strength of a region mainly depends on its comparative advantages while brand and regional economic growth are interlinked. In terms of the regional distribution of China's 500 Most Valuable Brands, Beijing ranked first with 91 brands. Guangdong and Shanghai ranked second and third with 79 and 42 brands respectively. According to the scope of influence of these selected brands, there are 431 brands with national influence and 69 brands with global influence.
In this year's list, brands from 24 industries were selected. The food and beverage industry remains the industry with the most brands selected, with a total of 80 brands. The industries ranking second to fifth are the light industry (41), communication electronics and IT (39), building materials (36), and media (32), respectively. In measuring brand loyalty, World Brand Lab referred to the rating data from iTrust Rating. In measuring brand leadership, especially ESG (environmental, social, and governance) scores, World Brand Lab referred to the ESG database of SuperFinance. Carboncare International's measurement of corporate carbon emissions was also used to promote the addition of the "carbon score" label to brands.
Dr. John Deighton, Emeritus Professor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, indicated that first, all marketing is now digital marketing. The effect of the digital transformation is that marketing now feels much more personal than in earlier times. But the new challenge is to find the mass scale of those earlier times. Second, we are on the brink of the age of generative artificial intelligence. It holds out the promise of being the solution to the challenge of intimacy at scale. Dr. Deighton also cautioned that AI is very good at automating routine marketing work, but it is not yet replacing human intelligence in creative marketing tasks.
Dr. Ziv Carmon, Chaired Professor at INSEAD, breaks down AI and branding from the perspective of behavioral economics, a field founded by professor’s mentor and Nobel Laureate Professor Daniel Kahneman. Dr. Carmon reminded that a notable challenge is customer resistance to AI and information perceived as coming from an algorithm can be rejected. However, AI is increasingly pivotal in branding efforts. Currently, 75% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) have utilized AI-driven tools and they expressed optimism about generative AI’s (GenAI) expected impact. Marketers deploy AI for diverse branding activities, including emotional analytics, AI-driven interactions, and deep data analysis.
Dr. Ravi Dhar, a professor of management and marketing from the Yale School of Management, highlights five new AI applications in branding. Firstly, AI can help with product design and testing. Traditionally, human judgment drives the aesthetic design, which is often challenging and costly. But now AI can design concept generation and screening. Secondly, we can also use AI to generate consumer insights and know what AIs "think" about your brand. Thirdly, AI can be used for brand innovation to develop new recipes, product names or marketing writing. Fourthly, AI can be used for brand creative. Finally, we can use AI for brand personalization to improve audience relevance.
Dr. Haisen Ding, CEO of World Executive Group and World Brand Lab and a PhD from the University of Oxford, remarked that AI is not only an iconic concept but also a catalyst for an industrial revolution, heralding a fundamental and irreversible shift in the social and economic norm. He emphasizes that 90% of the market value of technology giants like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, who compete in the AI industry, is attributed to intangible assets represented by brands. Dr. Steve Woolgar concluded that brands need to develop long-term AI strategies and find ways to connect effectively with consumers and investors.
World Brand Lab is an international brand value research institute wholly owned by World Executive Group, the world's leading digital business and strategy consulting firm. World Brand Lab was co-founded on the initiative of Nobel Laureate Robert Mundell, who served as its first chairman. The experts and consultants of World Brand Lab hail from Harvard University, Yale University, MIT, Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, INSEAD, and other top universities around the world. Its research results have become an important basis for intangible asset valuation in the process of M&A of many enterprises.
Source: World Brand Lab
