A contemporary brand China. An investigation into the development of brand China in the context of global socio-political and cultural influences in the 21st century

Abstract

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war the global economy has begun to shift its centre of gravity towards the East.
This, combined with the consolidation of the power of multi-national corporations and banks and the globalisation of markets at virtually all levels, has led to the emergence of massive new global players in terms
of markets and production. Despite the fact that China, unlike the Soviet Union, maintained its political system, it has emerged as a major economic global power and is extending and consolidating it’s economic
and political global influence into the 21st Century. Despite China’s economic influence which is acknowledged in its positive economic and political relations with its historical ideological enemies, the ubiquitous
presence of Chinese made products and unprecedented domestic and international openness it remains dogged by broadly negative perceptions in the West. This study aims to address this problem through the application of the emerging theories of Nation Branding to envisage
China as a brand and to investigate possibilities for the establishment of a competitive brand identity for China as a nation. Therefore, the research addresses the issue of how China can establish a contemporary nation brand and identifies the parameters for its sustainability and management in the 21st century. To this end the study has developed a working definition of the term ‘nation branding’ as a strategically managed process
of applying branding techniques to nations in order to gain competitive advantages by improving the perceived image and promoting the principle values of a nation. The study underpins the application of this theoretical model with an investigation into the specificity of the historical context of advertising and branding in China in the 20th Century. The aims and objectives of the study are incorporated into the design brief for a contemporary logo for brand China and it is through the execution of the
brief by the researcher as reflective practitioner in the role of art director and designer that the study consolidates the findings of the theoretical research through specific design problems. The study concludes with an evaluative reflection of the interactions between the theoretical and practical outcomes of the research in which it is proposed that addressing the highly specific design problems of brand identity development provides a focussed point of convergence for the extensive and complex
issues involved in the conceptualisation of the nation as a brand. It is proposed that the study provides the conceptual tools for the development of China as a contemporary nation brand.

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