TOKYO--()--Nikkei BP Consulting, Inc. has compiled results for "Brand Asia 2012," a brand evaluation survey project covering eight regions in Asia, and is releasing the corresponding survey results.
This project involved conducting questionnaire surveys of general customers in eight regions, including Japan, with surveys conducted in the seven regions of India, Indonesia, Thailand, China, South Korea and Taiwan via local research companies. Evaluations were conducted of 60 global brands and 40 brands selected for 7 regions except for China, centering on local brands.
Note: The total brand power of each brand was computed by using evaluation and analysis procedures from "Brand Japan".
In India, Indonesia and Vietnam, the total brand power ranking was high for Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, but Apple led this ranking in China, Japan and Taiwan. Nokia ranked second in Thailand, as did Apple in South Korea, showing that Nokia had outstanding strength in India and Southeast Asia, as did Apple in East Asia. In Thailand, among Japanese brands, the IT/home electronics manufacturer Sony was the top brand. South Korea was the only region in which a local brand was top, that of the web search service NAVER.
Nokia in India and Southeast Asia, Apple in East Asia Strength of Two Global Brands Notable
Nokia was strikingly strong in India and Southeast Asia, while in East Asia this position was held by Apple.
Nokia has built up brand power through expanding the market share in India and Southeast Asia. Apple, meanwhile, has bolstered brand power through such digital products as the iPad, iPod and iPhone. For this project, brand power was calculated on the basis of four factors: "Outstanding," "Innovative," "Friendly" and "Convenient." In regions where they demonstrated high total brand power, Nokia and Apple each scored a high number of points in "Outstanding" and "Innovative." Through their "Outstandingness" and "Innovativeness", these products are affecting changes in Asian consumers' lifestyles, which built their brand equity.
Sony and Samsung Strong in the IT/Home Electronics Sector Google the Victor among Search Engines
The brand that appeared most frequently in the top 10 rankings is Sony. This brand ranked within the top 10 in seven regions—all except South Korea. Of these, Sony's ranking was high in Thailand (1st), Taiwan (2nd) and Vietnam (3rd). Although the company continues to be a source of downbeat news—with a forecast a 520 billion yen net loss for the year to end-March 2012 and large-scale restructuring anticipated—in Asia Sony has a global brand asset to be proud of. Expectations will focus on measures to recover its operating performance and take advantage of this strong asset.
Also among IT/home electronics manufacturers, South Korea's Samsung was next in line after Sony. Samsung ranked within the top 10 in South Korea and three other regions (India, Vietnam and China). This company has steadily built up its brand through such products as its Galaxy smartphone and thin-screen televisions. This is one brand whose future movements bear watching.
The web search service Google was in the top 10 in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. In Asia, Google outstripped Yahoo!, which was in the top 10 only in Taiwan, where it was 6th, and in Japan, where it came 7th.
Top Local Brands in Individual Regions: IT-Related Brands Lead in East Asia; whereas Foods, Televisions, Retail and Other Categories Lead in India and Southeast Asia
Looking at top local brands in the regions where local brands were surveyed, IT brands led in East Asia: Sony in Japan, NAVER in South Korea and HTC, a manufacturer of mobile phones and other mobile devices, in Taiwan.
The picture was different in the south, however. Topping the rankings in India was Britannia, a manufacturer of biscuits and snacks. A television broadcaster, RCTI, led in Indonesia; in Thailand, retailer and department store operator Central; and in Vietnam, the dairy food manufacturer Vinamilk. Among local brands, IT brands remained dominant in East Asia in the second and lower rankings. One reason for this situation may be that three East Asian countries have strong IT brands. Meanwhile, it is more difficult to define a fixed brand landscape in India and Southeast Asia, where populations are young and lifestyles and economic conditions continue to change on a daily basis. Accordingly, amid the shifting sands of time this survey can only grasp "the current state of brands in Asia." Going forward, this project aims to continue reporting on the movements of brands in Asia.
About Nikkei BP Consulting
Nikkei BP Consulting, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., engages in the businesses of surveys and consulting, planning and editing, and production, as well as consulting, content-related marketing, and proposing solutions. (The company was established March 1, 2002, and is capitalized at ¥90 million.)
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