Emerging markets now produce 40 percent of global output as they are becoming a more integral part of the shifting global business landscape, according to Local Brands Pursuing Global Recognition. The Financial Times article expands on this point by saying that while emerging markets account for a large portion of products, they have yet to develop global brand recognition.
The most interesting example of this trend is China. China is now the world’s second largest economy but the country is still classified as an emerging market because of its future growth potential. China has been able to position itself as the second largest producer of goods but their brands have minimal recognition amongst Western consumers. Which isn’t to say that westerners don’t buy Chinese brand products, it just means that these consumers have disproportionate brand recognition for Chinese brands when compared to domestic brands.
How Do Emerging Markets Improve Brand Recognition?
While China is the most powerful, “its fellow emerging markets Brazil, India, Malaysia and Russia are driving an unprecedented proportion of global trade” according to a Zawya article. These markets were once the “manufacturing capitals of the world”, places where western brands would go to produce their products cheaply but recently these countries have flipped the paradigm so that their own brands are producing in their countries. But unlike western brands, the brands from these emerging markets have had difficulties gaining traction outside their own borders.
Lenovo is one of the exceptions that prove the rule. The Chinese PC manufacturer has a higher global market share than Dell, but the latter has much higher brand recognition. So even with limited knowledge of the brand, Lenovo has still been able to penetrate Western markets, which bodes well for other brands from emerging markets.
The next phase for the brands of emerging markets will be to build off the success of their home market and keep their brands globally consistent during expansion. In the digital age this is easier to achieve with services like web localization that allow brands to transfer their strengths from language to language, and market to market. A large part of brand recognition is exposure, and this is made possible in new markets through website translation. Brands can manage their primary site and rely on the service to gain exposure for their multilingual sites.
Translation Proxy from Lionbridge creates the types of effectively translated sites that will determine the success of brands from emerging markets.
