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Though much attention has been paid to the precise meaning of the Chinese Dream, as envisaged by President Xi Jinping, most of the discussions have centered on the connection between national values, individual lifestyles and hopes for the future.
Recent discussions on the subject have spread further into the area of Chinese consumer culture and the likely impact it would have in triggering the much-needed increase in domestic consumption. But the area where the Chinese Dream could impact most of Chinese society is in its organizational culture and the move toward more brand-oriented business models in Chinese companies.
Essentially, it is only with domestic and international brand building success inside Chinese companies that any tangible and permanent increase in consumption across China will be achieved.
The Chinese Dream can play a pivotal part here. Most agree that President Xi's vision, as set out in his Chinese Dream, presents a combination of powerful national values such as "pride", "patriotism", "self-belief", "ambition", "innovation" and even "assertiveness", which should form a key guiding path for future Chinese society and individual lifestyles.
Many also agree that many of these values are precisely what most Chinese organizations still lack as they attempt to modernize and compete with higher quality products and brand both domestically and internationally.
In short, therefore, the Chinese Dream represents a set of values that most Chinese companies should now inculcate into their own corporate cultures.
However brand-building history makes it clear that successful brands, especially those that achieve consistent success globally, are not built on dreams alone. In order to have maximum impact, therefore, on Chinese companies' brand-building efforts the Chinese Dream requires further tangible details which will provide a much clearer and measurable path to branding success.
First of all, the Chinese Dream's call for "ambition" and "assertiveness" should be met with a set of ambitious domestic and international market growth targets over the short, medium and long term. Simply "dreaming" of becoming a global brand is woefully insufficient and could even prove counterproductive and de-motivating if left as little more than a fantasy.
Secondly, the Chinese Dream's call for "innovation" should be met with a move toward a corporate culture characterized by creativity.
Tangible targets here should include a minimum number of "new" products launched each year and the inclusion of at least three emotional elements for each individual product brand. For example, positioning brands on common rational values such as "quality", "reliability" and "functionality" should be extended to include key emotional values such as "sincerity", "excitement" and "sophistication".
But finally, and fundamentally, it is the focus on traditional Chinese cultural values such as "pride" and "patriotism" and "self-belief" that could have the maximum impact on the development of world-class Chinese brands.
The author is a visiting professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
(China Daily USA 05/26/2014 page16)
