Outstanding Brand Marketing Annual Meeting

On October 23rd, the "2026 Outstanding Brand Marketing Sharing Conference" jointly organized by the Economic Observer and the Hong Kong Management Professional Association was held at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing. The theme of this sharing session is "World Brands of Chinese Culture", bringing together numerous guests from academia, industry, and marketing to share and exchange ideas on the path of globalization and advancement of Chinese brands.

Establishing a brand with the "trinity" and connecting the world with the power of culture

Yu Zheng, visiting professor at the School of Economics of Fudan University, dean of the Institute of Economic Observation and Research, and chairman of the China Arts and Culture Foundation, stated in his speech that the core competitiveness of Chinese brands in going global lies in the three in one approach: product branding as the foundation, enterprise branding as the foundation, and entrepreneurial branding as the soul. It is a combination of using tools and using them to achieve excellence. The combination of the three creates a three-dimensional picture of Chinese brands going global.

Yu Zheng emphasized that brand is the face of the country, and culture is the soul of the brand; A strong brand leads to industrial prosperity, and a rich culture leads to confidence. In this era full of uncertainty, technological power gives us strength, economic power gives us a stage, and cultural power gives us direction. The encounter between Chinese culture and world brands is not a simple physical superposition, but a profound chemical reaction.

From narrative co construction to high-value overseas: the advanced path of Chinese brands

In the keynote speech segment, three guests from academia and business shared the path and thoughts of Chinese brands going global from the perspectives of brand narrative, cultural confidence, and high-value going global.

Wang Fei, a professor at the School of Journalism at Renmin University of China and director of the Modern Advertising Research Center, stated in her keynote speech that brand storytelling is not a one-way "telling a good story", but rather organizing user narratives and corporate narratives around core values, providing a value platform for mutual communication between the corporate world and the user world.

During his keynote speech, Zhu Lei, Vice President and CMO of Gree Electric Appliances, stated that Chinese companies often hear a saying when going global today: 'If you don't go global, you'll be out.'. People's view on going abroad is that if there is overcapacity in China, they will go overseas. So what is the answer to building a global brand? The answer is particularly simple - 'China'. The uppercase "China" refers to China, while the lowercase "China" refers to porcelain. When a brand is considering how to move towards a broader world and win this world, let's think about how China won the world 1000 years ago. Going global, China is the answer.

Li Boxiao, Deputy General Manager of Lantu Automotive Sales Company, stated in his keynote speech that Chinese cars not only need to export their products overseas, but also need to export their brands and adhere to high-value exports, breaking the traditional label of low cost-effectiveness of Chinese products by the outside world and establishing a label of high-end image worldwide. The reason why Chinese cars have such confidence and strength is not only because Chinese cars, especially intelligent new energy vehicles, are well prepared in terms of technology and products, but more importantly, many excellent Chinese brands have proven to the world that Chinese manufacturing is very reliable and trustworthy.

Diversified Practices, From Products to Identification: How Chinese Brands Enter Global Life

In the "Quality Case Sharing" section, five brand leaders from different fields shared their practical experience, showcasing the diverse innovations of Chinese enterprises in brand marketing.

Ji Meixu, Senior Manager of the Market and Brand Center at Wanglaoji, stated that when Wanglaoji wants to go global, it is not just about how to make the world see it, but also how to create a brand mindset that global consumers are willing to understand, participate in, and share. Not only selling products globally, but also bringing Chinese brands into global life, telling the story of Chinese brands in a way that the world is willing to participate in.

The Vice President of Tengyi Technology and CEO of Yihui Intelligence stated that AI related products have formed mature applications and implementation solutions in the automotive industry, covering multiple scenarios such as short video production, live streaming operations, and intelligent response. AI can better serve the automotive industry, help car companies and dealers improve quality and efficiency with intelligent capabilities, and drive the continuous upgrading of the automotive marketing ecosystem.

Gesang, the head of the Tastin China Burger brand, said that today the brand is facing a reality that traffic will pass, hotspots will pass, and a marketing campaign will eventually come to an end. If there is anything else that can cross the marketing and consumption cycles, it is most likely culture. Chinese culture is the foundation for Chinese brands to become global brands, and cultural resonance is the emotional passport for Chinese brands to go global.

According to Chen Xueqing, the brand officer of Jitu Express in China, Jitu has established a sports marketing system consisting of three levels: extreme sports events, mass sports, and campus marketing. He said that whether it's from the Gobi Desert or to the campus, brand or a certain event, To B or To C, as for brand marketing, the best products and services are the best marketing.

Chen Jing, the person in charge of Taobao clothing communication, stated at the meeting that pure sales style live streaming overdraws brand value, and businesses are passively trapped in low-quality competition due to price wars. Only by bringing 'Fashion Week' into the live broadcast room and showcasing craftsmanship, texture, and aesthetics in a panoramic way can we establish a trustworthy Chinese clothing brand.

Roundtable Sharing: Building Trust Foundations and Longtermism for World Class Chinese Brands

Under the leadership of Zheng Yuxin, Director of the Second Department of Consumer News at the Economic Observer, a roundtable discussion was held on "Building a World Class Chinese Brand". Four guests, including Zhang Miao, Chief Marketing Officer of Songyan Power, Guo Aidi, Vice President of Shuidi, Mu Boyun, General Manager of Left and Right Furniture Brand Center, and Zeng Yuyi, Brand Director of Jiufang Zhitou Holdings, exchanged ideas on the same stage.

Zhang Miao, Chief Marketing Officer of Songyan Power, said that the Spring Festival Gala stage has allowed Songyan Power to move from the industry to the public eye, but the exposure brought by event level marketing is only the starting point of brand building. To build a global brand, it is also necessary to ensure that the product receives continuous use and praise from users, and to accumulate user trust through the improvement of product capabilities and long-term brand storytelling. Zhang Miao expressed the hope that one day in the future, consumers will first have robots with extended power in their daily lives, and then see this brand on a world-class stage.

Guo Aidi, Vice President of Shuidi, said that the biggest threshold that needs to be crossed to build a world-class Chinese brand is trust. Technology can be constantly iterated, cultural differences can be resolved through localized deployment, but trust is a slow variable that cannot be accelerated by capital. She pointed out that trust cannot be just a slogan, but should be internalized into the business of the enterprise, forming a verifiable and traceable mechanism. For world-class brands, true social responsibility is not just about charitable donations, but about transforming the company's technology and organizational capabilities into universal solutions to social problems.

Mu Boyun, General Manager of the Left and Right Furniture Brand Center, stated that world-class Chinese brands need to have a distinct Chinese cultural identity and universal value that can be understood by global consumers. He pointed out that Chinese culture has high contextual characteristics, and brands going global should not be limited to literal language translation, but should enter the local cultural context for value translation. Taking left and right furniture as an example, the brand attempts to establish cross-cultural resonance through the universal value of "happiness", allowing overseas consumers to first experience the Eastern lifestyle through the product, and then gradually understand the Chinese culture behind the brand.

Zeng Yuyi, Brand Director of Jiufang Zhitou Holdings, stated that trust is an important foundation for brand building for fintech companies. Building a world-class Chinese brand requires long-term investment and the formation of a value model that can be used as a reference for the industry. She introduced that Jiufang Zhitou Holdings deeply integrates brand building with video content creation, and spreads professional financial knowledge through easy to understand videos. In the next three to five years, the company hopes to use AI and AIGC technology to create a brand showcase that investors can touch, feel, and experience, and build a smart investment ecosystem.

At this point, the 2026 Outstanding Brand Marketing Sharing Conference has come to a successful conclusion, but the journey of Chinese brands towards the world has just begun. In the future, the Economic Observer will continue to uphold its media responsibility, document and empower the globalization process of Chinese brands, and assist more enterprises in telling the story of China on the world stage with a long-term mindset and cultural confidence as the foundation, creating world-class brands.