Brand Valuation in the PRC Market: Toward Understanding the Nuances in Consumers’ States of Mind

The value of a brand is inextricably linked to consumers’ values, attitudes, and lifestyles, underscoring the complexity of developing global brand identity and equity. While technology-enabled globalization has produced synergies in the marketing and logistics of branded goods, it has also challenged brand managers to accommodate the heterogeneity within and across markets and cultures. Market entry and expansion in emerging markets are particularly timely as the demand for branded products increases in two of the largest emerging consumer markets, China and India (Wilson and Purushotaman 2003). While developed economies such as the USA and Canada have experienced sluggish population growth and competitive retail density consistent with economies in a maturation stage, big emerging markets such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) market offer opportunities for garnering increased market share (Berner et al. 2001). Understanding subtle nuances and differences in new markets has become a resource advantage for multinational consumer goods marketers (Golub and Hopkins 2003).