Dragons and Branding in China
December 7th, 2006
Since I can remember I have always been enamored with dragons, stories of dragons and good/bad guys battling them, etc. Call it a boy thing. Some of you may have already noticed that the “dragon” has largely been left out of the PRC’s marketing thus far for the 2008 Olympics. For example, it did not make Beijing’s list of those ”cutsie” mascot animals that the host city normally rolls out as part of hosting the Olympics.
I recently came across this interesting post on the Danwei blog (a killer blog dealing with China, by the way) that explores this topic in depth. A very nice piece highlighting the intersection between history, sociology, business and marketing/branding, something Danwei excels at nailing.
A number of you mentioned the upcoming Olympics in China during one of our early touch base sessions as an area of interested re: China, so you may in particular find this post worth checking out.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Katie Hofman | December 13th, 2006 at 1:59 am
I remember when I was younger my parents taking me, periodically, to Chinese New Year celebrations. At each one there was the dragon dance with a long and colorful dragon waving through the crowd. As a child I was both awed by and scared of the dragon. The vibrancy, life and fluidity of it was amazing, but the fierce face and Westernized view of the dragon made it overwhelming and fearsome. That, in a way, can relate to the Western world’s view of China. Here is a country that is awe-inspring for their history, population and determination to become a new world leader. At the same time, China’s “rise” must spark hesitation and concern in many Westerners who are used to enjoying a seat at the world leader table.
Knowing that much of the world holds this view of China puts them in an interesting position for the upcoming Olympics and in marketing their country in general. This reminds me of the “Two Wangs” article that Dr. Morris brought up. China’s leaders must ask themselves what image they want to give of their country. On one side, the dragon has deep roots and meaning in the Chinese culture. As Danwei’s blog mentions it stands for honesty, good fortune and happiness. Still, many Westerners see dragons as the fiery beasts found in King Arthur stories. I can see why China would question if they should change their branded image of the dragon to something less ferocious in the eyes of the West. Personally, though, I feel that there could be more benefit to branding the Chinese symbolism of the dragon, rather than scrapping the idea completely. By educating more of the world on the Chinese representation of the dragon, China is sending two messages. The first is that they are a country that is ready to play in the world market, but will not change who they are to suit the tastes of newer countries. This is gives China both a position of compromise and power. Secondly, it gives the Western world a different image of the dragon to hold onto and sets China as a noble country with deep history and traditions of honesty and good fortune. The big question becomes, then, is the West ready to change their views of the dragon and is China ready to put forth the effort to educate a world who may not be ready for the message?
2. Adib Assassi | December 14th, 2006 at 12:51 am
I think it’s kind of unfortunate that experts think that the dragon is not a good branding symbol. In my mind I associate the dragon with China, but I don’t have a negative connotation attached with it. I doesn’t strike fear into my heart. I can’t imagine that Americans would view it like they viewed the hammer and sickle on the Soviet flag. There are many similar carnivorous mascots and symbols throughout the U.S. and the world.
The dragon is such a large part of Chinese culture. It’s a shame that they feel it sends the wrong image. Considering that Chinese people are so proud of their heritage, I surprised that they are trying to refrain from using the dragon symbol. I would think that if they were worried it was sending the wrong message, they could take steps and measures to make certain that foreigners understand what message is intended to be sent. In other words, why could they emphasize why the dragon is significant for Chinese people?
Every culture has certain things that are part of their history and which are important to the culture. Probably the dragon is as much a part of Chinese culture and history as the Statue of Liberty is a part of U.S. culture and history. So I would wish that China would embrace it, because I don’t think it sends the wrong message. I think the Beijing Olympics are really going to open up China to the rest of the world. For so long we’ve viewed China as different, communist and maybe even evil. The Olympics are going to change this, and reintroduce the world to the new 21st century China. It would be nice to incorporate the dragon and other parts of China culture and heritage into this coming out party. I don’t think the branding experts are making the right choice. But I’m interpreting this from my perspective.
3. Fatih Sunor | December 14th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
France has its blue cock. US has its eagle. Turkey has its wolf. India has its cow. Ancient Egypt had its cats. Hatti had its lion. And China has its dragon…
Nations and countries have associated themselves with animals or animal resembling creatures for religious, social, historical and cultural reasons. For some reason, I have connections for all the examples I gave but I was really curious why Chinese people picked dragons. Dragons as given in the main block are mostly considered and described as scary objects like in the famous lake prelude of Claude Debussy.
And now, is dragon on the way to be brand, a global brand? I believe for western societies it will take a lot of time and efford to associate the “old” image of dragon as the symbol of peace and growth. Let think for a second that a Chinese Icecream producer deciding to market its products in the States with the dragon logo fires coming out its mouth. “I was planning to get chilly”. Or, would the same logo successful as a Chinese underwear brand representing a “hot look”. Chinese dragon coming to west. Good luck with the dragons saving Rapunzel from the tower.
4. Steve Feng | December 14th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Why the Dragon? Scary, sure. Peaceful, absolutely. Exciting, yes. I’m glad Katie was able to experience the Chinese New Years celebration, one of the most important holidays. When I was a kid watching the dragon, I was scared too! A big colorful thing coming straight at you. YIKES! As a mature adult, I watch the celebration of the dragon, and am amazed at the performance. It is a beautiful art. I definitely suggest everyone to go see an event.
To ban the dragon from an international event where everyone in the world learns about the different cultures is completely contradictory. I propose we have the Olympics in San Luis Obispo every year, so we won’t have to worry about any other culture. In the past winter Olympics, we saw Koreans prohibited from selling dog in restaurants. Rather than educating society and allowing people to embrace these “different” cultures, the Asian culture was denied for the western culture. So does the western culture truly represent freedom as so many people advocate?
Even if we all agree the dragon is the scariest, most threatening animal conceived, we forget as Americans (I’m sure many other nations too) that we had our fair share of cute animals. One of our greatest leaders, Ben Franklin, flew the yellow flag with a snake saying “join or die.” He tried to unify the colonies to fight against the England. How many of you celebrate Fourth of July? I’m not saying the dragon means a war, but to me that snake reminds me of unity. I would feel ashamed if someone told us to put away our snake, why should China hide it’s dragon?
5. Jared Samarin | December 15th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
It seems preposterous to me that scholars, educated people, think that the image of a Dragon is so terrible that it must be wiped clean in order for the world to accept China as an ally or peaceful player in geo-political issues. Actions after all speak much louder than symbols. To piggy-back off of what Fatih pointed out about national symbols, couldn’t just as many people be intimidated by the Russian Bear, or the American Bald Eagle. These are both carnivorous animals that are threatening in their own right, yet they are both regarded as symbols of national pride, much the way the Dragon has been the symbol of national pride and national identity for the Chinese.
The omission of the Dragon from the ’08 Olympics is foolish in my regard. If the Olympics is about cultures coming together and athletic competition, then the image of a dragon should be non-threatening and viewed as a part of the culture of the host nation and accepted as such. In reality though the Olympics has become a political vehicle, and the political ramifications of a “poor” showing in 2008 could be devastating. As much as China is attempting to its best foot forward doing so at the cost of heritage is foolish.
The dragon in Chinese stands for honesty, happiness, and good fortune; this being the case I do not understand why they would attempt to hide the dragon due to perception. The real story seems like it would be good PR in and of itself, and to not utilize that as a vehicle to build the HONEST good will that the Olympics is supposed to convey seems like there is something else driving this decision.
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