Branding Gaining in Importance to Chinese Consumers Reports Orlando Design District

San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/14/2012 -- Product and company branding is becoming increasingly important to Chinese consumers, according to a study conducted by WPP, a communications services group. The report shows that strong brands did much better than their non-brand name counterparts both with consumers and on the stock markets, despite a challenging economic environment in the region.

China Mobile continued its number one position in the rankings, maintaining a brand value of more than $50.5 billion while financial institutions ICBC and China Construction Bank claimed the second and third spots on the rankings.

Technology brands in China continue their rapid growth, indicative of Chinese consumers spending more time and money on mobile and Internet platforms. Although China Mobile continues to dominate the telecommunications market, aided by expanding its 3G base and conducting 4G trials, both China Telecom and China Unicom showed marked improvement.

Baidu, the Chinese-based search engine, moves up to two spaces into fourth position on the list, as it expanded its cloud-based operating system this year. Internet portal Tencent rounds out the top five in the wake of numerous acquisitions and the growing popularity of its Weixin microblogging website.

The share of non-state owned enterprises (SOEs) among the Top 50 brands rose 5 percent and now stands at 27 percent as Chinese entrepreneurs and private sector companies enjoy growing success in building Chinese brands.

"As the growth rate of the Chinese economy slows, brands become a more important discriminator of consumer choice, The Store, WPP CEO David Roth said. "As this study shows, strong brands help Chinese companies grow faster. This is set to accelerate as the Chinese economy rebalances. This, combined with the requirement for more Chinese companies to be successful overseas, will drive the necessity for creating strong Chinese brands as a critical factor for success."

Rounding out the top 10 was financial institutions Agricultural Bank of China at No. 6 and the Bank of China at No. 8; insurance company China Life at No. 7; alcoholic beverage company Moutai at No. 9; and oil and gas company Sinopec at No. 10.

About Orlando Design District
Orlando Design District (http://www.orlandodesigndistrict.com) is a section of Orlando, Florida, that is home to more than 40 design-related business. A number of different businesses, including architects, creative agencies, and print shops, as well as antique shops, clothing boutiques, and salons can be found in one convenient location.