Brand Strategy of Transnational Corporation in China, P&G (Procter and Gamble)
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
In today’s business world, the success of various multinationals depends upon on the way the organizations are utilizing the opportunities that are unleashed in the global emerging market. Therefore, with many opportunities in the market and the expansion of the global businesses, organizations in the current world of competitive business environment, multinational business need to have clear strategies (Upadhyay 2007). Over the years, multinational businesses have used strategies that are extremely diverse, with the goal of providing their customers with a meaningful purpose. Dumitrescu and Scalera (2012) say that for the success of the multinational enterprises, it is paramount for them to come up with the most effective strategies so that the enterprises decrease the business operational risks, be motivated to achieve their own objectives, and stay competitive.
It is for these reasons that branding strategy has now become a global trend for both local and multinational companies. The change has a significant impact on different companies’ branding strategy, as they intend to achieve their business objectives globally and maintain their business operation under various economic changes. According to Schuiling and Kapferer (2004), during the past few years, many organizations have focused their effort on applying transitional strategies such as developing international brand. This means that branding has emerged as a main concern for managers in the local and multinational organizations. Keller and Lehmann (2005) outline that due to the growing realization of the important of developing brands; organizations are now paying attention on the best ways that they can use to come up with the brands that portrays the business name in the market. In fact, with specific brands in the market, an organization is likely to have one of the most valuable intangible assets that a corporation have. The brand strategy is a concept that serves several valuable functions in an organization; with the strategy being embraced as a component that affects the customers and company as a whole (Keller and Lehmann 2005). The strategy influences the customers’ decisions in the market, simplifies the consumer choice, promises a particular quality level, and endorses customer trust. In other words, brands strategy is equivalent important to the enterprises when it comes to dealing with the issue of customers, as the strategy does not only give organizations an opportunity to attract new customers but ensures that an organization maintain its buyers in diverse markets. In terms of the multinational companies, the brand strategy reflects on the company’s complete experience regarding the products that a company is selling in the market (Keller and Lehmann 2005). This is to say that through the branding aspect as applied by different companies worldwide, the strategy plays an important role to demonstrate the company’s experience and determine the marketing effort of a company.
1.2 Identification of the Problem
When a company uses brand strategy in the right ways, the customers pay closer attention to the company, its products, and the mode of operation that is carrying out (Schuiling and Kapferer 2004). Therefore, with the sheer size of P&G Company, any mistake in the branding process will imply that the company will incur losses and fail to gain its reputation in the global market. As scholars claim that developing international brand has both positive and negative implications for a business, it is important for an organization to review its position in both local and international market before the utilization of international brand strategy (Schuiling and Kapferer 2004). This means that for global companies, it is significant to develop further understanding of the local brand that is generally relative to the international brand. For the case of P&G Company, the relation between local and international brand has been always an issue, as the decision of going to international brand was based on the views of the international marketers and an analysis regarding the international branding strategy.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The overall objective of this research is to review P&G Company in terms of the international brand strategy as the component that is set to have positive impact on the company’s performance. The study intends to examine the current situation of global branding at P&G Company, as one of the widely renowned enterprise and a leader in the sale of various products, such as cosmetics, household products, pharmaceutical products, care products, and among other commodities (P&G Annual Report 2016). Since P&G Company brands involves the lives of many consumers, the company has been under transition corporation, whereby the development of international brands have given the company an opportunity to deal with different consumers with various cultural background with the objective of responding to their different needs within the international market (P&G Annual Report 2016). China has an emerging and competitive markets and this is the reason that is influencing P&G Company, with the market broadness challenging the Company to take the initiative of moving to the global market. With global economic growth being an important determinant to the decision of a company on whether to maintain local brand or develop international brand, P&G Company has to analyze the Chinese market before developing its international brand. In this context, the study will examine some of the reason why P&G Company brands failed in the Chinese market and the reasons that made the company to exit the Chinese market. Despite the negative impacts that the company faced that included lowering of the company profitability and reputation, international brand strategy has worked very well for P&G Company, as it is now among the best company globally with a better consumer base and increased market share (P&G Annual Report 2016).
1.4 Aims of the Study
This study focuses on presenting a better understanding of the brand strategy as applied by P&G Company and the way the strategy is influencing the transition of this company. The objective of this research will be achieved by discussing the international branding strategy that P&G Company applies in running its business activities. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate on branding strategy with the evaluation of Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company in China. The researcher analyzes brand strategy as it is applied by Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company with the look of discussion of the literature concerning multinational companies and the utilization of brand strategy. The study also intends to show the understanding of brand in China and the way the strategy has changed the face of many companies in the country both in local and international market. The researcher uses the available literature to discuss clearly the concept of brand strategy in the international market, its impact on the company, and the reasons that make domestic companies such as P&G develop international brands.
1.5 Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
The study had various variables that presented the dependent and independent factors regarding the topic of this study. As such, for the general concept or objective of this study to be achieved, the researcher mainly focused on the following variables or some of the basic areas that the researcher looked at in this study included the understanding of the multinational strategy concept, brand strategy, development of the brand strategy, and the brand strategy in China. The researcher used these concepts to structure a study that will brought a clear understanding of the brands strategies for the multinational organizations.
For the researcher to evaluate critically the brand strategy for P&G Company in China, the following conceptual framework was used.
| P&G Company Background
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| Development of Brand strategy
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| Brand strategy in China
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| Multinational Companies Strategies, |
| The Brand Strategy for P&G Company in China |
Figure 1.1 Conceptual Framework
1.6 Definition of Terms
Strategy is the framework that gives the business the guidance for the action that needs to be taken in different departments.in other words; strategies are the method or plans that a corporation may chose so that it brings about a desired future.
This refers to the type of a product that is sold in the market by a particular enterprise.
The global brands strategies refer to plans that a company in the sale of its products that are recognized throughout the world.
The local brands are the opposite of global brands, as they refer to the domestic brands that are sold in the local markets.
1.7 Methodology
The methodology that the researcher used in this survey is secondary data collection method. Here, the researcher reviewed other studies that have been conducted by the academic scholars and business practitioners. In the research methodology section, the researcher reviewed printed materials that give relevant information concerning multinational corporations, P&G Company in China, and development of international brand as a strategy to compete in the global markets. In addition, as part of the secondary data, that the investigator applied for this study in order to fetch useful data include the review of the academic journals, P&G Company web page, articles, and books that have relevant information regarding the topic of this study.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
In the literature review section, the researcher conducted a review of the work that has been done by on the topic of this study. The review intended to bring a clear picture of what brand strategy means for multinational corporations and the purpose of developing the global brand for organizations that have the goal of earning more profits and acquiring a vast market share worldwide. Therefore, with this understanding, the researcher focused on analyzing different texts concerning the brand strategy as a comprehensive approach that is embraced by many transnational organizations. With the study focusing on show an arranged review, the researcher analyzed books, journals, and other academic sources, which were used to present a great base to build the background of this study.
2.2 Multinational Companies Strategies
Dumitrescu and Scalera (2012) assert that in the modern world of business, the strategies used by the global organizations are enormously diverse, because of the changing pattern of the world economics. The study outline that most of the global organizations are operating in a complex network and in an environment where there are several business risks. With this being the facts in the global markets, research shows that the international business needs to come up with adequate strategies so that they reduce the risk of carrying out of business activities and to gain the motivation that is necessary for achieving they own objectives (Dumitrescu and Scalera 2012). Besides, for the multinational businesses to gather a better source of competitiveness, the companies should create a strategy or use the strategies that add value to the business like way of being than their competitors.
A study by Rashad and Yan (2011) revealed that as per the game theory, strategies are the factors that are optimum earning function. In the study, it was found that in China, most of the multinational businesses investment are divided into three stages and therefore, for the companies to cope with the stages adjustment it is significant for them to use the appropriate strategies (Rashad and Yan 2011). From the study, it is noted that the global companies’ investment in China are grouped in a particular sequence. As such, the sequences include three stages such as, the 80s stage with most of the multinational investment occurring in the 20th century (Rashad and Yan 2011). In this stage, the international businesses concentrated mostly on the commodity trade and technology trade. The next stage is the 90s era, with most of the multinational companies that were investing in China focusing on the manufacturing field (Rashad and Yan 2011).
The last stage for regarding the multinational investment in China is the late 90s stage with most of the multinational investment activities being the development of other forms of business activities such as procurement and R&D base that untapped the market for the multinational enterprises. This implies that in the context of international businesses, strategies are the inventible trends that will influence the economic globalization in different ways. Rashad and Yan (2011) further claim that the type of the strategies that multinational businesses are applying within their business activities can be viewed in two a side scenario. Here the study by the two scholars intends to reveal that a strategy that a business uses can either have negative or positive effects on the organizations. Rashad and Yan (2011) point out that the different global strategies that modern businesses uses mainly have the positive impact, with the strategies among them branding giving an organization various opportunities.
2.3The Brand Strategy
Today, brand naming is a division that is of paramount benefit to the organizations as it contributes to the brand equity, positioning, unique marketing strategies, and give a company the competitive advantage. Puente-Díaz and Cavazos-Arroyo (2015) reveal that in present days, most of the international companies obliged their financial accomplishment to the strength of their brand. Organizations tend to have different structures whereby at the top the CEOs and managers make decisions concerning different tasks, but with lack of corporate brand as an element that determines the business performance, this may lead to the business failure or even make the organization have complex relationship with their products brands (Puente-Díaz and Cavazos-Arroyo 2015). In the similar study by Puente-Díaz and Cavazos-Arroyo (2015), most of the modern companies use the different type of brands so that they can endorse approaches that help them to manage the complex brand portfolio appropriately. This is to say the study concerning global categorization of brands intends to reveal that for a company to have a competitive advantage and be the market leader, it need to embrace a branding approach that makes it connect with its brand or the connection between the company and its brands is very explicit.
In a different study by Schuiling, and Kapferer, (2004), it is open that modern business is focusing on the development of the international brand, whereby most of the organization are restructuring the international brands through eliminating local brand. Therefore, currently for an organization to be competitive, the understanding of the international brands is something that the business needs to have an idea of the advantages of the developing global brands (Finskud 2009). Through the study that Schuiling and Kapferer (2004) used to evaluate more than 744 brands across the world, it is evident that international brands are transitioning strategies to the modern business. The strategy not only enlarges the company’s enactments, but also gives the businesses a competitive advantage as well as a better connection between the company’s brand and its customers (Schuiling and Kapferer, 2004)
With various studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the brand strategy to the multinational organizations, the study by Shan (2012) posits that the brand strategy as applied by most of the multinational corporations has the negative impact on the local brands. In a parallel research by Jones and Bonevec (2012), it is clear that brands strategies, used by the current global organizations have a branding problem. The two studies intend to show that many multinational companies fail to define the global brands’ strategy, due to the complexity of the strategy and the effect it has on the local brands. Dennis and Katsanis (1995) argues that for a company to introduce or maintain a multinational brand, it is likely to undergo huge cost, with the introduction of the brands in the international market being based on a large amount of investment so that the corporations can be a success in the market.
According to Dennis and Katsanis (1995), research it is apparent that when a multinational company wants to introduce a global brand, it is likely to pay an estimation of the cost that is ranging above $50 million. With the strategy being expensive to introduce and maintain, for many multinational companies, brands strategy tend to be a considerable investment that does not carry a guarantee of the enterprise success. As the research by Jones and Bonevec (2012) reveals that branding strategy has a brand problem, this may sound ironic to many multinational organizations, especially to the businesses that view brand strategy as a communication and marketing strategy. Shan (2012) claim that brands strategy is not an effective way of communicating the business activities in the global market. Here, the research entails that with introduction new brands in global markets such as China, the transnational of the corporation is likely to occur, but with the impact to the domestic corporation, as most of them will enquire the ways to grow to multinational enterprises.
Despite its effectiveness, brands strategies require precise and efficient decisions, since some of decisions concerning brand strategy may affect the company negatively. Douglas, Craig, and Nijssen (2001) found that a firm that has operates with the use of international brand strategy, the development process follows an efficient decision making procedure. The study focus on disclosing the finding on the integration of local business operations and global branding strategies that are employed by most of the international corporations. Douglas, Craig, and Nijssen (2001) assert for the corporation to succeed through the use of the multinational brand, the decisions regarding multinational strategies requires the businesses to make decisions country by country, focus on product divisions, and consider the overall cost of the branding strategy in the international markets.
Jones and Bonevec (2012) further argue that the definition of the brands strategy differs by the impact that it is providing the global businesses, and therefore, this may bring up a definition that is irrelevant, impotent, and one that has differing perspective from the corporation activities. As the companies tend to view brand strategies in different ways, the study by Jones and Bonevec (2012) is trying to reveals that the strategy needs professional marketers and decision makers who have the real meaning or the actual understanding concerning multinational strategies. Ghodeswar (2008) articulate that brand strategy is more than just complicated because of the demands of this strategy. Ghodeswar (2008) posit that a company needs to have adequate commitment to carry out the planning process that is necessary before introducing the brands in the market. The purpose of multinational brands is to offer greater satisfaction to the customers and gain wide market share, therefore, for the corporations to achieve these factors the brands should be prepared in a way that may be complex to the enterprises.
Siegert, FöRster, Chan-Olmsted, and Ots, (2015) criticize brand strategy by saying that the strategy is not essential to the businesses that want to expand their brand abroad. To support this saying, the research shows that brand strategy does little coordination of the company and international business activities. In fact, Siegert, FöRster, Chan-Olmsted, and Ots, (2015) found that the strategy affects the local businesses by, as it makes the local entities operates as a standalone institution in the business activity operation. For instance, a business like New Corp has adopted the global brand strategy for the company announced the selling of unconnected newspaper brand in different countries across the globe. Therefore, with the company selling its newspaper globally through unrelated brands, this an obvious indication of little coordination within the company’s business activities and the foreign nations where the activities take place.
International brands strategy has become a priority for many companies in UK, Germany, France, Italy, and China (Schuiling and Kapferer 2004). Some of the global known companies that for years has acquainted with the international brands strategy include Unilever Company, with the organization intending to eliminate 1200 brands so that it can concentrate on 400 international brands (Schuiling, and Kapferer 2004). In China, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company has chosen to keep only 300 brands, whereby the company has sold most of its local brand with the intentional of moving to international market (Schuiling, and Kapferer, 2004). According to the company’s website P&G Annual Report (2016) through the international brands strategy, the company intends to develop the global brands as a core strategy that it is using to increase its total sale and gain a higher net profit margin. With the study by Schuiling, and Kapferer (2004) demonstrating that international brands strategy is one of the promising way to carry out global business activities, the study posit that L’Oréal Company is basing its success on the international brands strategy. Just like other companies, today L’Oréal Company is building its success on 16 global brands. On the other hand, for companies such as Nescafe, Buitoni, and Mars has also identified the benefit of international brands as the three companies have invested heavily in the global brand names (Schuiling and Kapferer 2004).
Currently, researchers have concentrated on bringing a clear picture of brands strategies as a fundamental concept that the multinational organizations are using to carry out the business activities. Saxena (2012) point out that in most of the developing countries, brands are the basis of customer relationship. As such, in the study the researcher found that the global brands the modern multinational corporations are using add various dimensions that make them different from the local or domestic brands that are in the market (Saxena, 2012). Similarly, Siegert, FöRster, Chan-Olmsted, and Ots (2015) articulate that today, most of the international corporations use international brands as an entry mode to the global markets. This means that multinational enterprises see brands strategy as an international approach that they can follow in the introduction of different global products. According to Siegert, FöRster, Chan-Olmsted, and Ots, (2015), brand strategy is a multinational strategy that is characterized by global standardization and influences the performance of the enterprises positively. Siegert, FöRster, Chan-Olmsted, and Ots (2015) assert that mutational corporation expands the foreign market with the businesses focusing on the investing in the global and foreign economies. In the research conducted by Rohn, (2009) it is found that some of the global companies and the leading companies globally are now choosing to pursue the global strategies so that they transform to better business activities. As the study by Rohn (2009) focus on global companies that do carry out their business activities with the use of brand strategy, international branding is relevant and beneficial to the global companies.
2.4 Global Brand Development
The study on Global brand development has been the focus of many scholars for years, as research shows that international brand is an advantageous strategy, and it influences the business operation positively (Schuiling, and Kapferer 2004). Both Matanda and Ewing (2012) opine that global brands strategies are defined as the brands that are there in different geographies, whereby organizations use them without any particular continental requirements. In the similar study by Matanda and Ewing (2012), global brands strategy is explained in a more detailed manner by the scholars proposing that global brands are the type of brands that have the high level of similarities across different nations and with respect to the brand identity. The study by Kapferer (2008) emphasizes that moving international and global brands is an important way of attaining the global market for organizations, as the strategy has for many years influenced the achievement of different companies.
Kapfere (2008) argues that today, many organizations has recognized the reasons that they need to count on the international brand, as a strategy has relevant benefit just like the CRM and ECR strategies. The development of the global strategy gives a company an opportunity to conquer new clients in the international market, which gives the company the value of the strategy and profitability that comes from the aspect of moving to global markets. Matanda and Ewing (2012) point out that a brand is referred to as an international or global strategy if it is sold in more than 30 countries worldwide. With this understanding, it is apparent that global brands strategy is a key area that many organizations have incorporated with their business performance. Schuiling and Kapferer (2004) assert that international brands give an organization an opportunity to benefit from resilient economies of scale. This implies that standardized global brands can give business to engender substantial cost reductions in almost all the areas of the business systems. Craig and Douglas (2000) identify that when a business shifts its brand from local brand name to the international global name, the company tend to get substantial savings in various business systems that include packaging, communication, and any other system that is involved in the business branding.
Therefore, with global branding giving a company the chance to acquire powerful economies of scale within the international countries, Schuiling, and Kapferer (2004) indicate that some of the largest multinational corporations have used these economies of scale to gain or attain the major competitive advantage in the world markets. As such, with the strategy allowing a company to have reduced cost operations, this enhances a company to conduct the business activities in and environments whereby there is the low cost of business operations and enhances a business to gather and gain a strong financial performance in an international country (Kapferer, 2012). According to Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden (2003), the brand strategy as applied by most of the international companies is of paramount important because the strategy allows the companies using it to understand the reasons on to why customers prefer global brand to local brand.
In this study, Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden (2003) tried to show why companies should develop brand strategy, as the strategy will positively influence the purchasing decision of their customers. A brand name of the company that has gone international tends to have a global image of the local brands, regardless of the factors such as value and quality (Steenkamp, Batra, and Alden, 2003). This means that with the aspect of global branding being a core focus for world biggest companies, there is the likeliness of these companies influencing the customer’s brands and products preferences, with the customers opting to purchase products that have a global image.
For the company to come up with a brand name that will bring crucial benefits, it needs to understand the meaning of a clear brand strategy (Luigi and Blag n.d). This is because, nowadays for international corporations, the brand name is a marketing tool, whereby most of the international organizations use it to facilitate and natures their commodities in the market. Luigi and Blaga highlight that brand strategy as a marketing strategy aim at maximizing the standardization of the company’s products and integrates the global marketers with the right strategy that they need to use in the process of presenting their products to the customers globally. With the brand name being used by high profiled organizations worldwide, corporations need to utilize their global experience, customize their products, and tolerate their service in the global market so that they come up with the right and beneficial branding strategy (Luigi and Blag n.d). This is a clear indication that when international companies integrate marketing and brands, the company will definitely achieve its desired brand goals. Keller and Lehmann (2005) illustrate that some of the branding and marketing desired goals include brand positioning and creating what something called brand equity. The study by Keller and Lehmann (2005) continues and says that the success of multinational enterprises depends on the combination of brands and marketing activities, whereby the two components has integration effects among them. With brands and marketing activities being grouped together by different global companies, this gives the customers in the market an opportunity to identify and differentiate different types of brands in the global market (Keller and Lehmann 2005).
2.5 Branding Strategy in China
Apparently, many studies have already unraveled the concept of branding in China, with the studies showing the way some of the Chinese multinational organization’s values and uses brands strategies. Alon, Littrell, and Chan (2008) note that in China, all the firms that intend to expand their operation to the abroad, they face a tough decision regarding their brands name, whereby the businesses face the difficulty of decision whether to standardize their brands name or localize the brands name so that they continue to maintain the local customers. The Chinese International Companies, however, undergo several challenges in the situation whereby they want to come up with branding names that will be endorsed in China and the international markets (Li and Shooshtari, 2003).
In China, when a global company wants to come up with a clear brand name, the organization should first consider the language that its customers is knowledgeable with, as the brand name will be based on the name of the customers in the market (Klink 2000). Therefore, for the multinational companies in China to have a unique and a key branding name, the people in charge of creating the brands need to be aware of the factors that may make the brand’s strategy complex or fail to work for these companies. Some of the factors to consider include the culture and some institutional environment that may affect the brand strategy employed by global organizations (Alon, Littrell and Chan 2008). The study shows that some of the culture problems that relates to branding strategies for multinational corporations includes things such as the communication language for the customers, as in countries some countries the Chinese Company may fail to identify a language that is not opaquely during the introduction of either new brands or old brands in the global markets. The study by Alon, Littrell and Chan (2008) poses an example of a Chinese Company that wants to introduce its brand in Anglo-Saxon countries, whereby the research implies that for the company to introduce its brand the language of communication should be more direct and clear in order to communicate the brand appropriately to the customers.
With the fact that multinational companies ought to have effective ways to present brands in the global markets, in China where a company may choose to eliminate the local brands and develop international brands, the best way to do this is by making brand that transference across various cultures in the world (Alon, Littrell and Chan 2008). For example, in China Coca-Cola Company introduce its brand through the different language, which was a sign of making its brand transference across different cultures. the reason on to why companies such as Coca-Cola has opted to make their brands look different with respect to the culture of the countries where the brand is being introduced includes things avoiding common errors that are made by multinational brand messages, language barriers, cultural values, and beliefs within the countries that the brand introduction is taking place.
Since the Chinese language and names consist of different characters that vary from other languages such as English, this may become a challenge for the China’s multinational companies that intend to develop the global brands (Alon, Littrell and Chan 2008). As the brand names for Chinese Company mean that most of the names may be designed in the Chinese words and name, this is an indication of a challenge in the international brands from a Chinese Company (Alon, Littrell and Chan 2008). Therefore, for the Chinese companies to generate the right name for the brands, the multinational companies are encouraged to use the correct naming characters. Another way of overcoming the naming challenge in the case of creating a brand name that the diverse customers in the market can understand and they can easily trace and purchase the brand. In other words, the study by Alon, Littrell and Chan (2008) brings out the idea of the fact that the translation of Chinese Company brand name is vital to success of the brands that the companies are introducing in the global market. With research showing, the benefit of choosing and creating a name that is effective brand; it is evident that an effective brand name provides a company with the desired brand name and a name that has desirable properties within the target market (Li and Shooshtari 2003).
3.0 Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the methodology that the researcher adapted in gathering the necessary data for this study. Researchers view methodology as the operational framework that explains, describes, and outlines the way the research was executed (Ketchen and Bergh 2004). In other words, research methodology defines the process of data collection and data analysis with the focus on presenting the research objectives of the study (Ketchen and Bergh 2004). The data for this study mostly come from secondary sources as this topic is broad and requires supportive data. The researcher used secondary data for this study because the method gave the researcher an opportunity to complete the study in time and an inexpensive manner (White and McBurney 2013). Furthermore, it is important to note that secondary was necessary for this study since the researcher fetched useful data from academic journals, company’s web page, articles, books, and academic writings that have relevant information regarding the topic of this study.
In an attempt of obtaining rich information concerning the brand’s strategy for multinational companies, the research used the secondary data to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. For the data that the researcher gathered to be valid and reliable, the researcher conducted a review of the work of other people, the P&G Company itself, and the case studies that has touched on the topic of brand strategy as used by the global companies. The qualitative data was obtained from the secondary sources that the researcher analyzed with the aim of attaining the objective of this study (Choy 2014). On the other hand, in most of the literature that the researcher analyzed, interview and observation method are used to carry out the research and the study demonstrated the secondary data that was relevant and useful for this study. The qualitative data was attained from the review of the literature and case studies aiming at analyzing the multinational brands as used by P&G Company were of benefit for this study because the researcher was in a good position to come up with the information that appropriately matches the research objectives.
3.2 Justification of the methodology
Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner (2007) clearly mark that in the research process, the justification of the method used I significant as the researcher presents the reasons why the method is best for a study. When the researcher wants to justify the method used in the study, the focus when doing so is of the potential value that the method offers to the research and its contribution to the whole research (Esch and Esch 2013). Therefore, with the research on P&G Company being a major area of study, with different researchers carrying out surveys analyzing the use of brands strategy in the multinational markets, the use of secondary sources as the data collection method for this study was important in generating the research findings.
The method was used because is efficient and useful for the research concerning studies that involve the analysis of brands strategy that is used by multinational companies. In addition, the methodology allowed the researcher to work on the research without the problem of limited information (Esch and Esch 2013). Here, the researcher worked the freedom of reviewing secondary sources as much as possible. The other factor that justifies the use of secondary data for this survey is the issue of the subject opinions, as most of the studies gave the researcher an opportunity to compare the opinion of different personalities regarding their findings and study conclusions (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner 2007). Lastly, with most of the primary data showing that they are not quantitative in nature, the researcher saw the need to use published information from credible sources that were readily available.
3.3. Limitation and Solution of the Method
Although the researcher used published data because of the data credibility and availability, the method poses some challenges that may affect the research negatively. One area where the researcher considered as a challenge to the use of secondary data is the reliability of the information. A study done by Leedy and Ormrod (2005) found out that the secondary research sources are prone to mistakes that are made by the researchers who had previously carried out the study. Some of the errors that are likely to be there in the secondary sources include the inaccuracy of the data and incomplete statistical figures that may at some point be outdated for the current study carried out. Thus, with such errors in the previous studies, the researcher may make the surveyor borrow the similar mistakes and incorporate them in the current study that is conducted.
For the researcher to overcome these limitations, the researcher decided to use information that is published and ignored unpublished literature (Hyett, Kenny, and Dickson-Swift 2014). More so, the journals, books, and case studies used in this study were also scholarly, so that the information collected is accurate and relevant in the generation of the research findings. Lastly, to come up with data and information that is appropriate and imperative the researcher reviewed P&G Company website with the company site having crucial and adequate information regarding the brands’ strategy and its impact on the business’s performance.
3.4 Methodological Assumption
The appropriateness of secondary data collection method worked under numerous assumptions made by the researcher (Holden and Lynch n.d). First, the researcher assumed that in the study carried out by other scholars, the participants were honest while answering the study questions. Second, the researcher assumed that the participants that previous studies have used to conduct the survey could read and write the study questions. Lastly, the researcher assumed that the participants in the literature that that was were used, as the major secondary sources were conversant with the study under investigation.
4.0 Findings and Analysis
4.1 Introduction
The data that the researcher gathered using the selected technique could be of no use or even zero value if it were not effectively analyzed. The reason why the researcher analyzed the data obtained was that the analyzed data was used to generate the research results or use the findings to draw the conclusions and recommendations. With the researcher employing secondary data collection method for this study, the method assisted the researcher to collect both textual and numerical data, and hence the researcher applied the qualitative data analysis methods.
4.2 Qualitative Analysis
First, it is remarkable for one to know that qualitative data is textual or opinionated in nature. This is to say that, in the qualitative data there is not the statistical approach is employed in the research (Castellan 2010). Therefore, to analyze the data, the researcher reviewed the information from the interviews that have been done by other researchers in the form of reports, case studies, experimental studies, and among other forms of the researcher, that concerns the brand strategy for P&G Company in China. So that that the researcher demonstrates an effective qualitative data analysis, the researcher used a systematic research approach that adheres will determine the layout of the analysis and whether the analysis answers the research questions and gives the researcher with the objective that is intended to be achieved. On the other hand, quantitative data is obtained when the researcher uses primary data (Naidu 2013). The quantitative approach is numerical in nature and help the researcher have deeper insight regarding the topic of the study (Castellan 2010). However, regarding this study, the quantitative analysis was not applied as the data collected from the secondary source did not involve any primary data collection technique.
4.3 Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company in China
Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company is an international enterprise that was established by William Procter and James Gamble in 1837. Currently, the company has a business that deals with over 50 categories of operation with the company offering more than 300 brands in the international market. The company operates in more than 80 countries and has more than 50 brands that are known in all these 80 countries where it has set its operational business activities. In 2005, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company succeeded in the acquisition of Gillette Company, whereby the purchase of this company gave P&G Company the advantage size increment (P&G Our Brands 2016). Currently, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company is employing more than 139,600 people across the world. Through the acquisition technique, P&G Company operates in 80 countries, and its brand globally amounts to more than 90 % of its sales and profit (P&G Annual Report 2016). In the international market, 26 of the P&G Company’s brand produces more than 1 $ billion net profit in the sale of one year.
The company’s net sale in 2015 was $70.7 billion that gave the company a massive total earning of about $7.0 billion (P&G Annual Report 2016). In 2016, the company’s net sale reached $65.3 billion that contributed to net earnings of $10.5 annually (P&G Annual Report 2016). Since the year 2012, Procter & Gamble Company core area of business include the sale of beauty products, family health products, household commodities, and Gillet products that the company introduced to its products after it acquired the company (P&G our Brands 2016). Recently, the company’s CEO A.G Lafley has disclosed that the development and commercialization of (P&G) products and brand are company’s core focus, whereby the company intends to acquire competitive advantage through developing the international brand.
In the situation of the company size, (P&G) Company has continued to pursue expansion strategy that is set to enlarge the companies size so that it achieves the economies of scale that will make sure that the company reaches to the customers in the international markets (Procter & Gamble 2016). As P&G Company continues to increase its size with the objective of achieving growth, the company has become more bureaucratic. The company maintains a strong internal system, whereby it uses written policies and procedures, and segregation of responsibilities that are assigned to the different group of employees within the company (Procter & Gamble, 2016). As a large international organization, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company rely on the rules, operational procedures, and written communications method that it controls the entire company together with the number of the employees working internally or externally. P&G Company has developed its brand in some of the countries including Europe, Middle East, Asia, North America, and Latin America (P&G Annual Report 2016). One of the thing that Procter & Gamble (P&G) Companies values most is the sustainability of the international customers who has unsatisfied and sophisticated needs. For this to happen, the company has launched new brands to the global markets in specific regions so that it achieves its objective in the global market regardless of the complexities that are present in the international market.
Figure 3.1: P&G Company Financial Report for the last five years (Source: P&G Annual Report, 2016)
4.4 Development of the Brand Strategy for P&G Company
From the P&G Company web page, the researcher identified that brands strategy for P&G Company is a crucial component in relation to the company’s net sale growth. From the P&G Annual Report (2016) the researcher discloses that the company has in the last three years used brands strategy to meet the needs of the customers globally and improves their lives (Pike 2011). With the brand strategy being a key way of doing business for P&G Company, the research notes that the net sale of the company has gradually increased from $1.9 to $2.0 from 2014 to 2016. With the researcher finding out that a study done by Wilken and Sinclair (n.d) touches more on the need for global marketers to understand on the important of global branding strategy, this relates to the facts behind the strategy as used by P&G Company. With literature showing that most of the multinational companies are faced with the problem of geographical differences, P&G Annual Report 2016 records that the corporation’s net sale by geographic location for the fiscal year that ended 2016 shows that with the use of brands strategy the company’s net sale has a tremendous increase over the years.
Figure 3.2: P&G Company Net Sale for the Last 3 years. (Source: P&G Annual Report, 2016)
Figure 3.3: P&G Company Net Sale 2016 (Source: P&G Annual Report, 2016)
4.5 Brand Strategy in China for P&G Company
With the researcher reviewing a study by Fang (2012), the research learned that P&G Company uses the branding strategy as the corporate image. Here the researcher identified that the P&G Company uses the brand strategy to upgrade its products in China and other countries across the globe. For instance, in a study by Fang (2012), it is outlined P&G Company has created 60% of the shampoo market through brand development, customer recognition, and making the brand be a daily consumer good in China. More study by Fang (2012) reveals that P&G Company in China uses the brand strategy as an advertising strategy, with the company endorsing brand strategy as a concept that they change periodically. In fact, when the researcher analyzed the company’s website, it was found that the company had put heavy investments on brand strategy as a way of advertising its products in China and any other regions across the world (P&G Annual Report 2016). In the same study by Fang (2012), the researcher realized that P&G Company understands the value of brands strategy as the company uses this strategy as a communication tool. In this case, the research by Fang (2012) states that in the global market, most of the company marketing communication with the products brands name. In China, P&G Company uses the brand’s strategy to communicate to the target markets and shows the customers the need to purchase the company’s product.
Puente-Díaz and Cavazos-Arroyo (2015) also carried out research on brand strategy for multinational corporations. In the study, the researcher found out that P&G Company owns different types of brands that the company uses to carry out the business activities across the world. With the support of a study by Bottomley and Holden (2001), the researcher noted that when a multinational company has more than one brands in the market, it is in a better strategic position whereby it can use the brands to extend it global operational with the brands signifying the aspect of product quality. This is to say that through the literature on the P&G Company, the researcher acquired relevant information showing that the company use brand strategy to come up with different categories of the of the products that are in demand in the market (Bottomley and Holden 2001). Furthermore, as indicated by DME Award (2013) P&G Company has for the years continued to build brands that make the lives of its customer’s better every day worldwide. DME Award (2013) showed the researcher that for last 175 years, P&G Company had used the brands’ strategy to touch and improve the lives of many customers globally. The company works with partners that are the best in the designing of the brands that are demand and needed by the customers in the international market. As the researcher reviewed the 2013 award report, the researcher established that P&G Company works with over 50 best designers’ agencies in the world, who are set to record brands that are providing a competitive advantage in the market (Waiyachote, 2007). Similarly, in a report by P&G Company the researcher identified that the corporation uses the top brands to maintain its business activities in the world market (Brands Top 50, 2011). The report state that the Company has become number one in the brand finances list due to the use of the brand strategy to market and sell its product to the international market (Brands Top 50, 2011). With the report highlighting that P&G Company has become one of the top companies with top brands in the international market, the researcher used the report to come up with the finding showing that P&G Company uses a number of diverse brands to position itself in the market and maintain its business operation in the world mass market.
Finally, the review of the study Logan, Repp, and Venkatraman (n.d) gave the researcher vital information concerning P&G Company with the study revealing brand building is a top priority task at P&G Company with the company focusing on venturing to almost all the countries globally. The study unveils that the current brands that are in the company’s products portfolio, with the research showing that as per 2009 P&G Company had 23 brands that generated over $1 billion sales in one year Logan, Repp, and Venkatraman (n.d). In the same study, the researcher shows that in the same year that is 2009, P&G Company had 20 brands that gave the company a total sale of $500 million annually. The total brands for the enterprise as per this study were 43 in 2009, with the brands accounting for 85% of P&G total sales and gave the company a total profit of 95% in the same year Logan, Repp, and Venkatraman (n.d). In this study, the researcher shows the famous of these brands, with the literature revealing that the total brands gave the company one of the strongest-performing brands’ portfolio within the industry of beauty products. Besides Kapoor, and Kulshretha (2012) say that this gave the company the competitive advantage for its overall performance across the global market
.
Figure 3.4: P&G Company 2009 Net Sale by Segment (Source Logan, Repp, and Venkatraman n.d)
4.6 Multinational Brand Strategy
From the existing study done by Alff and Mayer (2012) the researcher established that international companies chose brands that indicate the level of familiarity in the international market. In the study, the researcher uses FMCG Conglomerates to show that in the modern world of competitive business, most of the organizations are now considering brands strategy as a priority and strategy that need adequate and substantial investments (Alff and Mayer 2012). With the researcher reviewing the literature and the results of the methodology for this study, the researcher found out that many international corporations use brand strategy to show the global customers the quality of their products and create the familiarity of their products by providing the customers with the corporate brand knowledge. In the use of brand strategy by multinational enterprises, the research by Alff and Mayer (2012) notes that an international corporation needs to take the critical decisions on whether to use a real or a hypothetical corporate brand. This means that when an organization needs to use employ brand strategy, it is essential for the business to come up with better reasons why this strategy is necessary and the ways that the strategy will be helpful to the company in the international market.
4.7 Summary
The findings in this study show some important implication to the multinational corporations, as the findings demonstrate the achievement of P&G Company due to the use of brand strategy. Spinelli and Mcgowan (2013) say that for a company to come up with a brand strategy that is outstanding and beneficial to the company, the business needs to use the innovative ideas of different personalities or what is called an innovation team. Therefore, when one looks at this statement and collaborates it with the above research findings, it is clear that brand strategy is a major focus for major international organizations across the globe. For example, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company has come up with new plans to use brand strategy as a competitive way of doing its business operation. The company has kept 300 brands that are set to trend in the global market after the sale of its local brand (P&G Annual Report 2016). This implies that as one of the top Chinese Company P&G Company has given priority to brand strategy, whereby the company has chosen to invest in the global brand name. The development of international brand has given P&G Company a competitive advantage; the organization has found this trend as a fast moving strategy as it influences other sectors such as bank, insurance, and retailing in the global economic. Schuiling and Kapferer (2004), state that with the use of the global brand strategy, P&G Company is likely to develop a close relationship with its customers, which the company uses to represent a substantial marketing investment across the world.
Moreover, the findings above strategy that for many businesses that are operating in the global markets; brand strategy is used as a communication tool with P&G Company using different categories of the brands. The use of the various brands by the international companies gives them a unique position, and they get the chance to expand their business operations (Bottomley and Holden 2001). Gelder (2005) indicates that for multinational companies such as Gillette brand strategy of much benefit because, with the use of this strategy, the corporations get a better opportunity to focus on the sale of specific market products and brands. Furthermore, from the research findings, it is apparent that for multinational companies to have a corporate image they need to embrace the brand strategy. For example, from the analysis it is highlighted P&G Company in China uses the brand strategy to upgrade its name and to nature the company’s reputation.
The brand strategy also has net sale and profit implications for the multinational companies. With the findings using figure 2, 3, and 5 to show the P&G Company financial growth due to the use of brand strategy, this is a sign of the impacts of the strategy to global multinational corporations. Lastly, building the strategy has a positive impact on the multinational business, as for companies such as P&G Company has continuously maintained the creation of the strategic brands that gives a company competitive advantage and be in a better position in the market. In fact, the findings reveal that international corporations should keep brand strategy to their product development portfolio.
5.0 Conclusion
This study shows that brand strategy is a fundamental component to the multinational corporations as the strategy has direct influences on the performance of the global businesses. The primary challenge for many multinational enterprises is to find a perfect balance between the company activities and the implemented global strategies that are set to succeed the company in the world market. Therefore, from the study, it is clear that brand strategy poses some weaknesses and strengths to the international corporations. The literature on the global strategy entails that the brand strategy eliminates the local brands, which is to say that for many scholars this is a weakness and adverse effect of brand strategy. Thus, the solution to the weakness is to ensure that multinational companies develop brand strategies that do not shape the company’s image and reputation, but also a strategy that serves all the customers either in the global or local markets. What is common to the development of brand strategy as outlined in this study is the fact that the brand strategy increases the net sale and profit for multinational corporations. In this case, the strategy gives the businesses an opportunity to sell more in the international market, increase the number of the customers, and enhance that the company’s profitability rises annually. With the aim of P&G Company being to make the profit, the study shows that the company has identified brand strategy as the answer to its objective with the corporation using this strategy to make its desired profit through increased total sales.
In this study, the researcher focused on investigating on the brands’ strategy as an approach that is used by multinational enterprises. The researcher investigates on P&G Company with the review of the literature concerning the company and its impact on the international markets. Therefore, with the researcher carrying out research that is based on the secondary data, the researcher considered the several recommendations regarding brand strategy for multinational corporations.
First, it is recommended that a future study on the same topic is necessary. In this future study, the area of focus should be on the P&G Company competitors and the influence of the brand strategy to these companies. More so, the researcher recommends for a future study that will focus on the effect on the development of brand strategy that are used by multinational companies. The study will pay attention on the influences of global brand to the local brands in the home countries. Finally, with a future study focusing on the impact of multinational brand strategy and the way the strategy influences P&G Companies competitors is necessary, as this will give the company a chance to make the right decision when choosing the brand strategies that are effective and beneficial to the corporation.
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