Branding and country of origin labeling.

A recent (April 4, 2006) discussion about the effect of country of origin (COO) labeling at a marketing meeting in India provided some insight into associating such labeling with consumer products sold in Asia. The core of the discussion was a survey conducted by a supervising professor from the Australian Graduate School of Management in association with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

The branding study sampled 400 consumers, 19 to 49 in four Asian countries.

One of the main conclusions of the study was that "brands should consciously use the COO association while planning their global strategies."

Associating country of origin with a brand in Asia is especially important because Asia has not had a long enough history of producing quality products. "Consumers need something extra to give them a sense of trust in a product," a principal study designer told conference participants. In addition, she said that the study confirmed that consumer COO perceptions are important in Asia.

Interesting differences were uncovered by the study in regard to how Western brands are perceived in Asia, and how Asian brands are perceived in Asia.

Western brands tend to be associated with more prestige in Asia, and this applies even to Western brands that are not particularly popular in the West.

Asian brands sold within Asia, however, require strong positive perceptions of the country of origin to be effective.

One of the study's analysts was asked if specific product categories are associated with a COO. The analyst gave the example of an association of the practice of Yoga with India. In general terms, there is a highly positive association between Yoga and India, and a brand similarly positioned could overcome any country specific negative perceptions. The strength of the brand association is a key factor.

A December 2005 report by Australia's Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation that reviewed over 700 studies on COO marketing specifically for a venison marketing project, said that even through brand and COO associations are common practice, success depends on a rather lengthy process of study and evaluation-not much different than any marketing effort.

Similarly, a November 2004 report by Iowa State University (Ames, IA USA) on the success of New Zealand lamb as a brand stressed intricate image building in connection with New Zealand's "clean green" reputation.

CONSUMER MARKET INSIGHTS: