According to news released today, the total value of the top 100 Chinese brands of Kaidu BrandZ in 2022 still exceeds $1 trillion for the second year in a row, reaching $1.241 trillion. The total value of China's top 100 brands is down 20% from a year earlier. But the report still highlights the importance of tough brands to Chinese companies. Faced with the challenges of global uncertainty, such as supply chain disruption, inflation, rising energy prices, and repeated COVID-19 epidemic, strong brands support the business performance of many enterprises.

Tencent ($204.4 billion) topped the list for the second year in a row, while second-ranking retail giant BABA ($137 billion) is also expanding his brand matrix through independent platforms. The third-ranked liquor brand, Maotai ($108.5 billion), is one of the most popular brands in China, and its brand value remains basically stable.

15 brands are new or return.

Fifteen brands from nine industries have entered or returned to the top 100 most valuable Chinese brands this year. Lifestyle-focused social platform Xiao Hongshu ($6.6 billion) and listed company iFLYTEK, which focuses on intelligent voice and artificial intelligence ($4.2 billion), are the highest-ranked upstarts, at 37th and 53rd respectively.

This year's new brands also include food, beverage and leisure catering brands, highlighting the potential value of brands in these industries. Yuantong (88th, $2 billion), Harvard (93rd, $1.8 billion) and TCL (94th, $1.8 billion) are back on the list.

Clothing brand Li Ning Co. Ltd. (No. 64, $3.4 billion) became the fastest-growing brand in the top 100 with a 66% year-on-year increase.

1/4 of the brands listed in 2021 and 2022 achieved an increase in value; six of them grew by more than 25%, namely Li Ning Co. Ltd. and China.$CHINA TELECOM (00728.HK)$(28th, US $8.9 billion), Chow Tai Fook Jewellery (38th, US $6.1 billion), Xinghua Village (52nd, US $4.2 billion), BYD (29th, US $8.7 billion) and Haier (9th, US $33.2 billion).

Haier has moved up two places from last year to rank among the top 10 most valuable brands in China. Haier's global layout, as well as continuous innovation in consumer products and industrial Internet platforms, has helped Haier achieve a 26% increase in brand value.

The brand value of carmaker BYD has risen by 29%. BYD has expanded rapidly in China and overseas markets, becoming the world's top-selling brand of new energy vehicles in the first half of 2022.

Commenting on the ability of Chinese brands to cope with a range of global challenges, Wang Xing, global chairman of Kaidu Group's Greater China CEO and BrandZ, said: "in difficult economic times, strong brands may not necessarily leave companies unscathed, but they will certainly mitigate shocks and reduce losses." "strong brands should not evade challenges, but should actively meet and respond to uncertainty, and even gain from it."

The media and entertainment industry once again topped the list.

This year, the momentum of emerging brands approaching mature brands is obvious. Over the past four years, the share of China's top 30 brands in the total value of the top 100 has gradually shrunk. This rebalance is considered to be conducive to the overall rise of China's brand pattern, the competition pattern of each industry is no longer dominant, but competing with each other.

The media and entertainment industries are once again the number one industry on the list, followed by retail and alcohol. Together, these three industries contribute more than half of the total value of China's top 100 brands. Of the 20 industries monitored last year and this year, five achieved year-on-year growth in total value, namely, automobiles, clothing, Internet of things ecology, energy and telecommunications services.

This year's report shows that in times of economic turmoil, if a brand really knows how to use advertising, it will always outperform its rivals who reduce or suspend brand-building investment.

The rise of effect advertising makes some Chinese brand managers feel that they have no choice but to transform short-term sales over long-term brand building. But Kadu thinks you can have both. If brands have the right data and insight, they can find the right direction and move forward smoothly in the fast-changing e-commerce world (recently adding new forms such as live streaming, community group buying, private channels and O2O). At the same time, brands aiming for success should also continue to study consumers and objectively understand their own advantages and disadvantages in the eyes of consumers.

The international awareness of Chinese brands has increased significantly

This year's report also mentioned that the international awareness of Chinese brands has increased significantly, with 47 brands on the list coming to the fore internationally (that is, consumers outside China are familiar with them), reaching an all-time high. Awareness of Chinese brands is also growing, with overseas operations overall contributing 8.8 per cent of revenue to China's top 100.

China is ready to devote itself to the emerging digital world of meta-universe. Research and development laboratories of large companies are also developing new 3D sound, touch and somatosensory technologies. Meta Universe still has enough room for growth in China on the premise of abiding by the Chinese data Protection Law and other relevant laws and regulations. Chinese consumers have embraced many innovative products, such as virtual online celebrities, digital collections and immersive online showrooms.

Mental health has become one of the corporate responsibilities, and the epidemic has led more people to face mental health problems, especially in areas where containment policies have been implemented, the report said. Digital technology brands began to regard protecting the mental health of users as part of their social responsibility. The report argues that, in fact, all brands should take mental health as part of their core brand positioning. In a period full of uncertainty, consumers need not only product functions, but also emotional comfort.

In addition, indicators related to sustainable development are three times more important to the overall reputation of the brand than they were a decade ago. Kaidu's research on sustainable development advertising shows that Chinese consumers are born with a desire to be close to and connect with nature. In the global market, Chinese brands can also help consumers around the world turn their environmental aspirations into more practical actions through the support of cultural insight.

The report also says that Chinese consumers are also increasingly integrated with their communities, and it is proud of it. During the closure period of 2020 and 2022, many urban residents bought goods together with their neighbors in the community to take care of the elderly and help school-age children. It means that community group buying behavior and small community stores will continue to grow. Secondly, community awareness will also have a significant impact on brand sustainable development measures and brand ideal construction. (Liu Lili)